World Water Day Forum and Seminar

India Development Coalition of America
(http://www.idc-america.org/, info@idc-america.org, 630-303-9592)

March 21, 2011

Dear IDCA Member or Friend,

World Water Day is being celebrated today March 22 around the world. The official UN event will be held today in Cape Town, South Africa.
This years theme is: Water for the Cities: Responding to the Urban Challenge.

This is the first time in human history that most of the world's population live in cities: 3.3 billion people ...and the urban landscape continues to grow.38% of the growth is represented by expanding slums, while the city populations are increasing faster than city infrastructure can adapt.
The objective of World Water Day 2011 is to focus international attention on the impact of rapid urban population growth, industrialization and uncertainties caused by climate change, conflicts and natural disasters on urban water systems. This year theme, Water for cities: responding to the urban challenge, aims to spotlight and encourage governments, organizations, communities, and individuals to actively engage in addressing the challenges of urban water management.

Let us take time to learn more about the water problems faced by billions around the world both urban and rural. The Integrated Water Management includes: Water supplies, rainwater harvesting, building check dams, filteration and improving water quality, industrial use of water, waste water treatment, river pollution, ground water quality and availability, and water conservation. We have below provided some links to learn more about it. You may like to support some of the organizations involved in dealing with these issues.
To learn more about the water issues in India and around the world you may like to check the following websites:

www.wordwaterday2011.org/

www.indiawaterportal.org

www.irrad.org,

www.chitrakoot.org ,

www.waterhealth.com

http://www.rainwaterharvesting.org/

www.tarunbharatsangh.org

http://www.jalbhagirathi.org/

www.naandi.org

http://www.dhan.org/

http://www.wateraid.org/uk/what_we_do/where_we_work/india/

http://water.org/projects/india/
A 10 minute documentary, "Amritam Jalam" by Rajastha Patrika showing how they helped restore 386 water bodies to restart water harvesting in many parts of Rajasthan.

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/10938404
In addition, we at IDCA are pleased to invite you to our World Water Day Forum to be held on March 26, 2011 at the Oak Brook Library from 2:00 PM. We have 3 excellent speakers who have both more than 30 years of experience in the US and now are helping to help mitigate water situation in India. We will also be showing a 3 minute trailer of powerful documentary highlighting water problems in rural Rajasthan and some efforts to help mitigate the situation. Details are provided in the attached invitation.

Speakers:

Baki, Usman MM, MS, BS, Professional Engineer with experience at the Metropolitan Sanitary District of Greater Chicago will discuss his repeated visits to Vapi, Gujarat which is considered a Environmental Hot Spot.
He will talk of process operations, his work, and provide a review of his findings based on multiple visits to the CETP in 2009-2010. Mr. Baki Usman is well known is Chicago as a recipient of several awards for Public Services and has received National Recognition for his efforts in his field.
Koduri, Ram BE, M Tech, MS, Experienced in Water Ways Control for the Metropolitan Sanitary District of Greater Chicago has worked in India from 2003 in Andhra Pradesh, JNTU, funded by SEI and USAID. He is a founding member of "Rivers of the World"having worked on Water Management in Agra, Delhi, Haryana on Waste Water Management and Sustainability. He will discuss his projects and work in India, past, present, future.
Mr. Bill Natale, is an Emmy-award winning Director, the current head of the Illinois Center for Broadcasting. He is Director of WATER PRESSURES, This documentary uses the power of media to connect the Water Scarce Region of the Thar Dessert of Rajasthan with two inches of rain a year with the rich campus of Northwestern University by Artistic Circles.

The people in Rajasthan use 4 litres of water a day and the students at Northwetern use 400 litres a day. This effort is the Collaborative efforts of Water Management Projects in the Deserts of India by a U.S. University on Lake Michigan.
The students at Northwestern and Grinell University experienced first hand one of the most water distressed regions and observed day to day life with water management practices applied to agriculture and rural health. This is the Second Documentary on Water that will be available for Community Groups on Water Management the first being TAPPED which was shown last month.
Further details are available at: www.idc-america.org/upcoming.htm
In continuation, India Development Service, IDS will be having a Full one day Seminar on
Water on April 9th at Loyola University. http://www.idsusa.org/ . We urge all at IDCA to support this event by attending.

For more information please call Mr. Porus Dadabhoy at: 630-960-2425.

We hope you will be able to join us and encourage others to join also.

Looking forward to hearing from you soon and meeting you on March 26 and also on April 9.

Best,

Mohan L. Jain, Ph.D.

