Mandatory for Bengaluru malls, restaurants to provide drinking water free

Mandatory for Bengaluru malls, restaurants to provide drinking water free.
Bengaluru’s civic body, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike issued a circular to all multiplexes, making it mandatory for them to ensure that customers have access to free drinking water on their premises.
The circular reportedly came after the Bengaluru Urban district consumer forum adressed a complaint emphasising customer inconvenience at multiplexes and eateries over drinking water.
The Bengaluru Urban District Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum (DCDRF) was hearing a case filed by 47-year-old Sudha Katwa, after she was denied free water on May 29, 2016 by an outlet of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) in a Yeshwantpur mall.
She was instead told that she would have to buy bottled drinking water, reported the Times of India.
TOI report quoted Sudha as saying, "People are asked to pay for drinking water though it is the responsibility of the eatery to provide it for free.
In some cases, eateries provide water but the surroundings are unhygienic.
Most of the time, it’s kept next to toilets.
A mall in west Bengaluru has 34 food outlets on one of its floors and drinking water is available at one remote corner.
In most malls, customers are forced to either run around to find water or pay for water bottles".

Govt ensures access to safe drinking water for Marawi displaced persons

Govt ensures access to safe drinking water for Marawi displaced persons.
ILIGAN CITY/MINDANAO HOUR, June 10 (PIA) – Unsafe drinking water has been an identified concern at evacuation centers located in Balo-i, Pantao Ragat and Pantar towns in Lanao del Norte province.
In a meeting with the Regional Command and Coordination Center (RCCC) in Iligan City, National Incident Management Team (NIMT) Commander Col Mario Verner S Monsanto reported that based on the assessment of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Department of Health (DOH) unsafe drinking water has been a recurring concerns under the WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) and Health clusters.
To address this, Col Monsanto, overseer of the Cagayan de Oro City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) department, said they have coordinated with the Balay Mindanaw Foundation and borrowed the Skyhydrant water ultra-filtration unit and came up “how we can produce water” with the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP).
According to Aili Gatuslao of Balay Mindanaw, this low-pressure membrane technology donated by Disaster Aid International (DAI) can produce 1,000 liters of water per hour and is highly effective in removing all non-dissolved species in feed water.
Further, the potable water produced from this 16 kgs.
Monsanto also reported that the NIMT was able to come up data on internally displaced persons (IDPs) using a map which can be viewed through the Facebook account at NIMT Marawi Crisis and they are able to trace IDPs including different hospitals located in Iligan City and Lanao del Norte.
NIMT has been activated following the clashes between the government and the Maute terror group.
The team is tasked to ensure safety of the responders, IDPs among others; address welfare of IDPs in evacuation centers; identify the critical resources that would be given in evacuation centers; and coordination.
DAI and Balay Mindanaw have been major partners since 2011, after Typhoon Sendong hit Cagayan de Oro.

Govt ensures access to safe drinking water for Marawi displaced persons

Govt ensures access to safe drinking water for Marawi displaced persons.
ILIGAN CITY/MINDANAO HOUR, June 10 (PIA) – Unsafe drinking water has been an identified concern at evacuation centers located in Balo-i, Pantao Ragat and Pantar towns in Lanao del Norte province.
In a meeting with the Regional Command and Coordination Center (RCCC) in Iligan City, National Incident Management Team (NIMT) Commander Col Mario Verner S Monsanto reported that based on the assessment of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Department of Health (DOH) unsafe drinking water has been a recurring concerns under the WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) and Health clusters.
To address this, Col Monsanto, overseer of the Cagayan de Oro City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) department, said they have coordinated with the Balay Mindanaw Foundation and borrowed the Skyhydrant water ultra-filtration unit and came up “how we can produce water” with the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP).
According to Aili Gatuslao of Balay Mindanaw, this low-pressure membrane technology donated by Disaster Aid International (DAI) can produce 1,000 liters of water per hour and is highly effective in removing all non-dissolved species in feed water.
Further, the potable water produced from this 16 kgs.
Monsanto also reported that the NIMT was able to come up data on internally displaced persons (IDPs) using a map which can be viewed through the Facebook account at NIMT Marawi Crisis and they are able to trace IDPs including different hospitals located in Iligan City and Lanao del Norte.
NIMT has been activated following the clashes between the government and the Maute terror group.
The team is tasked to ensure safety of the responders, IDPs among others; address welfare of IDPs in evacuation centers; identify the critical resources that would be given in evacuation centers; and coordination.
DAI and Balay Mindanaw have been major partners since 2011, after Typhoon Sendong hit Cagayan de Oro.

