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Irrigation
Gold diggers
Issue Date: Dec 15, 2005
THE controversy regarding a gold mining proposal in the Chilean Andes led to a violent clash on November 11, 2005, in Santiago between military police and protestors gathered to present a petition against the project to the government.
The proposed Pascua-Lama mine is to come up in the Huasco. It will affect three glaciers which contribute to irriga-tion for farmers downstream and also hurt the water supplies for 70,000 small farmers in the Huasco Valley. The Canadian company Barrick Gold, the world's second largest gold producer, had earlier said it would "move" the
A terrible confusion
Issue Date: Oct 15, 2005
A new report of the uk's forestry research programme (frp) has stirred a hornet's nest. Called From the mountain to the tap , the report uses evidence from 12 countries to incriminate trees and forests for water shortages.
Rice does not need water
Issue Date: Sep 15, 2005
Rice consumes about 4,000 - 5,000 litres of water per kg of grain produced. But it is no aquatic crop: it has great ability to tolerate submergence. Water creates unfavourable conditions for weeds, by cutting off sunlight and aeration to the ground. So, rice farmers adopted the practice of submerging rice in water to check weeds. Over the years, it has almost become a prerequisite for rice cultivation.
Unity in adversity
Issue Date: Aug 31, 2005
A grand mahapanchayat (mega assembly) was held on July 24, 2005, in Rajasthan's Sriganganagar district by thousands of farmers demanding more water for irrigation. The protestors were opposing the alleged mismanagement in water distribution in the Phase I area of the Indira Gandhi Canal Project.
Misdiagnosed
Issue Date: Jul 31, 2005
a project to turn a 145-year-old surface irrigation canal in Uttaranchal into an underground canal is threatening livelihoods in over nine villages of Dehradun district. The two-year-old proposal of the Irrigation Department (id) regarding the Dhakrani Canal, which supplies water from Ambadi to Herbertpur crossing, was accepted recently. The project involves piping the canal, which blocks the access of the villages to its waters.
Cola and the paddy farmer
Issue Date: Jul 31, 2005
On 7th April 2005, the Kerala High Court permitted Hindustan Coca-Cola Limited (Coke) to draw 5 lakh litres of water a day at its humungous bottling plant at Plachimada in Kerala's Palakkad district. This reversal to status quo means that the cola multinational (mnc) can now continue the activities that have harmed the livelihoods of hundreds of paddy farmers, mostly dalits and adivasis, of the region.
The Bharat Nirman outpour
Issue Date: Jun 15, 2005
prime minister Manmohan Singh approved a whopping Rs 174,000 crore for the Bharat Nirman scheme on May 16, 2005. The scheme, which will be operational from 2005 to 2009, acuses on improving physical infrastructure in rural areas. Its thrust areas are irrigation, roads, water supply, housing, electrification and telecom connectivity.
The lie of the land
Issue Date: May 31, 2005
According to Sripad Dharmadhikary, one of the authors of the report, "There is no official study on the impact of Bhakra dam on irrigation, food production or on its financial, social and environmental impacts. So, we decided to do a cost-benefit analysis of the project."
Jaya heeds farmers
Issue Date: May 15, 2005
the Tamil Nadu government announced on April 18, 2005 that it has shelved the Rs 300 crore New Veeranam Extension Project because farmers were afraid it would harm agriculture in the Coleroon river basin.
