Save Kolkata

Kolkata might have no fresh water in the next two decades...all its aquifers might turn saline...It has already started..read the link below or the pasted article beneath the link....

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Kolkata-/City-to-march-for-Sunderbans/articleshow/4316343.cms

Pasted below as:

KOLKATA: Imagine being caught in a cyclonic storm that floods Kolkata, submerging the length and breadth of the city from Dum Dum to Tollygunge.
Giant tidal waves lashing the streets, sweeping away homes and offices, uprooting lamp posts and tossing away vehicles. If this sounds like a post-tsunami scene witnessed in Pataya five years ago, Kolkata could well be heading for a similar disaster in the next 25 years, say marine experts and conservationists. With the water level rising in the Sunderbans and the forest cover shrinking fast, Kolkata is losing the buffer that has been protecting it from natural disasters for centuries. A threat to the Sunderbans ecology
is actually a warning for the city. Unless steps are taken, the city's sub-surface acquifers and the river Hooghly could turn completely saline by 2050. A substantial part of Kolkata could also go under water in the next 40 years, said experts at the School of Oceanographic Studies, Jadavpur University. Water level at the Sunderbans has been rising by 3.14 mm each year. Its impact is already being felt in Kolkata in the form of rising salinity. To make people aware of the impending danger, an NGO will launch a campaign "Save Sunderbans to Save Kolkata" in the city on Thursday. Students, conservationists and celebrities will come together for a march from the Shahid Minar to Mohar Kunja. "The idea is to sensitize Kolkatans, especially youngsters, about the need to protect the Sunderbans. Not only are we going to lose tigers and other species in the forest that are already under threat, Kolkata will get exposed to natural disasters," said Purnima Datta, secretary of the Centre for Ecological Movement (CEMO), that has organized the campaign. A smaller, erosion-hit Sunderbans could also turn Kolkata into a garbage dump, warned conservationists. The mangroves serve as a filter for the 1,100 million litre of effluents that flow into the Sunderbans from Kolkata every day. All the metallic pollutants are absorbed by the forest and the biological oxygen demand is neutralized. "We tend to ignore the fact that the Sunderbans is essential for the survival of Kolkata," said Pranabesh Sanyal, former director of Sunderban Tiger Reserve, who is now associated with the School of Environmental Studies. Environemental researcher Subir Ghosh agreed. "The rising water-level hangs over Kolkata like a Damocles' sword. It will affect the city's biodiversity, which is already under threat," he said. The forest has also been checking the upstream flow of saline water into the Hooghly and other rivers. According to the School of Oceanographic Studies, the rising salinity in the Sunderbans is fast infiltrating the Hooghly. "At this rate, the sub-surface acquifers in the city that supply our drinking water will turn totally saline in two to three decades," explained Sanyal. A documentary on the Sunderbans, depicting the ecological disaster that looms large, has been shown in several schools by CEMO. Students from 25 schools around the city will take part in the campaign, distribute leaflets on the need to conserve the Sunderbans and perform a skit.

Save Water- It wont last long

Seems my blog will be a biweekly or tri-weekly affair. But that seems fine, as neither I nor others would have the time to see it daily.

I am yet in Kolkata. Everyday, walking to and fro from my guest house, I see the picture of water gushing out of a large broken underground pipe ( See picture attached-seems the Kolkata Municipal Corporation water supply runs underneath. Ironically, in the pic. there is a rally of Trinamool Congress on the other side of the road ). Water gushes out with great force and in large capacity almost through the day and most of it is wasted- except for the taxi drivers who wash their cars or some street people who take their morning bath in the same waters. Does the municipality care- while it is unable to supply water to many places. There was report in the Sunday Times how in a place called Kulti, ladies and children have to walk for more than 3 miles to fetch water, while more water is wasted at this single place than all the water the village might require). There might be hundreds of such fountains of waste in Kolkata alone

This water wastage is not limited to the the government but to our homes as well. Without realising (or is it our who the hell cares attittude?? let others conserve water, not me??) we waste a lot more water than required. Brushing, washing of clothes and utensils with the tap open, letting water flow while having a shave or shower, using large flush tanks which wastes at least 10 litres of water every time we flush ( when only 5-6 ltrs are reqd.), leaking faucets all contribute to mammoth wastage of water. For a short moment it may seem small, but when added over the entire year and over a large population, this amount is staggering. It could provide enough water to millions and millions of people who do not have access to water. It could save millions and millions of manhours (or shall we say women or girl child hours) that could give the girl child time for studies and a decent education...give her a chance to get a same shot at life as her fortunate borther...

