Wastewater

Bangalore garbage finds dumping place in Mandur: Civic body promises better infrastructure projects for communities living there

A visit to Oddoor farms near Mangalore, Karnataka, provides an inspiring example of the efforts made by Rajesh Naik ji to transform 120 acres of barren land into a lush green farm through his persistent efforts of creating a two acre and fifty feet deep lake, which has not only transformed the surrounding area, but has also helped in improving the water table in the surrounding village, besides helping in the development of a self sufficient organic farm and a dairy.

Oddoor farms, around 25 kilometres away from Mangalore city is a great example of a very successful effort made by Rajesh Naik ji who has transformed 120 acres of barren land into a self sufficient organic farm by developing a 50 feet lake on two acres of land.  The journey has been a long one and not without its share of challenges, but persistence and constant optimism and hard work to overcome challenges has reaped results in the last twenty years, informs Rajesh Naik ji.

Rajesh Naik ji near the lake he has developed at the Oddoor farms near Mangalore

This report by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) presents strategies for inclusive rural development embodying the principles of environmental sustainability. It recommends measures needed to achieve green, including measuring and tracking, the use incentives and the building of capacities. It also contains a number of case studies showing how green results can be achieved.

Kerala is a rain blessed state in the country. It has highest  number of wells, when compared with other states. However due to its slanting topography there is significant decline in the ground water levels leading to severe water scarcity during summer months in most districts of the state. Further over extraction and dependence of groundwater for domestic use from the dug wells especially in rural pockets has resulted in several groundwater problems. In this backdrop the paper in  The Ecosan- An International Quarterly Journal of Environmental Science, sheds light on groundwater quality issues in two panchayats of Kerala.

Article Courtesy: Delft University of Technology

Author(s): Matthijs Brouns, Merijn Janssen, Andrew Wong

Land use changes  hydrologic system and have potentially large impacts on water resources. An assessment in an area with seasonally limited water availability and which is subject to rapid socio- economic development and population growth will provide an exemplary view on the local impacts of major recent developments in India. In this backdrop this paper analyzes past land use changes between 1989 and 2009 and their impacts on the water balance in the Mula and Mutha Rivers catchment upstream of Pune. The aim of the paper is:

• assess the land use changes between 1989/1990 and 2009/2010
• analyze the impacts of these changes on the long-term water balance components in the Mula and Mutha Rivers catchment upstream of the city of Pune.

Groundwater contamination is a serious, but relatively ignored issue in the country. This contamination occurs in either through geogenic or anthropogenic means. Fluoride contamination is one such example of geogenic contamination that is widely found in the Kolar district of Karnataka. However, the fluoride levels in the town of Mulbagal are lower than those in the surroundings. Earlier, a study was conducted on the impact of pit toilets on the groundwater in the area. The present paper investigates the presence of any link between these two phenomena.