Drinking Water | SilverScorpio.Com

Nitish promises clean water in fluoride-hit village

June 6, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

Haveli Kharagpur, June 6 — For most people in Bihar, Khaira never existed. Until fluorosis struck this village in Munger district in 1987.

Little has changed for some 5,000 inhabitants of impoverished Khaira, sited 200 km southeast of state capital Patna, since. Except, perhaps, for the number of people crippled – there’s at least one in every family – due to the intake of fluoride-contaminated water.

But on Saturday, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar vowed to make a difference by ensuring clean, piped drinking water for the villagers. Khaira, peopled by Dalits and those belonging to extremely backward classes, was one of Kumar’s stops during the fifth leg of his Vishwas Yatra.

He had conceived the yatra (march) to earn the confidence of the people. “The sight of such sufferings has deeply saddened me,” Kumar said as he walked to the red brick Buniyaadi School with a posse of officials.

The weather – it was hot and humid – didn’t slacken Kumar’s pace as he headed to a room where some 60 fluorosis-affected villagers had gathered to meet him. Only a couple of them could manage to stand straight.

Each of them had brought a rose, as if to thank the government for forgetting them. Kumar, touched by the gesture, was close to tears when the middle-aged Maheswar Prasad related his suffering.

“Prasad was fine two months ago. He suddenly fell ill, his body bloated like a balloon, and his legs caved in.

We petitioned the officials concerned seeking water purifiers, but in vain,” said fellow villager Dhirendra Kumar Sah. Sah’s 11-year-old daughter is also a victim of fluorosis.

He rued that the fluoride factor was preventing the youths of the village from getting married. “Matchmakers avoid our village like the plague,” he added.

The CM then surveyed a hand pump fitted with a filtration unit. He asked a local if the cylinder in the filtration unit was being replaced regularly.

A negative reply made him grill Public Health Engineering Department Principal Secretary Ravindra Pawar, who had accompanied him. Kumar subsequently directed officials to put up boards warning villagers not to drink contaminated water.

“Ensure that it is done,” he said before heading to a solar filtration plant

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Purifying water for the masses

June 2, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

A billion people have no regular access to clean drinking water, according to the World Health Organization. One company is using the sun and a simple chemical reaction to produce clean water wherever it’s needed – including in disaster zones. Ben Gruber reports.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: chemical reaction, clean water, Disaster Zones, drinking water, Gruber, people, Purifying Water, Sun, Water Health, Water World, world health organization

Magistrate allows Orissa labourers to work in cooler climes

May 11, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

Bargarh (Orissa), May 11 (ANI): With the mercury rising above 45-degree mark, the labourers in Orissa”s Bargarh District have been allowed to work in cooler temperatures.

“We have made arrangements for drinking water in the buses, if they ply after 10 or 11 a.m. The labourers have also been instructed to work till 11:30 am and after 3:30 pm. We are also putting this in the cinema halls through advertisements,” said Bandhu Bilhor, Additional District Magistrate.

Despite rainfall in other parts of the state, high temperature has affected normal life in Bargarh and the adjoining districts.

The district administration has made arrangement for providing drinking water to the commuters.

People venturing outdoors cover their faces with scarves, use sunscreen lotions and carry umbrellas.

“This year Bargarh recorded the maximum temperature, Earlier the temperature used to be comparatively low. From 9 am to 7 in the evening, the temperature remains high due to which we are unable to go to the market,” said Kanak Choudhary, a local.

At least 30 people have reportedly succumbed to heat across the country this year. (ANI)

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Demand of eco-friendly earthen pots increases in Jammu

May 7, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

Jammu, May 7 (ANI): With the onset of summer, earthen pots are becoming more and more popular in Jammu.
People are making use of these eco-friendly pots to cool water.

The pots are widely used by the poor but this year, however, it has been observed that even the middle- class and the elite are readily buying these environment-friendly refrigerators.

“Earlier, only the poor would use earthen pots to cool water but now we are observing that even the middle class is eagerly adapting this trend. Maybe it”s because of health concerns and rising number of diseases, or due to recommendations from doctors,” said Dharam Veer, a potter.

The pots not only keep the water cool but do so in an environment-friendly way. It is also believed that drinking water stored in earthen pots is also much healthier.

