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Chitradurga residents urged to take water connections from CMC

Wednesday, 04 November 2009 04:47 administrator
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The Hindu 04.11.2009

Chitradurga residents urged to take water connections from CMC

Staff Correspondent

Government has stopped installing public taps, says Deputy Commissioner


Inspection: Deputy Commissioner Amlan Aditya Biswas walking through Jhatpatnagar in Chitradurga city on Tuesday.

Chitradurga: Deputy Commissioner Amlan Aditya Biswas has asked city residents to take their own water connections from the Chitradurga City Municipal Council as the Government has stopped installing public taps in the city.

Mr. Biswas, who visited some areas in the city on Tuesday following complaints of the lack of basic facilities, told the residents of Jhatpatnagar that it was not possible to install public taps, but promised that two small tanks would be built to store water. He instructed CMC Commissioner Vijay Kumar to begin the work immediately and promised funds from the district administration’s rain damage fund.

The residents who had gathered to express their grouses said that the CMC charged Rs. 7,500 a connection, a sum that poor people could ill-afford and expressed the need for a public tap. When Mr. Biswas sought a clarification from Mr. Kumar, the latter said that the total expense could not go beyond Rs. 3,000. The residents must have approached middlemen for water connections, he said and urged the residents to instead approach the CMC directly.

The residents then agreed to pay Rs. 3,000 each and a local leader has been asked to list the residents seeking a connection and accordingly submit an application to the CMC.

During his visit, Mr. Biswas discovered that many of the residents had built their houses right on the sewage line, creating obstructions for maintenance work.

Mr. Kumar expressed his helplessness in these getting such illegal encroachments cleared. “Every time we try to clear them, we get calls from influential people to stop it,” he said.

Dharna

Before Mr. Biswas’ visit, several members of the Karnataka Slum Dwellers’ United Association staged a dharna in front of the Deputy Commissioner’s office demanding basic amenities in the slums. They also demanded “hakku patra” for the dwellers.

Last Updated on Wednesday, 04 November 2009 04:49
 

Rejuvenating the Chalakkudy River

Monday, 02 November 2009 11:12 administrator
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The New Indian Express 02.11.2009

Rejuvenating the Chalakkudy River

Sudha Nambudiri

 

KOCHI: It is indeed ironic that Kerala with its large number of waterbodies is facing water shortage.

In an attempt to work out a solution that could be a model for revival and management of river systems, the Chalakudy Puzha Samrakshana Samithi (CPSS) and the Forum for Policy Dialogue for Water Conflicts have undertaken a research to track the Chalakkudy river through its several canals and work out a solution involving farmer groups to save the river.

“We have already mapped the flow of the river within the river basin, including its interventions, which will help us understand what has gone wrong and the possible solutions,’’ said A Latha, scientist and coordinator of the project.

She says there is lack of comprehension of a river basin as a single ecological entity along with a lack of understanding of upstream interventions on downstream water uses. The interferences within river basin is one of the major flaws in this most followed techno-centric model of river basin development and management.

“When the water meant for paddy cultivation is used for other crops, then there is every possibility that it gets exhausted midway and never reaches downstream causing conflict,’’ Latha adds.

One of the reasons for the project is the ongoing conflict surrounding the opposition to the proposed Athiramppilly Hydro Electric Project in the Chalakudy river basin in Central Kerala. The proposal for a seventh dam across this 144 km Western Ghats river had triggered widespread protests from downstream communities and an indefinite satyagraha is going on since February 2008 near the dam site demanding the scrapping of the project.

“For the first time in the history of Kerala a dam project is being opposed not on the grounds of rehabilitation issues or forest loss, but on the cumulative impacts of reservoir operations,’’ she says.

They are planning to form small farmer groups in 15 panchayats who will be able to take the message to the larger populace.

The present ‘action-research’ intends to arrive at a reservoir operations model to synchronise the year-round operations of the Kerala Sholayar and Poringalkuthu Hydro Electric Power station located upstream in the Kerala part of the Chalakudy river basin with the irrigation and drinking water needs of the major irrigation project (Chalakudy River Diversion Scheme) in the downstream grama panchayats and municipalities.

