Page 2 - Drinking Water

Drinking water access have reached 72% households in India: Union minister

Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Sunday said drinking water facilities have reached 72 per cent households in the country and the remaining will be completed by December 2024. When the Jal Jeevan Mission started in 2019, a little over 16 per cent of the households had access to drinking water facilities, Singh told a group of visiting journalists from Assam here. He emphasised that the implementation of the scheme is the responsibility of the state governments, and each state faces different geographical challenges and availability of water resources ranges from surplus to scarce. "We had prepared a guideline in consultation with the state governments and implementation of the scheme was done according to it", he said. Despite the challenges faced during two years of COVID, "I can say with pride that drinking water facilities has reached 72 per cent of the households", the Union minister said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has pledged that each household will b

2023: NGT cracks whip to spur officials to strive for cleaner air, water

As large swathes of India gasped for breath, choking on air laden with contaminants, the National Green Tribunal grappled with a wide range of environmental issues, including pollution of the Ganga and quality and quantity of groundwater and air pollution in 2023. It went to the extent of imposing huge penalties on states like Delhi and Bihar for poor liquid and solid waste management. In February, the tribunal directed the Delhi government to pay Rs 2,232 crore as environmental compensation for improper management of solid and liquid waste, while in May it imposed a staggering Rs 4,000 crore compensation on Bihar. The green panel also passed orders to check over-exploitation of natural resources. It took suo motu (on its own) cognisance of industrial and environmental disasters, and awarded compensation to the victims. A highlight of the tribunal's directions involved restoring the pristine sanctity of rivers, many of which are venerated entities like the Ganga and Yamuna. Express

Parl panel alerts contamination of heavy metals in ground, drinking water

The report was considered and adopted by the Committee in its meeting held on December 12

As more of world thirsts, luxury water becomes fashionable among the elite

Monsoon rains have finally passed and floods blocking the lone dirt road have retreated enough for a small truck to climb these Himalayan foothills to a gurgling spring. It spews water so fresh that people here call it nectar. Workers inside a small plant ferry sleek glass bottles along a conveyer. The bottles, filled with a whoosh of this natural mineral water, are labelled, packed into cases and placed inside a truck for a long ride. Ganesh Iyer, who heads the operation, watches like a nervous dad, later pulling out his phone, as any proud parent might, to show the underground cavern the waters have formed in this pristine kingdom, the world's last Shangri-La. This is no ordinary water. It will travel hundreds of miles to some of India's luxury hotels, restaurants and richest families, who pay about USD 6 per bottle, roughly a day's wage for an Indian labourer. Millions of people worldwide don't have clean water to drink, even though the United Nations deemed water a basic human

New York sues PepsiCo for plastic pollution, alleging water contamination

New York Attorney General Letitia James announced a lawsuit against PepsiCo Inc. on Wednesday, accusing the soda-and-snack food giant of polluting the environment and endangering public health after its single-use plastics were found along the Buffalo River. The lawsuit filed in state Supreme Court aims to require PepsiCo and its subsidiaries, Frito-Lay Inc. and Frito-Lay North America Inc., to clean up its mess, where its single-use plastic packaging including food wrappers and plastic bottles have found a way to the shores of the Buffalo River and watershed, contaminating drinking water supply for the city of Buffalo. No company is too big to ensure that their products do not damage our environment and public health. All New Yorkers have a basic right to clean water, yet PepsiCo's irresponsible packaging and marketing endanger Buffalo's water supply, environment, and public health, James said in a statement. PepsiCo is the single largest identifiable contributor to the plastic was

World Food Day 2023: We must not take water for granted

Freshwater is not infinite, and we need to stop taking it for granted, writes Dr QU Dongyu, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization

PM inaugurates, lays foundation of projects worth 4,200 cr in Uttarakhand

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday inaugurated and laid the foundation of multiple development projects in Uttarakhand worth nearly Rs 4,200 crore. The projects, numbering 23 in total, will give impetus to infrastructure, education, health, electricity, drinking water, sports, tourism, disaster mitigation and horticulture sectors in the hill state. The projects whose foundation stones were laid by the prime minister at an event in Pithoragarh included 21,398 poly-houses, cultivation of high density intensive apple orchards, five works of double-laning of roads and slope treatment of national highways and the construction of 32 bridges in the state. These also included strengthening of disaster management mechanism, expansion of education, health and sports facilities and development of temples in the Manaskhand area on the lines of Chardham. The projects inaugurated by Modi included various infrastructure development projects and those aimed at increasing availability of ...

