Injustice gets nastier

Water scarcity accentuates discrimination against the socially backward

How pure are their claims?

Manoj Lodhiwal is the head salesperson at a household appliance store in south Delhi. Every morning as the storeowner performs puja, he examines how and where to display products. “The facade must remain stacked with home water purifiers; they are the hottest items,” Lodhiwal said. His store is in Mohan Singh market, an electronics and household appliance hub in Delhi. The frontage of most shops here display water purifiers—from low-cost variants priced at Rs 999 to the ones with more attractive features, worth Rs 50,000.

Water yield estimates

Planning Commission (1982) 3,544 mcm: average annual yield 2,138 mcm: dependable yield 1,415mcm: usable yield National Water Development Agency (1989) 5,320 mcm: average annual yield 3,170 mcm: dependable yield 1,517 mcm: usable yield Goa’s expert panel (2000) 3,170 mcm: dependable yield 1,528 mcm: usable yield

Science And Technology - Briefs

TECHNOLOGY LCData

Babhali, barrage of contention

TELUGU Desam Party chief Chandrababu Naidu reignited the Godavari river water sharing controversy when he was arrested last month on his way to the Babhali barrage in Maharashtra’s Nanded district.

Life in a radiation zone

The recent incident involving a large number of workers at the Kaiga Atomic Power Station in Karnataka receiving substantial radiation doses due to drinking from a cooler contaminated with tritiated water (containing a radioactive isotope of hydrogen) is disturbing for a number of reasons. The nuclear establishment has tried to trivialize the import of this event.

It pickpockets water

Ever wondered what it is that makes a glass of liquid as mundane as water the most satisfying of all drinks? Which part of the tongue senses this as the irreplaceable quencher on a hot and thirsty day?  

Ideas to save government money

There is something about India’s government machinery that makes it impervious to simple, low-cost solutions. It spends hundreds of crores of rupees to make available drinking water. The money, it is widely known, does not trickle down to villages that need potable water. The government knows it cannot achieve its goal with a centralized mindset.

Drinking water audit report by March 2011

On reasons for conducting social audit Social audit means involving people in an audit process. It provides a platform to the public to voice their grievances. We wanted to reach out to the common man as many problems affecting them go unheard. A social audit would give them a platform. On people's response In March, we advertised in newspapers asking people to share their opinions and problems through emails, letters or fax.    

Promises of purifiers