“After one year or one season of use, the earthen pot can be broken and it can be mixed with earth again. So it is a reusable thing. Secondly, if we limit the use of refrigerants like neon and all, they all cause depletion of ozone layer which contributes to global warming. So, in a way we are decreasing global warming,” said Ritu Ahal, a doctor.

The water stored in a clay pot has a refreshing flavor and gets cooled to as low as 14-15 degrees Celsius within a few hours. (ANI)

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Vice President becomes the second person enumerated for 2011 Census

April 1, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Apr 1 (ANI): After President Pratibha Patil, Vice President Hamid Ansari became the second person to be enumerated for the 2011 National Population Register on Thursday, one the largest census exercises carried out ever.

After being listed by the census, Ansari expressed his confidence in completing the exercise on time.

“Today we have initiated the exercise of Census 2011. But what is unique about this exercise is that not only is the census on traditional lines being undertaken, but a qualitatively different dimension is being added to it through the National Population Register. This is a unique initiative. Probably, there are not many countries in world who have done this. We are confident, we will be able to complete it and complete it on time,” said Ansari.

The 2011 Census of India will be the fifteenth census in the country and the seventh after independence. The first census in India was held in 1872.

The 2011 Census will see the engagement of 2.5 million enumerators, who will ensure that every single citizen is counted. The estimated cost of the Census is 22 billion rupees.
The mammoth exercise will be undertaken in two phases.

The first phase, called the House Listing and Housing Census, will be conducted between April and July this year. The second phase, called the Population Enumeration, will be conducted simultaneously all over the country from February 9-28, 2011.

Meanwhile, enumerators will also for the first time collect information like ownership of mobile phones, computers, internet, having access to treated or untreated drinking water facilities, and will also obtain fingerprints and photographs, which would help the government formulate plans and strengthen the country”s security.

However, the exercise has many challenges, which include coverage of a vast geographical area, widespread illiteracy, and diverse cultures and languages. (ANI)]

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Meredith’s water making us sick: residents

March 27, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

Residents of Meredith, north of Geelong complain their town water is so salty it is making some of them sick.

The local water authority says a new pipeline will make a big difference next year.

In the meantime locals just have to put up with the bad taste in their mouths.

After consulting a doctor, Carol Broadhurst is convinced she is allergic to Meredith’s drinking water.

She gets weepy eyes and skin irritations whenever she takes a shower.

“I had seven sties in five weeks, irritation all the time, weeping discharge out of both ears and the top of my eyelids are slimey, that’s the nicest word to use,” she said.

“It really is a bit of a joke that you can’t turn the tap on.”

She now relies on rainfall to fill her tank.

Other residents have told ABC News they suffer chronic stomach cramps.

One local egg farmer, Vincent Colla, carried out independent water testing which also revealed a high level of carbon.

He says that is affecting the health of his hens.

“You keep checking with other farms and you think there’s something not right here,” he said.

He complained to Barwon Water

“All they said was it’s not killing them. That tells me there’s something in there that shouldn’t be there.”

The water is sourced from the Moorabool river and services 370 households.

Reduced flows have almost pushed salinity levels above Australian drinking standards.

But Carl Bicknell of Barwon Water says the water is safe to drink.

“We have accelerated a project to put in a pipeline to give them a better supply,” he said.

“Barwon Water recognises the water isn’t up to the standard we’d like to supply.”

The water company says the town will be connected to Geelong’s supply by next year.

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Nerang water ‘all clear’ to drink

March 23, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

Authorities say there is no longer a need for Nerang residents on Queensland’s Gold Coast to boil their drinking water.

The alert was issued last Friday after E. coli bacteria was found in some supplies.

The Gold Coast City Council says it has yet to determine what caused the problem.

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Hope for boil water alert to be lifted

March 23, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

Gold Coast city councillor Peter Young says he expects Nerang residents on the Gold Coast can stop boiling drinking water today.

Council says E. coli was found during testing last week and 2,500 properties were affected.

Cr Young says he expects the all-clear should be given later today.

“Three tests have been undertaken over the weekend and all clear and based on that the council and the Department of Health decided to lift the notice but that was revoked so the notice stays in place until another clear test which will hopefully be today and then we can issue the all-clear,” he said.

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UNICEF cautions India over river pollution

March 22, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

New Delhi, March 22 (ANI): River pollution would remain a burden for the rural people of India for quite sometime, as the pollution is manmade, said Chief of Water and Environmental Sanitation of UNICEF, Lizette Burgers, here on Monday.

