Imphal, July 06 2017: Amidst the flood that hit the State following torrential rain, scarcity of drinking water has surfaced as people of the State particularly the valley districts are facing an acute shortage of clean water supply . Meanwhile, officials of Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) have appealed to all to use drinking water thriftily . Talking to The Sangai Express, Additional Chief Engineer of PHED, Loktongbam Swamikanta said torrential rain in the State has triggered flood and landslides causing untold misery to the people . Now people of the State particularly valley districts are facing problem due to acute shortage of drinking water as low lying areas remained submerged by flood water, he said . He appealed to all concerned to use drinking water thriftily supplied by the department through water tankers . During normal times, water from Iril River is supplied to the people after undergoing treatment at Porompat Water treatment plant. However, due to overflowing and breaching of river…

The state government is praying for rain and experts doubt monsoon will be below normal this year. Weather anxieties apart, what this could mean is this: Bengaluru could face water scarcity even as early as August. The government, however, says come what may it will ensure there is enough drinking water for Bengaluru. The Krishna Raja Sagara (KRS) that supplies water to Bengaluru is witnessing poor rainfall and every passing day gives signs that there will be acute shortage of water in the middle of the year. According to Water Resources Minister MB Patil, the KRS, which should have received 34 tmc ft water by June has…

To improve understanding of water scarcity and pollution among the coal industry, China’s leading pollution transparency NGO, the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE), has created a Corporate Water Risk Assessment Tool.
The water needs of China’s coal industry — including 2,769 power plants and more than 130 coal-conversion plants — are particularly challenging, because most of the country’s coal is located in the dry north, particularly the northwest.
IPE has developed numerous tools that promote open information around pollution in China, such as searchable pollution maps and indexes that evaluate pollution emission transparency of cities and supply chains of corporations.
IPE used its tool to evaluate the 30 top-earning coal companies listed in the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges, finding that most face substantial water risks.
The China Environment Forum interviewed Mingxuan Wang, the lead author of IPE’s report on its Corporate Water Risk Assessment Tool, to learn how it works and what are the next steps for IPE.
Q: With this tool, you and your team at IPE are not just looking at the risks caused by poor water management by coal companies, but also at risks associated with national and local policies.
IPE has published this information in a yearly Pollution Information Transparency Index (PITI), which has helped educate municipal governments on their progress in complying with China’s open information regulations.
The most challenging part is that a company is not likely to disclose anything against them in its annual report.
The key to reducing regional water risks is to understand local water policy and the water usage of stakeholders.
We hope this new water risk tool and the report we have produced will provide the government with some insights into the coal industry, especially from the perspective of water management, and present companies with guidance on the importance of water consumption, reuse, and conservation measures and on meeting wastewater discharge standards.

Jam Mehtab inaugurates building of USPCAS-W at MUET.
HYDERABAD: Sindh Education Minister Jam Methab Hussain Dehar alongwith (US AID) Mission Director Jerry Bisson and Deputy Mission Director Denise Herbal Thursday inaugurated the newly established building of ‘U.S-Pakistan Center for Advanced Study in Water (UPCAS-W) ‘ at Mehran University of Engineering and Technology (MUET) Jamshoro.
He extended thanks and appreciation to the American People and US Agency for International Development (USAID) for full financial support, including funding for this Center, and also thanks to the University of Utah for providing technical and capacity building support for the Center.
He also congratulated to the Vice Chancellor Mehran University and the Project Director of the Center for having such state-of-the-art building, adding that water-related challenges of the country which are multi-dimensional and multi-faceted could be addressed in accordance with the latest mehods and technologies of water preservation.
He said that water shortage, low system efficiency, conventional irrigation methods leading to inefficient use of water resources, low water productivity, mining of ground water including brackish water, limited availability of clean drinking water and so on were the key issues which needs to be addressed.
This is beside the challenges related to limited storage capacity and decreasing availability of water from the current water storage structures, he added.
He expressed his satisfaction to note that the Center was focusing on water-related issues in a big way and as a part of the Sustainable Development Goals, more particularly water-related SDGs which is crucial for advancing sustainable water development, given the enormity of water crisis Pakistan is facing.
He informed that Sindh Water Sector Improvement Project (WSIP) was also part of the Planning and Development Department and engaged in improving water use efficiency, overcoming water scarcity and implementation of IWRM plans.
We are also focusing our efforts to ensure supply of safe drinking water and sanitation services, the minister informed and added that Clean Water Project of Mehran University is also part of this initiative and many other projects.
Qureshi also addressed the participants of the inauguration ceremony.

