Observing that time was running out to save the Ganga, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asked States to take action against industries polluting the river. Addressing the third meeting of the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) here on Tuesday, Dr. Singh expressed unhappiness over the States' efforts in sewage treatment. He asked the State governments to send proposals for new sewage treatment plants, for which adequate funding was available with the Centre....

The agitation against the Kudankulam nuclear power plant can be seen as a case of activism gone berserk. The high-octane drama against the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) in Tamil Nadu has wound down. The seven-month-long agitation led by the People's Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE) at Idinthakarai village in Tirunelveli district, demanding the closure of the ready-to-be commissioned project, ended on March 27 when S.P. Udayakumar, PMANE convener, called off...

Ramaswamy R. Iyer, former Secretary, Union Ministry of Water Resources, has been a consistent critic of the idea of interlinking rivers (ILR). In this interview, he shares his concerns about the Supreme Court's judgment directing the government to implement the project, and explains why it is deeply flawed. Excerpts In your article in “The Hindu”, you have claimed that the government's stand on the project is ambiguous. The amicus curiae has,...

World Water Day is held annually on March 22 to focus attention on the importance of freshwater and advocate sustainable management of freshwater resources. Each year, the day highlights a specific aspect of freshwater and this year's campaign was on “Water and Food Security.” A large quantity of water, more than most people think, is used for producing the food we eat everyday. Water is a renewable and finite resource...

35.4 p.c. families walk more than half a kilometre for precious liquid The State's much-hyped development through industrialisation seems to have brought little qualitative change in lives of people in rural regions. If one goes through figures of the house-listing and housing census-2011, the statement holds true. The census finds increase in number of families those walk more than half kilometre distance to fetch drinking water during past one decade. According to the...