Speaking during a workshop on adaptive strategies for Water Conservation and Water Quality challenges as part of the celebrations to mark the World Water Day, Burgers said: “It will continue to be a burden to the rural people for quite sometime to come. Sources; previously considered to be not contaminated are being identified as contaminated by the time and new contaminants are also coming to light like heavy metals and radioactive elements. Many of these, if not ….most are most likely to be a result of manmade pollution.”

Ms. Burgers also said that India has a lot to be proud of as it has achieved a lot in the last couple of years. There have been positive developments in the area of water supply. India has already achieved its MDG target of 86% of access to improved sources of drinking water. However, there are many challenges in front of us. “We see that out of 150 million, 134 million living in rural India have no access to water. It is also critical to look at safety of water as it is directly linked to health and social stability.” (ANI)

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Centre approves water supply project for Jaisalmer and Barmer military stations

March 19, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Mar 19 (ANI): The Union Cabinet on Friday approved a proposal relating to provision of long term water supply scheme for Army and Air Force stations in Jaisalmer and Barmer districts.

The Rajasthan Government’s Public Engineering Department is implementing the Barmer Lift Water Supply Project to supply drinking water to Jaisalmer and Barmer districts.

The total estimated cost of the project is Rs.845.66 crore and Defence Ministry’s share in the project payable to Rajasthan Government is Rs.242.56 crore.

In addition Rs.39.39 crore would be paid separately to Rajasthan Government for water related works and another Rs.26.63 crore would be spent by the Military Engineering Services (MES) for some extension work.

Thus the total commitment comes to Rs.308.58 crore.

The project is expected to be completed by March, 2011.

As on date 70 percent of the project work has already been completed.

On implementation, the project would cater to the requirement of drinking water of huge military population of around 60,000 persons including families at Jaisalmer and Barmer. (ANI)

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Forum airs water, forestry conflict concerns

March 13, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

A forum in Launceston has heard claims conflicts of interest are dogging the Tasmanian environment.

The water and forestry governance forum was organised by the lobby group Our Common Ground to debate the issues before next week’s poll.

Concerns about water quality dominated debate, after claims by St Helens GP Dr Alison Bleaney that the George River is contaminated by tree toxins.

The Director of Environment Tasmania, Dr Phill Pullinger, told the forum the controversy proves Tasmania needs a dedicated Environment Department.

“The same minister that has responsibility of looking after water also has responsibility for forestry and industries which are operating in conflict with the protection of clean, healthy drinking water,” he said.

Tasmania is the only state without a stand-alone Environment Department.

ABC gardening personality, and anti-pulp mill campaigner, Peter Cundall told the forum there was a conspiracy of silence between the Labor and Liberal parties to avoid the pulp mill before the election.

But both parties have rejected the claim, saying the pulp mill is explicitly mentioned in their forestry policies.

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Sealdah-New Delhi Duronto Express flagged off

September 19, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Kolkata, Sep 19 (ANI): Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee flagged off Sealdah-New Delhi Duronto express, the country’s first point-to-point non-stop train in Kolkata.

The Duronto express will cover the 1447-km distance between Sealdah and New Delhi in 16 hours and 20 minutes.

“After 30 years there is a train called Duronto. It will go faster than Rajdhani and it is an achievement, it will go non-stop and will stop only at the operation stop where they will take drinking water or whatever, only operational stoppage, otherwise no,” said Banerjee.

The train will have no commercial stop, but has three operational stops at Dhanbad, Moghalsarai and Kanpur Central.

The 16-coach train comprises one AC-1, three AC-II, four AC-III and five AC-III (economy) coaches.

Banerjee also said the 14 Duronto Expresses announced in the Railway budget would be operational shortly.

These trains will be launched in Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai and Bangalore as a pilot project.

Passengers boarding the train on the first day were extremely excited.

“Well, first thing is that first day it has got added attraction plus it is the fastest super fast train. So I got the opportunity I thought I will avail it,” said TK Singh, a passenger. (ANI)

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Congress screens aspiring candidates for polls in Maharashtra

September 12, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Mumbai, Sep 12 (ANI): Congress party has begun shortlisting candidates aspiring for party’s nomination for the October 13 assembly elections in Maharashtra.

Congress party, which is running a coalition government with Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in Maharashtra for the second term in a row, is yet to sort out hiccups on seat sharing with its ally.