He has senior water rights, and while he still had to make difficult management decisions during the drought, he ended up with more water than many of his neighbors and found ways to share it, a tremendous display of collaboration in the farming community.
I’m the 6th generation of my family to work in California agriculture.
During the recent drought, we were able to leverage drip irrigation and continue to grow our operations.
To what degree do sustainability and conservation factor in to the management decisions you make on the farm?
What drives your conservation ethic?
Farmers inherently know what sustainability is.
We must be sustainable if we want to continue to grow good products and stay in business.
I may be able to grow a great crop of tomatoes, but I didn’t know what it took to successfully restore habitat areas on the farm.
We worked with biologists and habitat restoration specialists to reestablish water fowl habitat and riparian corridors on the property.
I think the dynamic is changing because the agricultural community and environmentalists are finding a lot of overlap in our work and shared goals for a healthy environment and reliable water supply.

Water Crisis in Iran at Critical Level.
If, however, renewable water usage is between 60-80 percent, the country is in a critical water condition.
A renewable water usage of more than 80 percent shows an ultra critical state, so that we could say that Iran with its 88 percent of renewable water usage is now in such a state.” It is not just the fact that the Regime did not act to stop natural water resource from being depleted, there is also the issue of healthy water being polluted by wastewater.
“ Disruptions to water supply could cause health problems, especially during the current heatwave, mass migration as resident emigrate in order to find reliable water, and widespread protests as people become more and more concerned that their government isn’t doing enough.
How are the people coping?
In Sistan and Bluchestan province, water is so scarce that more remote regions are having to be served by water tanker and many villages are left uninhabited.
One resident from Delgan, in the south-west of the province, told the state-run media that this is the most pressing issue currently.
The unnamed resident said: “Water disruption lasts four to five days sometimes, which is quite disturbing considering the unprecedented heat wave.” This is despite the fact the Delgan actually sits atop an area rich in groundwater resources.
The water supply project for Lorestan province has been left unfinished after funding dried up and now 597 villages are without water.
On Tuesday, June 27, residents of Boodjeh Sofla Aslandouz village in Ardebil province and Shahidgah and Gharakord districts in Pishva, Varamin protested the water crises and shut down roads.

WSSCC, WaterAid Promote WASH for Refugees and Schools.
3 July 2017: The Water Supply & Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) is investigating the situation of migrants and refugees in humanitarian emergencies, and will present the findings at a workshop co-organized with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in September 2017.
Separately, WaterAid and clothing company H&M have launched a partnership to provide water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in schools.
From 2008-2016, WSSCC activities provided access to “improved” toilets for 12.8 million people, hand-washing facilities for 20 million, and helped end open defecation for over 15 million people.
Its 2016 Progress Report highlights the achievements made possible through its funding arm, the Global Sanitation Fund (GSF), since the fund was established in 2008.
The GSF has received more than US$117 million for activities in 13 countries, contributed by the governments of Australia, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK.
In 2016, the fund provided for WASH professionals to take part in 10 inter-country study exchange programmes with the aim of promoting ideas, innovation and good practice.
The GSF is the only global fund specifically focusing on sanitation and hygiene, and WSSCC Director Chris Williams highlighted the GSF’s contribution to achieving target 6.2 of the SDGs (sanitation for all).
For instance, from 2008-2016, WSSCC activities provided access to “improved” toilets for 12.8 million people, and hand-washing facilities for 20 million, while helping to end the practice of open defecation for over 15 million people.
An exhibition connected with the project demonstrates the experience of water scarcity from the perspective of schoolchildren, and will be on display during World Water Week in Stockholm, Sweden, under the name ‘Noori Tales: Stories from the Indus Delta.’ [WSSCC Press Release on Workshop] [GSF Progress Report 2016] [UN-Water Press Release] [WaterAid Online Gallery]

