WASH News South Asia
News feed maintained by information specialists from IRC and partners.
Pakistan: Safe water difficult to find in Balochistan
16 May 08
Balochistan’s land is “highly degraded” due to over-grazing, illegal logging and other factors. Water scarcity is at the root of the problem. Annual precipitation ranges from 50 to 500mm, with much of Balochistan lying outside the monsoon zone, and evaporation rates are extremely high.“No government has thought of the people, or put in place schemes [...]
Pakistan: WESNet Pakistan update
16 May 08
The WESNet Pakistan website domain (www.wesnet.pk) [not yet operational, the old WESNet site was hosted by IRC - http://www.wesnetpak.watsan.net/) has been acquired by IUCN on May 14th, 2008. In addition, WESNet Pakistan secretariat has been established and housed at Rural Support Programmes Network (RSPN) office to facilitate coordination at the national level.Read more: drinking water-Pakistan, [...]
Nepal: water cut off for not voting for the “right” party
14 May 08
Media in Nepal reported two cases of party activists cutting off water supply to those who had not voted for their party.Sixty two families of Angna-5 in Panchthar district were deprived of drinking water after their water supply pipeline was cut off by the cadres of CPN-Maoist party accusing them of not giving votes [...]
Nepal: Water Treatment Plant not in full operation
14 May 08
Hetauda: The Water Treatment Plant, constructed two years ago by Environment Area Assistance Programme (ESPS)* with financial aid worth Rs. 550 million from the Danish Government, is not in full operation. Only 15 per cent capacity of the treatment plant is under operation as some of the big industries producing wastewater in the industrial area [...]
Nepal: 15-year plan for drinking water
14 May 08
Nepal Water Supply Corporation Kaski has made a 15-year long-term plan under the ‘Mardi Drinking Water Improvement Project’ to provide safe drinking water to the denizens of Pokhara. Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is assisting the project. JICA will assist for pipes to bring water from the Mardi Khola to the reservoir tank near the [...]
Nepal: Campaign to check water borne diseases
14 May 08
With the advent of rainy season, three-month long campaigns and programs dubbed the “Water Caravan for Peace” have been launched in the Kathmandu Valley to minimize the spread of water borne diseases.Included are a 3-day long educational fair, training on water and sanitation, exhibitions on water testing techniques, street dramas, art competitions and peace races [...]
India: Depleted groundwater threatens food chain
14 May 08
The problem of groundwater depletion in India is exacerbated because Indian farmers’ electricity bills are either free or heavily subsidized. As a result, many run their pumps with abandon, further depleting water tables.In total India spends $8 billion to $9 billion annually subsidizing farmers’ electric water pumps. That’s half the amount spent on health care [...]
Pakistan: developments in WASH Emergency preparedness
09 May 08
The WASH Cluster in Pakistan, of which UNICEF is the lead agency, is carrying out a series of orientation, training, planning and capacity mapping events in the lead up to the monsoons. The first of these will take place in Balochistan / Quetta on 20-21 May 2008 (tentative). It is intended that this be replicated [...]
Pakistan: Distance Learning Program on Arsenic Mitigation
08 May 08
Distance Learning Certificate Program Social Capacity Building for Arsenic Mitigation Measures: Understanding the Health Risks of Drinking Arsenic-contaminated Water.Organised by: Urban Development and Environmental Research Center (UDERC), JapanThis course is based on the Environmental Health Criteria for Arsenic and Arsenic Compounds (Report prepared by the World Health Organization - WHO). The scientific language is simplified [...]
India: Unholy water - Delhi’s rotting river
02 May 08
The Yamuna is the largest tributary of the revered Ganges, but its polluted waters pose an increasing health hazard to the Indian capital. Now campaigners are calling for urgent action to clean it up.The Yamuna, which passes through Delhi, represents both a terrible irony and one of India’s great unsung scandals. The largest tributary of [...]