As the days for nominations to open on September 18 draws close, state Congress party leaders went in a huddle in Mumbai to screen aspirants seeking ‘ticket’ to contest polls on the party symbol.

“I have given my profile, I have told about major problems in our area including drinking water and irrigation and people do not get benefited from the policies of the government,” said Anil Chandra Kumar Gupta, an aspirant from Tiroda seat of Gondia district.

Congress party, which also heads the central coalition, is on a high after its good performance in the April-May general elections. (ANI)

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Congress protests against Uttarakhand Government in Dehradun

September 8, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Dehradun (Uttarakhand), Sep 7(ANI): Activists of Congress party on Monday protested against the Bharatiya Janata Party- led Government and accused it for ignoring the areas represented by the Congress here.

State Congress Chief Harak Singh Rawat led a protest march and sat on a hunger strike outside the Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal’s residence in Dehradun.

“The BJP ruled Government has completed two and a half years, but it has ignored opposition, especially Congress ruled legislative regions. Be it roads, drinking water schemes, construction of bridges, schools, universities and tubewells, BJP has not done any development work in our ruled regions,” said Harak Singh Rawat.

However, BJP described the protest as a political stunt and said that the Government would address the issues of the opposition.

“Today (September 7), the Chief Minister is out of station. He will return tomorrow from New Delhi. He will hold discussion with legislators of opposition and brief them about development works taking place in their regions,” said Uttrakhand Parliamentary Affair Minister Prakash Pant.

“Today’s act (protest) was politically motivated. The leader of opposition should have given a thought to his decision,” Pant added. (ANI)

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Scientists identify bacterial strains that can clear algal toxins from drinking water

September 7, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, September 7 (ANI): Researchers at Robert Gordon’s University, Aberdeen, have identified novel bacterial strains capable of neutralizing toxins produced by blue-green algae in drinking water.

Blooms of blue green algae (cyanobacteria) are found in both fresh and salt water throughout the world.

They produce toxins called microcystins which are released into the water and are easily ingested by animals and humans by drinking, swimming or bathing in contaminated water.

Once in the body, the toxins attack liver cells causing acute and chronic poisoning.

Conventional methods for water treatment such as sedimentation, sand filtration, flocculation and chlorination do not remove microcystins.

The researchers at Robert Gordon’s University have identified more than ten bacterial strains capable of metabolizing microcystins, breaking them down into harmless non-toxic materials.

The bacteria, Arthrobacter sp, Brevibacterium sp and Rhodococcus sp were able to break down six commonly occurring microcystins.

Six of the strains were incubated in river water with variants of the toxin to simulate natural conditions. All six strains were able to degrade the microcystins.

“The costs of advanced water purification strategies are beyond most of the world’s population,” said Aakash Welgama, from Robert Gordon’s University.

“Using bacteria to remove microcystins from water provides a reliable, cost-effective purification system, which does not involve any use of harmful chemicals or any other substances harmful to the environment,” he added. (ANI)

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Oz man claims his pet moggy can swear, speak in English!

August 29, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Melbourne, Aug 29 (ANI): An Aussie man claims that he owns a pet cat that can speak a total of seven different English words, including the F-word.

Mischief the ‘talking’ cat belongs to Robert ‘RJ’ Duncan, 34, an ex-boxer of Palmerston, in the Northern Territory, and his wife Sandra, 32, and he also claims that his budgie Picininny can speak.

According to the Northern Territory News, Mischief had at the first declined to utter a single word, but during a second visit he was much friendlier, and everyone around heard him calling Sandra, “mum”.

Duncan said the two-year-old cat, which he and his wife adopted from his feral mother in Katherine, was most vocal at night.

“He starts mouthing off when he wants his food _ when we start cooking,” the Daily Telegraph quoted him as saying.

“He can say seven words all up: mum, no, now, what, f**k, prick and why.

“He can’t say ‘dad’ yet, which is a bit of a prick. That’s how he got the word ‘prick’ I reckon, because I say it a lot,” he said.

Duncan said that Mischief’s first word was ‘mum’, which he started saying about the age of six months, and that he was not mimicking the words either, as he knew what he was saying.

“He calls out to (Sandra) and everything _ he’ll sit at the back window, while she’s in the garden, calling out ‘mum’,” he explained.

“In the evening time, if you don’t drop whatever you’re doing and pay attention to him, he calls you ‘f**k prick’.