Trustee and Founder President,

India Development Coalition of America

http://www.idc-america.org/, http://idcoa.cloverpad.org/

"Working Together to Eradicate Poverty

and Mitigate Climate Change in India"

630-303-9592 (O)

World Water Day 2010-Clean Water for a healthy World

	The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is coordinating the organization of the World Water Day 2010 campaign on behalf of UN-Water and in collaboration with FAO, UNDP, UNECE, UNICEF, UNESCO, UN-Habitat, WHO, and the UN-Water Decade Programme on Advocacy and Communication as well as with partner organizations such as International Water Association, World Wide Fund for Nature and World Water Council.

International World Water Day is held annually on 22 March as a means of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources. An international day to celebrate freshwater was recommended at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). The United Nations General Assembly responded by designating 22 March 1993 as the first World Water Day. UN-Water is dedicating World Water Day 2010 to the theme of water quality, reflecting its importance alongside quantity of the resource in water management.

You may also like to visit the following websites to learn more about Water supply and Management issues in India and elsewhere in the world.

www.indiawaterportal.org

www.worldwaterday.org

www.globalwaterchallenge.org

GWC to help the Naandi Foundation bring clean water to 600,000 people in India

GWC will be supporting the Naandi Foundation, an innovative Indian nonprofit. With GWC's support, Naandi will be able to bring clean water to an additional 600,000 people in India.

We see great potential in Naandi's fee-based community drinking water systems. The inexpensive and scalable model makes it possible to imagine the day when everyone in India has access to clean water.

Naandi works with local governments to set up kiosks that sell water purified using advanced reverse-osmosis technology. Local communities are asked to contribute a percentage to the initial financing of the system, which increases ownership, improves accountability and helps ensure long-term sustainability.

These water kiosks transform rural villages, improving overall health and creating jobs. The benefits can also be seen in smaller things that make everyday life better. Villagers have told us that food tastes better when it's cooked with clean water.

Naandi is one of the three winners of the Ashoka Changemakers competition that Global Water Challenge sponsored. The competition sought to identify and invest in social entrpreneurs with innovative solutions that could be replicated more widely

www.waterhealth.com

Two million people, most of them children, die annually due to preventable waterborne diseases. Millions more suffer from stunted growth and development. It's time for a dramatic change — a revolution that will make potable water available, affordable, and accessible more rapidly, and on a wider scale than has been possible before.

WaterHealth International is leading such a revolution — the Blue Revolution — with a mission to provide sustainable access to clean, safe water to all, including the poorest communities. WaterHealth is already providing such access to clean water to hundreds of thousands of people around the world.

We are dedicated to extending the reach of our innovative, clean-water solutions to make a positive and lasting difference in people's lives — because water really does equal life.

http://www.unwater.org/worldwaterday/flashindex.html

www.water.org

http://jalbhagirathi.org/

GENESIS : The Maharaja And The Waterman Jal Bhagirathi Foundation (JBF) is the outcome of the persistent and committed efforts by Maharaja of Marwar, Gaj Singh, and Paani Baba (the Water Man), Rajendra Singh. Despite the apparent diversity in their ways of life, this collaboration had a strong commonality to develop a persuasive alliance with the people of Marwar to make the region water secure. Maharaja Gaj Singh was dedicated to making village communities self-reliant in Marwar. Rajendra Singh was keen to replicate the experiences of Tarun Bharat Sangh in water-scarce regions of western Rajasthan.

Rajendra Singh and his colleague Prithvi Raj Singh had often thought of Maharaja Gaj Singh as a potential partner in the region, but they were unable to establish contact with him. Then came the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Rajendras path-breaking work on community based traditional water systems and the Maharaja read all about him. The meeting between the two was facilitated by Prithvi Raj Singh and the stage was set for initiating a similar movement in Marwar. A workshop was organized in Jodhpur on October 5, 2001 with farmers and community leaders representing all the seven districts of the Marwar region. The workshop concluded with a decision to launch a movement in the region to mobilize and build the capacity of distressed communities in institutionalizing effective water governance in the region and development of their villages. When a Jal Chetna Yatra (Public Awareness Campaign) was organised from October 6-8, 2001, thousands of villagers came forward spontaneously. Construction of numerous water harvesting structures commenced in villages. This encouraging response laid the foundation for upscaling this initiative to other parts of the region. With the endorsement by the people of Marwar, a Jal Samwad (Water Dialogue) was held on January 11, 2002 to achieve a general consensus on the formation of an organisation. Principal community leaders pledged their support. The alliance was then instituted as a Trust with Rajendra Singh and Prithvi Raj Singh from Tarun Bharat Sangh and Maharaja Gaj Singh and Maharani Hemlata Rajye representing the House of Marwar.

