On privatising water
What about privatising water? Should India move to do it? What tips the scales in its favour, and what doesn't? In 2003, two editorials in Down …
The drowning of a city
There are both in Delhi - criminal waste, unendurable want. And in this city of verdant veneers, nowhere does the callous politics of …
I am green by choice , not by chance
Probably the first chief minister of Delhi to have taken a keen interest in the environment, Shiela Dixit has got a mixed response for her …
Renal emergency
Sri Lanka’s north-central region has been facing a health crisis for two decades. A large number of people in the region suffer from …
Pure myth
When was the last time you drank water straight from the tap at your house to slake thirst on a hot summer day, without hesitation. Chances are …
‘Separate power feeders can greatly improve rural electrification’
Over 65 years after Independence, nearly half of the 800 million people living in rural India are yet to get access to electricity. A major …
The past and present of rivers
Author(s): Karuna Futane We are a generation that has turned flowing fresh water rivers to rivers of sewage and garbage. We have lost rivers. …
Bill will push PDS reform
Development economist JEAN DREZE, known for his work on issues such as hunger, famine, social and human development in India, child health and …
Veggies delight
The rising demand for vegetables has opened up a money-making opportunity for small farmers. Already reeling from recurring droughts and …
Unravelling the food mess
Reaching food to people who need it the most has remained one of the most stubborn problems in India. The public distribution system (PDS) is in …
Global food crisis: causes and implications for India
Is there a global crisis unravelling? World food reserves are at their lowest in 25 years and the prices of most food crops are at a record high. …
Two technologies that shape our future
Battery and meters are two widely used technologies, yet no one stops to think how they work. They determine our future. They dictate how we …
To sell a resource
Water. A resource whose scarcity and inefficient allocation gives enough cause for concern. A concern which could find a solution in the concept …
Fire at Bayer plant
Toxic gas leak kills one, three villages hit
Residents’ lives in this Jodhpur basti revolve around water
Only downhill houses have water connections, others walk for several kilometres or are forced to use plastic pipes, pumps
Looking beyond privatisation
Book>> Privatizing water: Governance failure and the world's urban water crisis • by Karen Bakker • Orient BlackSwan • Rs 695
Bangalore parched
The garden city will have to walk on a bed of thorns with water supply becoming a scarce commodity by the turn of the century
Urban water management in Singapore
Singapore may just have discovered a remedy to reduce water wastage at the household level. The city is known for its long-standing efforts at …
Value for every drop
The World Bank funded project for the privatisation of rural water supply may create more problems than it seeks to solve
All rivers to Delhi?
In their greed for more water for the capital city, planners duck the question of wasteful expenditure of local water sources
Cost: Three rupees
..per villager per year. And the benefit of an ultraviolet disinfectant is potable water for a community of 1,000 people for 15 years
How to make Swajaldhara work
Intention and execution are not always related. That's the Swajaldhara lesson. Swajaldhara is a national-level rural water supply scheme that …
Who will provide water security to Chennai?
Chennai is battling sever water crisis with daily water supply of 550 mn l/day against a required 1,200 mn l/d
Managing water locally - a good model
In the Water and Sanitation Project implemented by the Tamil Nadu government with assistance from the Danish International Development Assistance,…
A bank to save the embarrassment of riches
Surplus food from hotels in the Capital is no longer thrown away: A non-profit organisation that started recently collects the food and …