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Equity
Traditional water management practices and water sector reforms in South India - A comparative analysis of three systems and Participatory Irrigation Management policy - Paper presented at the National Seminar on Water and Culture (2007)
Posted on 30 Jan, 2011 06:13 PMThe authors study three tanks; one each in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala and find that almost all tanks in Southern India face similar problems that include farmers in command area being deprived of water, siltation, lack of proper maintenance of such structures, lack of political will to decentralise authority to tank institutions etc.
Traditional water management practices in coastal Karnataka - Paper presented at the National Seminar on Water and Culture (2007)
Posted on 30 Jan, 2011 04:10 PMTh paper begins with a brief history of the region of Southern Kanada, its geography and the religious practices of the region. Some of the key features of this region includes an abundance of rivers though they mostly are rain-fed.
Glimpses of the historical water bodies in the Vijaynagar dynasty - Paper presented at the National Seminar on Water and Culture (2007)
Posted on 30 Jan, 2011 03:44 AMThis paper uses secondary data to showcase the water bodies that were built in the Vijayanagar Empire. The author states that there were 88 such water bodies and these were used for irrigation purposes and also for consumption.
Eradication of manual scavenging - Recent PIB Releases
Posted on 28 Jan, 2011 04:17 PM The Union Minister of Social Justice & Empowerment Shri Mukul Wasnik recently inaugurated the two-day Consultation Meeting on Eradication of Manual Scavenging and Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers.Speaking on the occasion, he called upon the States to work towards eradicating the shameful practice of manual scavenging by the end of the 11th plan. He regretted that despite various efforts made by the Central Government and the States, the practice of manual scavenging still exist in some parts of the country. The meeting was organized by the Ministries of Social Justice & Empowerment, Urban Poverty Alleviation and Urban Development.
Shri Wasnik said that we must address rehabilitation of manual scavengers to our utmost capacity.
Sustainable water management initiatives in Konkan under threat - A report
Posted on 21 Jan, 2011 02:09 PMGuest Post by: Parineeta Dandekar
At the first sight, Daarche Paani (‘water at the doors’) appears unreal.. on a small flat plateau called ‘Sadaa’ in konkan, an elegant cobbled walkway leads a puzzled visitor to stairs carved in stone, which go down to an ancient grove, and here is an intricate system of tanks, channels and falls which supplies water to the Panderi village and goes down as a free flowing stream, to irrigate a plantation of arecanut, pepper and mangoes in a village called Gudaghe. When I visited the place, I could see three eminent visitors, a silent lady washing her load of clothes, a fairy bluebird splashing at a tank and a huge moonmoth in one of the trees.
Stone walkway and ancient mango trees leading to Daarche Paani.
Photo: Parineeta Dandekar
India s groundwater challenges and the way forward
Posted on 18 Jan, 2011 11:42 PMIndia’s Groundwater Challenge and the Way Forward
P S Vijay Shankar , Himanshu Kulkarni , Sunderrajan Krishnan
The groundwater crisis is acquiring alarming proportions in many parts of the country. Strategies to respond to groundwater overuse and deteriorating water quality must be based on a new approach involving typologising the resource problems and redefining the institutional structure governing groundwater. This approach is based on the notion of groundwater as common property.
Apotheosis of water and its inevitability in Indian culture - Paper presented at the National Seminar on Water and Culture (2007)
Posted on 09 Jan, 2011 11:23 PMThis paper highlights the role and value of water in ancient times. The author begins with analysing the discussion on water in the Rig Veda and it's deification. The paper points out to the link between various Hindu gods and water. Social mores in the context of water use is also highlighted, taboos like no nude bathing in rivers and no excretion into such water bodies is pointed out.
Maharashtra Groundwater (Development and Management) Bill (2009)
Posted on 05 Jan, 2011 07:32 PMThe Maharashtra Groundwater (Development and Management) Bill, 2009 aims to facilitate and ensure sustainable and adequate supply of groundwater of prescribed quality, for various category of users, through supply and demand management measures, protecting public drinking water sources and to establish the State Groundwater Authority and District Level Authorities to manage and to regulate, with community participation, the exploitation of groundwater within the State of Maharashtra.
Civil society consultations for the 12th Five Year Plan Approach Paper: Urban & Rural WATSAN sector
Posted on 30 Dec, 2010 11:20 AMAt the request of the Planning Commission, Arghyam and WaterAid agreed to co-ordinate and support a process of civil society consultation for inputs on rural and urban domestic water and sanitation for generating recommendations for the Approach Paper to the 12th Five Year Plan of the Government of India.
A glimpse of the audience
Influence of Chalukya architecture on Hampi stepwell - Paper presented at the National Seminar on Water and Culture (2007)
Posted on 29 Dec, 2010 04:16 PMThis paper discusses the reasons for building tanks in ancient India and mentions ancient texts like 'Samarangan Sutradhar' to indicate how wells and other water bodies were constructed.
These water storage systems indicate the knowledge of geology, soil engineering, construction engineering and structural engineering in ancient times.