“If he really cracks the s**ts, he’ll piss in his drinking water just to let you know he’s really s**ty,” he added.

Duncan will now be trying to film Mischief to prove the moggy can really talk.

“He’s a character … he’s one of these cats that’s a bit too brainy for his own good,” he added. (ANI)

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Flood-hit UP villagers forced to fend for themselves

August 26, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Pipraghat (UP), Aug 26 (ANI): Pipraghat villagers are caught in double trouble. Hit by flood, they have fallen victim to the government’s complacency.

The village is among the many hit by the rising waters of Narayani River in Kushinagar district. Thousands of people have been rendered homeless.

The villagers of Pipraghat complained that they have not received any government help so far.

“This is Pipraghat village in Kushinagar district, which is very backward. Twenty-five villages have been affected by floods and 20,000 people are suffering from it.

But the government has not made any arrangement. It has only been providing us with a boat and 2 litres of kerosene oil.” said Prabhunath Yadav, a resident.

People say they are left with very little food and are living on shells.

“The water has not receded. We are fetching shells and eating them and there is also no help from the government,” said Batulia Devi, a villager.

The villagers are facing a severe shortage of drinking water, apart from kerosene oil to cook their food.

The government officials say kerosene oil is on its way to reach people.

“Twelve thousand litres of oil has been ordered which will be distributed to people. The revenue administrative officer will make a list of people and those in the list will get two litres of oil,” said Mahendra Shukla, district supply officer.

Narayani River has swollen due to rains in Nepal, where it originates.

The river flows through Champaran district in Bihar to Maharajgunj and down Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh.

Heavy downpour after a delayed monsoon has wreaked havoc in many districts of Uttar Pradesh which skirt the India-Nepal border since the waters of swollen rivers and reservoirs in Nepal rush southwards into these districts. (ANI)

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American women prefer drinking water to sex!

August 25, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New York, Aug 24 (ANI): For American women drinking the recommended daily amount of water is more important than having enough sex, a new poll has revealed.

In the “Women’s Wellness Poll”, drinking water was fifth in the list of priorities, two spots ahead of having sex.

While, first on the list was getting enough sleep followed by keeping their stress levels low, the New York Post reports.

Third was finding time to relax, and fourth was eating healthy. (ANI)

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Assam declares 14 district drought hit

July 15, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Guwahati, July 15 (ANI): The Assam Government has declared more than half of the state drought-hit, due to the lack of rain.

According to officials, agriculture activity in the state has been badly hit due to scanty monsoon rains.

A high level committee chaired by Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi took the decision to declare 14 of Assam’s 27 districts as drought-hit, after considering all details.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said, the government has asked Deputy Commissioners in the 14 districts, to evolve an action plan for ensuring supply of drinking water, fodder, and irrigation facilities to farmers.

The meeting also instructed the relief and disaster management department to be on alert. The officials have been asked to review the damage caused to agriculture due to the dry climate.

The State Government has decided open nurseries for paddy plants and encourage farmers to adopt alternate irrigation systems, sources said. (ANI)

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New drug helps rescue memory loss in mice with Alzheimer’s disease

July 15, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, July 15 (ANI): A drug similar to the one used in clinical trials for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis has been found to be effective against Alzheimer’s disease, say researchers.

The drug called PMX205 has been found to prevent inflamed immune cells from gathering in brain regions with Alzheimer’s lesions called amyloid plaques.

Cell inflammation in these areas accelerates neuron damage, exacerbating the disease.

“We used a multidisciplinary approach combining an understanding of immunology and neurobiology to uncover a completely different target than other therapies,” said Andrea Tenner, lead author of the study that led to the findings, and a molecular biology and biochemistry professor at UCI.

During the study, the researchers fed the mice, genetically altered to develop age-related Alzheimer’s-like symptoms, with PMX205 mixed in drinking water for 12 weeks.

The treatment occurred at an age when plaques were accumulating in their brains.

The researchers then gave the treated mice learning and memory tests and examined their brains for evidence of the disease.

The study showed that Alzheimer’s mice that were not given the drug performed significantly worse on the test than normal mice.

But – in all but one case – the treated Alzheimer’s mice performed almost as well as the normal mice.

Those with the rescued cognitive ability had more than 50 percent fewer Alzheimer’s lesions and inflammatory immune cells than the untreated diseased mice.

The study has been published in the Journal of Immunology. (ANI)

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