http://tarunbharatsangh.org/

“…Good intentions, good policies, good decisions must turn into effective actions. Work is not being done by having a lovely plan. Work is not being done by magnificent statement of policy. Work is done when it is done. Done by people…”

www.worldwaterday.net

www.irrad.org

www.chitrakoot.org

www.wateraid.org

www.safewaternetwork.org

We believe the world's water crisis can be solved – with innovation, collaboration, and, above all, urgent action. Today nearly one-billion people live without access to safe drinking water; the need for development and validation of new approaches has never been greater. Safe Water Network is deeply invested in understanding the environmental, socioeconomic, behavioral and market challenges that prevent access to this vital resource. We are committed to working with partners and host communities to develop sustainable and scalable solutions that will stand the test of time.

Safe water has a transformative impact – increasing access to education, curbing deprivation and starvation, and enabling people to live healthier and more productive lives.

IDCA is organizing a Forum on March 20, at the Oak Brook Library to share ideas about cleaning water bodies from pollutants and cleaning waste water.

We invite you to share your World Water Day activities and stories related to Clean water projects you are involved with or know about.

WaterHealth India

Greeting from WaterHealth India,

We appreciate your teams involvement in various developmental program in reaching the community.

It’s my privilege to introduce WaterHealth India (WHIN) is a 100% subsidiary of Waterhealth Inc. Waterhealth India works with its network of technology and business partners for development, deployment and maintenance of cost effective water treatment solutions to customers/ parhappy to tners that can provide people with potable drinking water international WHO standards at an affordable price. WaterHealth Centers (WHCs) are distributed, decentralized facilities for purifying water and are quick, easy and inexpensive to set up. WaterHealth India builds, operates, services and maintains the WHC’s and monitors quality for sustained supply of drinking water. WaterHealth India is presently operational in AP, Gujarat & Maharashtra with installations in over 270 villages (WHCs) and another 50 under construction. WHI constructs, services, maintains and operates all these centers. WHIN owns water quality labs which test water samples from WHC’s regularly. WaterHealth India’s product portfolio includes products that can be used for treating specific type of contamination that are prevalent in various parts of India including Fluoride, TDS etc..

We would be happy to partner with your esteemed institution in providing Safe drinking water to the community members of urban and rural India.

80% of the water borne disease would be controlled by drinking safe water, hence request your support in protecting the community from dreadful diseases.

With Warm regards,

NCS Seema
Manager, Education & Social Marketing
WaterHealth India Pvt. LTd.
No. 206, Ashoka MyHome Chambers
1-8-301, S. P. Road, Secunderabad 500003
Andhra Pradesh, India
Office: 040-67011723
Tel fax: 040- 67011710
Mob : 92950 29040, 9701414337
E-mail: nseema@waterhealth.com

Akash Ganga: Saving Water for a Rainy Day--WSJ

Aakash Ganga: Saving Water for a Rainy Day
The Aakash Ganga experiment to harvest rainwater has been successful in Rajasthan. It is now being tried elsewhere, including China's Guiyang municipality. Experts interviewed by India Knowledge@Wharton note that if the Aakash Ganga model proves to be scalable, it could solve the problem of scarce drinking water all over rural India and, perhaps, elsewhere.

Yamuna Vigil--Day 8--Letter to Lt. Governor, Delhi

Yamuna Jiye Abhiyaan <yamunajiye@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, Sep 8, 2009 at 6:54 AMSubject: YJA - Yamuna Vigil
To: ltgov@nic.in

To,

Sri Tejendra Khanna
Hon’ble Lt Governor
DELHI

Respected Sir,

Greetings from Yamuna Jiye Abhiyaan.

Sir, as planned and informed we have been keeping a vigil at the HNZ Bridge for last six days now. The vigil during which volunteers exhibit banners and placards on the either side of the bridge soliciting citizen’s cooperation in not further polluting the river Yamuna and for sending across conservation messages for the river to one and all. The volunteers also request such people who wish to dump things into the river from the bridge to desist from doing so and to hand them over for safe disposal. Large amount of such material is being collected on a daily basis. The organic element (garlands etc) therein is interned in pits for composting and the non organic one (mainly polythese, paper etc) is stored for recycling in collaboration with the solid waste management unit of the Centre for Environment Education (CEE).

Sir, we have observed that since the vigil started the PWD has started to repair the fence at places where few unscrupulous people had cut windows in the fence. (Please see the enclosed pictorial report from yesterday). We commend the PWD on this step and hope that such repair work would not remain limited to this bridge alone, but include all other bridges (ITO bridge in particular) which are also misused by ill guided people to throw things into the river.