Shortage of drinking water

Shortage of drinking water.
There are millions of people all over the world who don’t have access to water, if they have access that water is unable to be used.
About 70% of Earth’s surface covered with water and 3% of it is actually fresh water that is for human consumption.
On the entire earth, water is the most important thing, but there is shortage of clean drinking water in Balochistan.
People have to walk for miles in search of water and one can imagine the endurance one has to face in the holy month of Ramadan.
According to the reports 62% of Balochistan is deprived of safe during water and more than 58% of its land is unculativable due to water scarcity.
It is hardly imaginable that why the people of Balochistan are left to suffer.
While the government is trying to build a world-class port but the city remains deprived of water and electricity.
We feel disappointed.
Via email Related

Changing the way the world views and manages water: Storytelling through photos

The High Level Panel on Water and Connect4Climate announced today that the winner of the Instagram Photo Competition — #All4TheGreen Photo4Climate Contest Special Blue Prize — for the best photo on water is Probal Rashid, from Bangladesh, with a photo taken in his country showing how water stress is affecting individuals in his community.
What is the value of water to you?
Rani, 9, collects rainwater for drinking.
Rainwater is the main source of drinking water in the village of Shyamnagar, Satkhira, Bangladesh.
It’s a great honor to win this competition and I hope it will create more awareness on this issue,” said Probal Rashid during the announcement of the winner, on June 8th, World Oceans Day.
“Rainwater is the main source of drinking water due to sea level rise.
First, they want to change the way the world views and manages water.
This prize is very important, because it will help the world change the way we view and manage water,” said Juwang Zhu, Director of the Division for Sustainable Development at the UN.
After the announcement, Director Zhu added: “By interesting coincidence, the Prime Minister of Bangladesh is on the [High Level] Panel, and we are going to meet towards the end of July.
Climate change is making the harsh environment harder and water resources more limited.

Bengaluru malls, hotels to provide drinking water free of cost, it is mandatory now

Bengaluru malls, hotels to provide drinking water free of cost, it is mandatory now.
All eateries including those in malls, hotels, restaurants and most importantly, multiplexes in Bengaluru have to provide free, clean, pure drinking water to all customers.
The city’s civic agency, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike issued a circular to all multiplexes mandating them to ensure that customers have access to free drinking water on their premises.
BBMP commissioner N Manjunath Prasad issued the circular following a recent order by the Bengaluru Urban district consumer disputes redressal forum.
The forum that heard a complaint highlighting customer inconvenience at multiplexes and eateries when it comes to drinking water ordered that customers should be given drinking water free of cost.
The forum in April had asked the BBMP to file a compliance report on the implementation of the order within two months.
The complainant who highlighted the matter said that it was unfair to force customers to pay for drinking water which is a right.
"People are asked to pay for drinking water though it is the responsibility of the hotel or eatery to provide it for free.
In most malls, customers are forced to either run around to find water or pay for water bottles.
Oneindia News

All schoolchildren deserve clean, safe drinking water: Connie Leyva and Eloise Gomez Reyes

All schoolchildren deserve clean, safe drinking water: Connie Leyva and Eloise Gomez Reyes.
If no one tested the water, those pipes could remain in use for decades — slowly releasing dangerous lead particles into our drinking water.
Lead in drinking water can be dangerous for a person’s health, especially for young children with growing bodies and brains that are still developing.
This year, the San Ysidro School District found lead contamination in several drinking fountains at three of its local schools.
These numbers may seem small, but they represent dangerous lead levels in thousands of schoolchildren.
School districts are now able to receive free testing from their local water agency to check for lead and copper in their water.
Advertisement Earlier this year, we authored SB210 to ensure that K-12 students across California have access to clean drinking water at school.
Children spend a large part of their weekdays at school, and we are proud to stand alongside California families to make sure that our local schools are using the resources available to them to check for and fix the lead contamination that may be harming their children.
We urge you to contact your local schools and school districts where your kids attend to make sure that — if they have not already done so — they request free testing from the local water agency.
State Sen. Connie M. Leyva, D-Chino, represents the 20th Senate District.