The reservoir operations model if implemented would stabilise the river flow and cater to downstream irrigation and drinking water needs as well.

Last Updated on Monday, 02 November 2009 11:20
 

Multi-crore water works projects may change hands

Monday, 02 November 2009 10:21 administrator
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The Times of India 02.11.2009

Multi-crore water works projects may change hands

Chittaranjan Tembhekar, TNN 2 November 2009, 01:03am IST

MUMBAI: Bureaucratic delays are taking a toll on the city's much-needed infrastructure projects. The Rs 7,000-crore Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL) between Nhava and Sewri and the Rs 2,000-crore Passenger Water Transport (PWT) on the western and eastern coasts are likely to see a change in ownership soon - even though contractors for their construction were yet to be selected.

After two unsuccessful attempts to put them into execution mode, Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) is reported to be giving up the ambitious 22-kilometer sealink project connecting Mumbai and Navi Mumbai via the Thane creek. The reason: it is unable to take part in high-cost public private partnership (PPP) projects due to its sinking finances.

"Instead, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), which is worth over Rs 12,000 crore, will take over the project as a partner in the PPP. The decision will be finalised once the new cabinet takes over,'' revealed a senior Mantralaya official on the condition of anonymity.

According to the official, the PWT project between Borivli and Nairman Point on the western coast and another between Gateway of India and Navi Mumbai and Thane, will also be taken over by MMRDA as none of the nine major infrastructure companies bid for MSRDC's tender despite extending the deadline for bid submission three times.

According to sources, change in the ownership of these two projects will take some time as certain formalities are involved like consultant's study, fresh estimates, cabinet nod, tendering, finalising designs and alignments, and formation of a special purpose vehicle for the equity partnership of the government and private agencies.

MSRDC currently incurs losses exceeding Rs 3,000 crore. The failure of its recent plan to revive finances by leasing out toll posts of Mumbai and Bandra-Worli sealink at a whopping Rs 4,500 crore has prompted MMRDA to take up this new assignment.

MSRDC's earlier attempts since 2005 to attract international firms for MTHL's construction failed as the Ambani brothers, both partnering with international firms, were locked in a battle for the project which led to a legal fight and ultimately a delay of more than a year and a half. Later, MSRDC scrapped the bids of both the brothers saying that it was impractical to build and recover the project's cost in extremely short and long periods. Anil Ambani's firm had bid with 10 years time while that of Mukesh with 75 years.

After this, MSRDC floated a cash contract a year ago with the help of finances from MMRDA. None of the international firms, though, responded to this contract due to the economic slowdown and the state's inability to pay against the depreciation in the rupee's value. For this cash contract too, several domestic majors had tied up with multinational infrastructure companies, but later did not turn up.

Once ready, MTHL is expected to carry more than 95,000 vehicles per day with most of the traffic headed towards Pune, Konkan, Goa, Thane and the southern states. With several new townships and infrastructure projects coming up in Navi Mumbai, industrial giants want to build this crucial link. It was suggested long ago by none other than both JRD Tata and Dhirubhai Ambani.

Similarly, a recent transport study by Lee Associates has found that nearly 1.86 lakh commuters from the city's suburbs along the west coast, that is from Cuffe Parade to Borivli, are ready to board catamarans and hovercraft immediately if made available, instead of the traditional locals, BEST buses or private taxis.

However, on the eastern seafront, the availability of commuters for water transport is poor - barely 12,548 but can be improved gradually, depending on the quality, fare structure and frequency of the services.

Interestingly, those ready to board hovercraft daily are fewer than those who prefer catarmarans as the latter is a cheaper mode of transport. The survey, though, states that the passenger potential for passenger water transport might fall over the next 20 years for various other reasons such as availability of more choices such as metro and mono rails and natural hindrances in water transport during monsoon.
 
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