We wish to draw your kind attention to the fact that one of the most polluting period for the river is round the corner (Puja festivities) when large number of people are expected to converge onto the bridge and the river to put things into it. We accordingly urge that the officials of the relevant agencies (PWD and MCD) may kindly be directed to

a) Complete the repair of the fence on the bridge before the festivities begin during the later part of the current (September) month
b) MCD may be asked to set up puja samagri collection centres on either side of the bridges (HNZ and ITO bridge in particular) and DND authorities be asked to arrange similarly, so that the people are encouraged to hand over these left overs to these collection centres, rather throw them into the river from the bridge/s.

We are sure, based on our experience of around a week of the Yamuna vigil, that once these steps have been taken much pollution load could be taken away from the already beleaguered river in the city.

It may be reiterated that it is long over due that the MCD and the DDA took steps in accordance with a Court order that required them to identify sites and provide for puja samagri collection centres (enclosures) along the river in the city, so that the river does not get polluted from such activities, which due to the religious sentiments and beliefs of the people cannot just be wished away.

We hope that our request as made above based on field experience of the Yamuna vigil would get due attention of your honour.

With warm regards,

Manoj Misra
Convenor

-- www.yamunajiyeabhiyaan.blogspot.com

YJA-Yamuna Vigil Day 6 Blue caps for Blue River

From: "Yamuna Jiye Abhiyaan" <yamunajiye@gmail.com>
Subject: YJA - Yamuna Vigil - Day Six - Blue caps for the Blue river
Date: Monday, September 07, 2009 7:57 AM

Dear Friends,

After the break for a day (Sunday) we restarted the vigil today in themorning.
Students of a school in the Yamuna khadar (courtesy Sri Khanna ji)participated enthusiastically in the forenoon. Three volunteers from WWFIndia also came briefly. Also a volunteer from the local ISKON temple keptthe vigil for an hour or so.

The PWD (Public Works Department) kept its words and repaired the fence oneither side of the bridge. Even MCD (Municipal Corporation of Delhi) staffgot enthused enough to keep to its duties with due diligence.

All the polythene (in four sacks) collected during the last week, was handedover to the CEE staff for use as raw material in their Solid Waste recycledivision. This is converted into handicrafts by the associate NGOs of CEE.

People have started to question our accusation that the citizen's areresponsible for the sad state of the river. They contend that what aboutover Rs 1500 crores sent down the drain by the state agencies under the YAP?We respond that no one is taking the blame away from the state agencies. Butare not the citizen's equally to blame? One, for not taking the state totask and the second, for continuing to throw waste material into the river?

A pictorial report from today is enclosed. As a result of the repair of thefence it seems, the number of bags collected today decreased to 26 from over50 collected towards the later part of the last week. Pushp ji, Bhim, Sudha,and Vijay remain the core team of volunteers for the vigil.

The blue caps created by us for the volunteers is becoming quite popular. Itseems "blue caps for blue river" is proving an apt adage.

Happy viewing... Click here for pictures:

YJA-DAY 6 -YAMUNA Vigil September 7, 2009
Manoj Misra
Convenor

-- www.yamunajiyeabhiyaan.blogspot.com

World Water Day 2010--Theme, "Communicating Water Quality, Challenges and opportunities

The theme for World Water Day has been announced. It is, "Communicating Water Quality Changes and Opportnities." We need to spread the msg to our friends to organize the World Water Day, which is March 22, 2010. Any day during the week, it can be celebrated, as the entire week during which March 22, 2010 falls. As some of you may know, I have been celebrating this day for the last three years in Vizianagaram-Viskahpatnam area of Andhra Pradesh. If you can encourage school children in the areas that you originally hail from, it would be a start. It does not cost a lot of money. Organizing rallies, marches, poster competitions, seminars and forums in colleges and universities, hanging banners at main junctions in towns about the importance of water for sustaining life and economic growth and any other idea that you can think of can be undertaken. Usualy schools and colleges respond to do their part because it is educational. The links that you see in the attachment are all informative as to what is going on with the UN in that Water-Sanitation sector. View them, if ou have the time.Best wishes,
Prakash

Prakasam Tata, Ph.D., QEP
1213 Stonebriar Court
Naperville, IL 60540
USA

Tel: 630-848-1933
Fax: 630-848-1934

WWD 2010: Communicating water quality challenges and opportunities - Tettje van Daalen (Owner: Dick de Jong )http://www.worldwaterday.org/page/2536