Bisleri to scale up manufacturing, strategic distribution network

Packaged drinking water company Bisleri International is scaling up its manufacturing and strategic distribution network for easier and cost-effective placement of products and market gains, its Vice-Chairperson Jayanti Khan Chauhan said on Thursday. The company, currently, has 128 manufacturing plants and is looking to increase it to 150. The expansion would be through plants owned by Chauhan promoted company and its co-packers, which are exclusive to Bisleri. Bisleri is also expanding its offerings into CSD (carbonated soft drinks), premiumise through the brand Vedica Himalayan Spring Water, besides its mainstay of packaged drinking water business with an innovative approach. When asked about the outlook, Chauhan told PTI: "We are definitely going to increase our distribution, scale up on distribution and manufacturing for CSD for Bisleri. This strategic placement of manufacturing units and distribution networks will make it easier and cost-effective for us to get our products to

Odisha floods: Shortage of drinking water as inundated roads halt tankers

People affected by Odisha floods said they were facing an acute shortage of potable water and many were forced to drink floodwater after boiling it, while others feared consumption of it may cause water-borne diseases. The government, on the other hand, said it was sending water tankers to the flood-hit areas but those affected said the vehicles were not able to reach them as roads have been inundated in the deluge. Though the water levels in major rivers have come down, 75 more villages came under the grip of the deluge. A total of 6.24 lakh people have been affected in 11 districts, according to an official report on Sunday. The affected people have taken shelter in nearby schools which are surrounded by floodwaters. "My house and tube wells in our area remain submerged in floodwaters. We do not have access to potable drinking water. We are boiling floodwater and drinking it," said 68-year-old Kalandi Barik of Santhapada village in Rajnagar block of Kendrapara district. Like Ba

Yamuna level stabilises; Delhi likely to face drinking water shortage

Roads turned into rivers and water gushed into houses, crematoriums and shelter homes, impairing daily life in the national capital, even as the Yamuna's water level stabilised after reaching 208.62 metres, smashing the all-time record set 45 years ago by a significant margin. As the Yamuna waters inundated more areas of Delhi and rescue efforts intensified, the city stared at a drinking water shortage. The Delhi government has decided to cut down supply by 25 per cent following the closure of three water treatment plants -- Wazirabad, Chandrawal and Okhla. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who visited the Wazirabad water treatment plant, warned of rationalising water supply to deal with "acute shortage". He, however, said the water treatment plants will be resumed as soon as the situation turns to normal. Central Water Commission (CWC) Director Sharad Chandra said the rate of water flow rate at the Hathnikund barrage in Haryana dropped to 80,000 cusecs at 4 pm. "The water level has

CM Kejriwal warns of rationalising supply as Delhi stares at water shortage

The national capital is staring at a drinking water shortage as the Delhi government decided to cut down supply by 25 per cent following the closure of three water treatment plants due to the rising level of the Yamuna. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who visited the Wazirabad water treatment plant, warned of rationalising water supply to deal with "acute shortage". "Due to an increase in the Yamuna water level, many water treatment plants had to be closed. I visited the Wazirabad plant on the banks of the Yamuna. We will start it as soon as the situation turns to normalcy," he tweeted. In an earlier tweet, Kejriwal announced the closure of the Wazirabad, Chandrawal and Okhla water treatment plants due to the rising Yamuna level. "The water treatment plants at Wazirabad, Chandrawal and Okhla are being shut due to the rising Yamuna water level. "Due to this, there will be a problem of water supply in some areas. These plants will start functioning as soon as the Yamuna water recede

