Voluntary Citizen or Civil Society Sector

Several threats have emerged in recent years to the pristine Himalayan rivers of Uttarakhand. These include: (i) the proposed construction of 220 dams (ii) the drying up of rain fed rivers due to deforestation and deforestation of their catchments (iii) release of untreated sewage from river side towns and habitations and (iv) illegal sand mining of river beds.

Forwarded to the Portal by : Maj Gen SS Sandhu, Chair SAFRG. The South Asian Fund Raising Group SAFRG is organising the 19th South Asian International Fundraising Workshop (19th SAFRW) will be held at the Jaypee Palace Hotel & Convention Centre, Agra , from 23 to 26 August 2008.

A slow sand filter built with Japanese aid is running out of use because the community cannot repair the broken pump. Can we help organize the community to take charge of its asset?!

Arghyam is looking for a dynamic individual to join our Urban Water Initiative in Bangalore as a Social Development Specialist. Post Location - Bangalore Start Date , Immediate No of Positions-1 Pay ,Commensurate with experience Resume to be forwarded to manikeshwari@arghyam.org Arghyam is a not-for-profit organization working in the water sector in India. Arghyam's vision is "Enough water, safe water….always and for all". Through partnerships and grants we support strategic efforts that address issues relating to equity and sustainability for all citizens. www.arghyam.org

The book published by Penguin India, explores traditional water management systems in 8 states of India, including Delhi, and is writte

We are trying to find the right person(s) to grow the Portal team.

Drop by drop ACCESS & HUL in Base of Pyramid Partnership for Safe Drinking Water for Rural Poor:

Yakalakshmi lives in Nekkunda village, Telengana region in Andhra Pradesh with her husband and two children. Though she has water piped to her house by the village panchayat, her entire family fell ill for a month last monsoon season by drinking water directly from the tap. "We all got high fever and severe diarrhea", she says, "we had to spend around Rs. 4000 on health care, which was very difficult for us". So when she got the opportunity this January to buy an effective water purifier through her Self Help Group (SHG) on an installment basis she was one of the first to sign up. Yakalakshmi is just one of the beneficiaries of a unique tie-up between ACCESS Development Services, a microfinance technical services non-profit organization, and Hindustan Unilever Limited, one of the country's largest producers of fast-moving consumer goods, to provide safe drinking water to rural poor. "Most of these villages have piped water or boreholes", says Padma, Project Coordinator at a local NGO, PEACE, "the problem is that tests by UNICEF in this district show that up to 70 percent of these sources are contaminated."The contamination gets even worse during the rainy season, especially due to poor sanitation and waste-management practices.

Last date for contest submissions is March 26th 2008 The Global Water Challenge (www.globalwaterchallenge.org) and Ashoka's Changemakers (www.changemakers.net) have launched a global collaborative competition to find the most innovative community-based water and sanitation solutions.

In Vijaywada a determined effort has been made by the municipality to subsidize individual connection charge for the poor and break this entry barrier which prevents them from accessing piped water. An explanation of the details of the project. Should this be the approach for ensuring water for all?

According to David Foster, it is the cost of 'free' water :