This OneVorld video talks about National Water Mission which is affiliated under the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC).

National water mission was launched in 2009 in India which aimed at developing a framework to increase water use efficiency by 20%. The overall objective is ”conservation of water, minimizing wastage and ensuring its more equitable distribution both across and within States through integrated water resources development and management”. The mission aims at the recycling of wastewater using modern techniques.

This project will be organized through Inter-Sectoral Groups in India including related Ministries, Ministry of Finance, The Planning Commission, Experts from industry, Academia, and Civil society.

The development of the overall framework includes recycling of wastewater, low-temperature desalination technologies, basin-level management strategies, new regulatory structures, expanding irrigation, recharging of underground water sources, drip, ridge and furrow irrigation.

This OneVorld video discusses a plan for the implementation of the conservation and management of water resources in India.

Proposed By: GN Kathpalia and Rakesh Kapoor

Timeline :

1. The first national policy was created in September 1987
2. Updated in April 1, 2002, by National Water Resources Council
3. This was followed by an update in 2012

What is the Water Action Policy 2020 ? Is there a need for this alternative ? How do we conserve, manage, save, maintain and utilise these resources ? How will this plan help in decision making by the authorities ?

So, what is the Water Action Policy ?

Water Resources in India, for now, is being managed by central and state government mostly. The plan suggests that there should be a shift in the work division at the level of local communities also. This requires the setting up of different community organizations like Watershed Management Associations(WMAs), Water Users Association (WUAs), JFM, RWAs.

Key concepts in the plan for water conservation and management are drinking and domestic use of water, water pollution, watershed management, flood and drainage management, underground water conservation, irrigation, cultivation, hydropower, industrial and thermal power management, sectoral allocation, navigation, demand management, and resources assessment.

Implementation –

1. Partnership with communities in Water Resource Management
2. Changes in the institutional structure
3. Implementation of water-shed projects
4. Legal changes
5. Project implementation
6. Financing projects and water service charges
7. Maintenance and modernisation
8. Action program and important implementation aspects
9. Research and training

BTP Students: Sejal Kumar / Aysha Fazilath / Rahul Patwardhan / Vyshakh Dharan
Video Input: Utsav Rohilla / Nitin Yadav / Aditya Diundi

This informative OneVorld video gives us some insights into the Ganga Pollution. Ganga is one of the most polluted rivers in the world. It flows through over 100 cities with a population in lakhs and takes heavy toxic metals like lead and copper. The average BOD level of the river around the year is 38 mg/L which is a lot more than the bar of the severely polluted rivers. However, many cleanup efforts have been made to clean the river Ganga. One of the main was Ganga Action Plan which was launched by Rajiv Gandhi in 1986 on which 862.59 crore rupees were spent. Its main objective was to treat the domestic sewage and prevent the toxic industrial chemical waste from being dumped into the river.

Ganga River is a trans-boundary river that flows through India and Bangladesh with a length of 2525 km. It originates in the western Himalayas and the Uttarakhand and ends up in the Bay of Bengal. It is the most sacred river and worshipped as Goddess Ganga in Hinduism. It is a lifeline to millions and is however itself dying. In recent years the Ganga has suffered a lot from pollution and the pollution level is now above the acceptable range.

The B.O.D. level for a prestige river is around 1 mg/l and ranges from 2-8 mg/l for moderately polluted rivers. Rivers with B.O.D. level above 8 mg/l are considered to be severely polluted. The average B.O.D. level around the year has been 38 mg/l. It had to suffer as it takes so much waste including toxic metals like lead and copper. The river flows through 100 cities with a population in lakhs.

IIITD Student B.Tech Project. BTP Supervisor: Prof. Manohar Khushalani
BTP Students: Sejal Kumar / Aysha Fazilath / Rahul Patwardhan / Vyshakh Dharan
Video Input: Utsav Rohilla / Nitin Yadav / Aditya Diundi

This OneVorld video explains the Yamuna Action Plan which was introduced in 1993 as one of the largest restoration projects in India. It is a bilateral project between India and Japan. It was launched in 1993. The 1st phase was carried out by National River Conservation Directorate. It focused on building new and expanding the capacity of old sewage treatment plants.

