Health

Govt reconstitutes panel on hydel projects

Rajya Sabha passes the land bill

Revised land acquisition bill that does not provide for social impact assessment for irrigation projects clears in the Upper House. The bill returns to the Lok Sabha for approval of amendements made in it.

MP govt enforces curfew to suppress Jalsatyagrah

State government issues arrest orders against the evacuees staging protest against raising water level in the Indira Sagar Dam and demanding compensation. 

Shantamma woke up one morning with a high fever. She also had a sudden pain at the back of her eyes and severe joint pain. She had been finding it very difficult to move around and go on with her daily routine. And it was quite a tedious routine, which began at 5 a.m. She was a house maid and worked at multiple houses every day.

We sat in a plush climate-controlled room and deliberated climate change as the outside world collapsed around us..

Toilet under the open sky for 73% of rural India

The Planning commission has found that 73% of rural India practices open defecation despite many sanitation programmes encouraged by the government. The main reason for this is the unavailability of toilets.

The monsoon brings with it water-borne diseases like diarrhoea, cholera and dysentery, which cause suffering and death. Although this is a recurring theme annually, not enough measures are taken to prevent this. The state of Assam decided to take some action in May of this year.

UNICEF recently conducted a workshop in Raipur to highlight the importance of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) in schools. WASH is essential for the all-round well-being of all children, especially girls. 

Mrs Reena Kangale, Mission Director, Sarva Sikhsha Abhiyan, Chhattisgarh during inaugural address

Photo Courtesy: UNICEF Chhattisgarh

A close examination of these two issues shows that the water and sewage challenge is already grave and could get worse. With this as the backdrop, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), a public interest research and advocacy organisation based in New Delhi, organised a two day conference called the Anil Agarwal Dialogue on “Excreta does matter”. The conference took place at the Jacaranda Hall, India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road, New Delhi on 4 and 5 March 2013.

The dialogue aimed at furthering the agenda of CSE’s seventh State of India’s Environment report titled Excreta Matters. This report is a comprehensive survey of the situation of water and wastewater management in 71 Indian cities. The study found that most cities lack a basic policy direction on how best to tackle issues of demand, supply and treatment of water, and of management of sewage. 

The Dialogue being the first of its kind brought together a wide range of professionals, activists, practitioners, policy makers, academicians, researchers and administrators from the water sector. The event was aimed at drawing attention on the critical issues of how cities will get affordable and sustainable water and waste systems that can supply to all and take back and treat the sewage of all.