Crematoriums shut, medical facility evacuated as Yamuna keeps rising

Roads turned into rivers and water gushed into houses, medical facilities, crematoriums and shelter homes, impairing normal life and causing immense hardship for the people in the national capital as the Yamuna river water level rose to record high. Amid the flooding, the city is staring at drinking water shortage as the Delhi government decided to cut down supply by 25 per cent following the closure of three water treatment plants -- Wazirabad, Chandrawal and Okhla -- due to the rising level of the Yamuna. The river swelled to a staggering 208.62 metres at 1 pm on Thursday, smashing the previous all-time record of 207.49 metres set 45 years ago by a significant margin. Several key areas in Delhi, including the secretariat which houses the offices of the chief minister as well as his cabinet colleagues, were flooded on Thursday as authorities scrambled to lead rescue and relief efforts. Waterlogging at the Kashmere Gate bus terminal forced the Delhi Transport Department to terminat

Haryana govt approves Rs 834 cr for 795 drinking water supply schemes

The Haryana government on Monday approved 795 new schemes at an estimated cost of Rs 834.10 crore to augment drinking water supply in urban and rural areas, it said in a statement. The projects approved include 134 new urban water supply and sewerage schemes that will cost an estimated Rs 104.27 crore. The government also sanctioned Rs 801.48 crore for 286 already approved projects for the current financial year for the acceleration of works on flagship programmes of the Public Health and Engineering department in the state's rural and urban areas, it said. Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, who chaired the 56th meeting of the water supply and sewerage board, issued directions to identify rural and urban pockets that get waterlogged every monsoon so that proactive measures can be taken. He also asked for constituting a core group of officers of the departments concerned to deliberate on the issue and prepare plans for the effective utilisation of waterlogged land in fisheries, ...

Delhi BJP protest at DJB headquarters over 'shortage' of drinking water

The Delhi BJP, led by its chief Virendra Sachdeva, held a protest at the Jal Board headquarters on Saturday over a "shortage" of drinking water in the city. Many of them held placards with messages in Hindi demanding "clean water or resignation" as they protested at the 'Varunalaya', the headquarters of the Delhi Jal Board. Various other senior BJP leaders such as Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhuri and Kuljeet Singh Chahal also joined in the stir. "Today, at the Delhi Jal Board headquarters, a protest was held against the Kejriwal government regarding the shortage of drinking water in Delhi," Sachdeva tweeted with pictures from the protest site. Delhi's water situation has become "so bad that even in the posh Civil Line area where Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal lives, taps are dry and the water that comes is not potable," he alleged in his tweet in Hindi. "Shame on such a Chief Minister who builds a Sheeshmahal for himself but is not even able to provide

Hawkers must be prohibited from selling contaminated water: HC to MCD

HC allows Daiichi to withdraw Rs 20.5 cr deposited with court

Puducherry govt to spend Rs 500 cr on drinking water project soon: CM

Puducherry Chief Minister N Rangasamy on Friday said a comprehensive drinking water supply project would be launched in the Union Territory soon to ease the current woes faced by residents. Replying to a question by independent member G Nehru in the territorial Assembly during question hour, the Chief Minister said the government would also drill borewells in rural areas and bring water to urban localities to tackle the crisis. As much as Rs 500 crore would be spent to implement the comprehensive drinking water supply scheme in Puducherry, he added. Members across parties brought to the notice of the government the hardships faced by residents in getting safe and uninterrupted water supply. Nehru said there have been instances of people getting poor quality water, which caused skin diseases and even cancer. He appealed to the Chief Minister to initiate immediate steps to provide uninterrupted, clean and safe water to Puducherry's residents. PWD Minister K Lakshminarayanan said the

Karnataka to provide drinking water to 464,000 houses in Vijayapura: CM

CM Bommai said under the Jal Jeevan Mission scheme, piped water has been provided to 12 crore houses in the country of which 4 mn houses in Karnataka in the last three years

CM Gehlot approves Rs 362 cr for drinking water supply project in Udaipur

Rajasthan will spend Rs 362.13 crore to provide drinking water in 367 villages of Udaipur district. Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has approved the financial proposal for the project that will enable drinking water supply to these villages from the Som-Kamala-Amba dam, according to a statement issued on Friday. The financial approval was given in compliance with Gehlot's announcement in the 2023-24 Budget.

All rural households will have tap water in by 2024: Vini Mahajan

Centre supporting states to achieve the target, says secretary in the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Ministry of Jal Shakti

Will extra funds for rural housing, drinking water create enough jobs?

While cutting down the allocation for MGNREGA in the budget of FY24, the Centre has raised it for Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Grameen, and Jal Jeevan Mission