In 1993 when the Yamuna was declared as the dirtiest river in the country, YAMUNA ACTION PLAN came into existence.

There was a threat to aquatic life as well as water shortage problems due to years of sewage dumping. It was decided to divide and complete it in three phases. The project spans from Hatnikund (Haryana) till the point where Yamuna meets the River Ganga along with Sindh River and Chambal River.

According to initial surveys, it was found that 22kms of Yamuna’s stretch which is through Delhi was the major contributor to pollution.

First phase covered Delhi, eight towns in Uttar Pradesh and six towns in Haryana. Second phase emphasised on the 22 kms stretch in Delhi. Third phase of the plan was initiated in 2013 despite the debates around the success of the first two phases.

But somehow, despite all this planning, studies warned that Delhi’s waterway was toxic even after treatment and should not be used for drinking or irrigation. The condition is still not improved even after years of planning and investment. It’s not just sewage dumping but many of our practices that have led to these disastrous scenarios. People can now literally see foam from Google Earth. It is high time to rethink our actions and its effects.

IIITD Student B.Tech Project. BTP Supervisor: Prof. Manohar Khushalani
BTP Students: Sejal Kumar / Aysha Fazilath / Rahul Patwardhan / Vyshakh Dharan
Video Input: Utsav Rohilla / Nitin Yadav / Aditya Diundi

Guru Das Agrawal also known as Sant Swami Sanand, Sant Swami Gyan Swaroop Sanand (20 July 1932 – 11 October 2018) was an Indian environmental engineer, religious leader, monk, environmental activist, professor, and he was the Patron of Ganga Mahasabha founded by Madan Mohan Malviya in 1905.

Agrawal died on 11 October 2018, after fasting since 22 June 2018, demanding the government act on its promises to clean and save the Ganga.

Prof. Manohar Khushalani from IIIT-Delhi appeared live on 12th October 2018, on News 24 at 4.55 pm on a program on Ganga – Panch ki Panchayat. IIT Professor, Dr G. D. Agarwal’s departure from this planet after a fast unto death has refocused on the significant issue of Pollution of our Rivers. The program was shot in an Interesting format of a Panel Discussion in the open studio in Connaught Place. The format brought back Khushalani’s  Street Theatre memories, spiced with pangs of Nostalgia, as he is one of the pioneers of street theatre movement in Delhi

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Can Hydropower compete financially with Solar energy. This podcast says it all

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Even though digging new borewells was disallowed in many cities, builders were allowed to use borewells for construction. This led to misuse of ground water after cogroundwatermpletion of the structure.

To improve the groundwater levels in the city, the Karnataka Groundwater Authority (KGA)-appointed committee has decided to refuse permission to use borewell water for building construction.

“Builders were giving ‘construction as the reason while seeking permission to dig borewells. In some places, the groundwater is as good as drinking water. We can’t let freshwater be wasted on construction. So, from now on, builders should only use treated water,” a senior BWSSB official told DH.

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Based on the famous story from the Indian epic, Mahabharata, wherein Arjuna, with his arrow, draws a water fountain from the ground to quench the thirst of his Guru, Bhisham Pitamah, ITV launches its Water Conservation campaign, with a creative cartoon

The last two years have been difficult for residents of India’s eastern city of Chennai in Tamil Nadu State. Monsoon rains have failed for two years and the city has braved a heat wave compounded by water scarcity.

On 19 June 2019, the state government announced that Day Zero—or the day when the city reservoirs were empty—had been reached. Local officials then announced that they would transport 10 million litres of water daily by train from 200 kilometres away to provide enough water, especially for the poor, to survive.

Chennai’s water stress is not unique to the city. From Cape Town, South Africa to Iran’s port city of Khorramshahr, individuals and communities in numerous countries worldwide have in recent years been suffering from water shortages.

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