Yvonne Okoro Pays Fees For Needy Students.
Actress Yvonne Okoro has promised that she will be offering a supporting hand to needy but brilliant students as part of her charity organisation, Elizabethan Scholarship Scheme, this year.
“Glad to announce that this year my charity org Elizabethan Scholarship Scheme will be paying some fees of students in various schools,” she said.
However, she didn’t indicate when she will begin the sponsorship programme.
But her announcement attracted a lot of retweets, with many people thanking and congratulating her bold decision to support ‘struggling’ students.
The school fees paying project follows Yvonne’s annual charity campaign.
In April 2016, Yvonne Okoro won the love and respect of the people of Wungu in the Walewale community of the Northern Region, where she commissioned a borehole project to provide water for the town.
Natives, including school children, walk several kilometres in search of water daily.
I hope this project will go a long way to impact positively on the lives of the people of Wungu, especially the children and women,” she said when she commissioned that project.
Previous years, she did other charity works, including building a playground for underprivileged children at the Dzorwulu Special School in Accra.

BJP will not face any powerful opposition in Gujarat for the Assembly polls due to the continued differences between Congress leaders.
Meryl walks the aisle again – How to pull it off at age 67 No need to hide it any more!
Congress has yet not given its candidature for the next Rajya Sabha term.
The fight between Bharat Sinh Solanki and Shanker Sinh Vaghela has worsened the situation as they both are the Kshatriya leaders and hold the core vote bank of Congress.
Rahul Gandhi‘s support is awaited by both of them.
BJP Cheif, Amit Shah is taking the next assembly elections seriously and has decided to Visit Gujarat twice in the upcoming 10 days to meet party cadre and take stock of the preparations.
His first visit will take place on 7th July and the second one on 11th July and there he will address thousands of Panna Pramukhs.
It is moreover a matter of prestige for BJP to keep the 2012 election tally of 115 seats in the 182-member Assembly intact.
Water scarcity has always been an issue in Gujarat which was building some dissensions against BJP but this time BJP is lucky enough to have a good monsoon this year which actually created a flood like situation in Saurashtra.
Amit Shah is also trying to woo the tribal voters.

Agriculture minister discusses climate change, water issues in Rome.
Agriculture minister discusses climate change, water issues in Rome Rome, July6(Petra)– Minister of Agriculture, Khalid Hunifat discussed Thursday with the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development (AOAD) Director General, Tariq Al-Zadjali, challenges facing agricultural sector in North Africa and the Near East (MENA) region including water scarcity, climate change and food security .
On the sidelines of the 40th session of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) conference, that is currently being held in Rome, the two sides also reviewed agricultural policies and strategies to deal with water scarcity and climate change adaptation, which would increase demand on food.
During the meeting, Hunifat touched on the national strategy for food security highlighting measures taken by Jordan due to increase in the number of Syrian refugees in the Kingdom as well as the impact of the Syrian influx on agricultural employment sector.
The Arab Organization for Agricultural Development (AOAD) was established in 1970, with the aim of developing the natural and human resources available in the agricultural sector and enhancing their output based on technical know-how.
It also aims at facilitating exchange of agricultural produce between Arab countries, as well increasing agricultural produce in order to attain food self-sufficiency.
AOAD also focuses on supporting agricultural projects and processing industries, scientific and technological researches, as well as socioeconomic studies in fields related to food, agriculture and rural communities.
//Petra//WH