Access to clean water improves health in Tanzania

Access to clean water improves health in Tanzania.
The Canadians are members of a PWRDF delegation that has come to the diocese of Masasi to learn more about All Mothers and Children Count (AMCC), a larger project that builds off work done during CHIP.
“Now, because water is here, it is easier for us now to educate people about [medical] treatment.” But having accessible water isn’t just about having water that is safe to drink.
Girls whose time might otherwise have been spent carrying water can stay in school longer, and mothers have more time to take their children to the clinic for a checkup, he notes.
Setting up a borehole is no small task.
Once the Canadian and Tanzanian governments sign off on it, the drilling can begin.
Once the borehole has been drilled, water samples are sent to a laboratory in Mtwara for testing.
If the water is deemed safe, the pump can be installed.
“You may find that work is going to take place, maybe in July or in August, but the process started last year!” says Monjesa.
“Especially for a hungry person, for a thirsty person, waiting that long period is very difficult for them.” Fortunately, according to Monjesa, all 30 of the boreholes dug as part of the CHIP program hit safe drinking water on the first try.

Investing in wastewater in Latin America can pay off

We are all too familiar with these figures: on average, only 50% of the population in Latin America is connected to sewerage and 30% of those households receive any treatment.
There is a large disparity in the levels of treatment per country: we see countries like Chile, which treats 90% of its wastewater, and countries like Costa Rica, which treats approximately 4% of its wastewater.
In 1990, 80% of the urban population in the region had access to improved sanitation facilities, which means a connection to a piped sewer, septic tank, or pit latrine.
The newly endorsed Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are adding a new dimension to our challenges in the sector by incorporating sustainability, which includes improving water quality, implementing integrated water resources management, water use efficiency across sectors, reducing the number of people suffering from water scarcity, and restoring water-related ecosystems.
Countries are embarking on massive programs to collect and treat their wastewater with the hope that most middle-income countries in the region will achieve at least 50% wastewater treatment rates over the next decade.
Historically, investments in the sector have focused on water supply and relatively little has been invested in sanitation.
Efficiently investing in wastewater and other sanitation infrastructure to achieve public health benefits, environmental objectives, and to enhance the quality of urban life is a major challenge for the region and this is highlighted in a recent report prepared by the World Bank on infrastructure in Latin America which states that ‘the dismal wastewater performance is a real emergency, and one that epitomizes the potential for spending better’.
To address these challenges, the World Bank is implementing a new regional activity to provide client countries with the analysis and guidance on improved strategies for the planning and financing of wastewater treatment, resource recovery, and water quality improvement investments and associated trade-offs in a river basin context.
The region will continue to urbanize and the competition for water resources is increasing.
It is furthermore an opportunity to reduce resource consumption along the water value chain and to shift from a linear to a circular economy.

Access to clean water improves health in Tanzania

Access to clean water improves health in Tanzania.
The Canadians are members of a PWRDF delegation that has come to the diocese of Masasi to learn more about All Mothers and Children Count (AMCC), a larger project that builds off work done during CHIP.
“Now, because water is here, it is easier for us now to educate people about [medical] treatment.” But having accessible water isn’t just about having water that is safe to drink.
Girls whose time might otherwise have been spent carrying water can stay in school longer, and mothers have more time to take their children to the clinic for a checkup, he notes.
Setting up a borehole is no small task.
Once the Canadian and Tanzanian governments sign off on it, the drilling can begin.
Once the borehole has been drilled, water samples are sent to a laboratory in Mtwara for testing.
If the water is deemed safe, the pump can be installed.
“You may find that work is going to take place, maybe in July or in August, but the process started last year!” says Monjesa.
“Especially for a hungry person, for a thirsty person, waiting that long period is very difficult for them.” Fortunately, according to Monjesa, all 30 of the boreholes dug as part of the CHIP program hit safe drinking water on the first try.