We do not lose a chance to blame governments and politicians and burecrats....but do we ever peep inside to see what we could do first....let us each do what we can, save even a bucket of water every day and then look outside...We need to become crusaders or water savers first- like the global warming, it is no more a choice now- it is becoming a must..the water we see will not last long...so save it....we have in our own generation seen how we have been forced to shift from natural water sources to bottled water- let us not force our children's generation to live w/o water for days..or live on ration water...we have to conserve water on a massive scale....we will preach rain water harvesting and such measures later, but can we first start with our own sweet homes??? and tell our own near and dear ones of the need to save this precious elixir..for our own self and our future generations...we owe it to them....

Pls. have a look at the below link to see the magnitude of water wastage and what little we could do...or google it yourself....

http://www.rediff.com/getahead/2005/apr/05water.htm

World Water Day

Today is world water day. Got up a bit late and skipped my morning jog ( a bit relaxed being a sunday or might even go in the evening). Was missing my family a lot and the regular weekend outings with them, they being back in Hyderabd and I in Kolakta on work.

I started the Sunday Times, my favourite newspaper and the below article on page 2 headlines, stared out at me(could also serch in times of india- cities-kolkata):

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Poisoned-Water-Dying-On-False-Promises/articleshow/4298289.cms

In summary it covered the many children in West Bengal who are forced to drink Arsenic Contaminated Water as they have no alternate source. Arsenic is a deadly Carcinogen, and these children contract cancer, painful lesions that turn malignant and make them immobile by the time they reach 25 years resulting in eventual death by their mid-age. Pictures of people with painful cancerous lesions, children drinking contaminated water and rusted and defunct pipes and wells which stand testimony to the govt.'s half hearted attempts glared out. People are scared to marry off their daughters into these villages, due to the Arsenic curse. Arsenic is prevalant in many states in India- is there no Hope?

The irony of the fact is that the govt. and people are barking up the wrong tree(intentional???). To narrate a story, on my return from KL in 2006, I was invited by the gov. of India to a conference on Drinking Water which was also attended by Mr. Raghuvansh Prasad Yadav, the minister for rural affairs. There were lengthy debates and discussions on the problem of Arsenic in West Bengal and the stupendous work that the govt.'s arsenic task force and various university labs were conducting to remedy the problem. Crores and crores had been sunk into these projects without much impact without any significant impact on the people's lives.

Being new to the water industry, I asked the simplest of questions? Why doesnt the govt. treat the surface water (which can be very easily treated) than do all these expensive projects on treating Arsenic? It is a well known fact that Arsenic (and for that matter any chemical cotaminants like fluoride) is only present in deep underground water, but is absent in surface water like ponds, lakes, rivers etc...Having studied in Khargapur, I used to travel to my many friends in Kolkata and was only too aware that ponds and other surface water was plentiful in W.B. Without any exaggeration, all the pundits did not have a reply.....

So what is the reason? Is it that the govt. has sunk in lots and lots of money and now do not want to admit that they were all along wrong, when there was a much simpler alternative available? Or are other reasons in making excuses to spend huge sums of money??

We have started it in W.B. What is required is a behavioural change to change people's drinking water habits from Ground water to surface water..more of that later....

I have started this blog today(22nd March,2009), after having thought of starting one for sometime now. This is to share my thoughts, my dreams, my ambitions and those of my family, friends and colleagues. To give a brief intro about myself and my family first: My name is Sudesh Menon and I lead a company in water space. I have a loving wife Preeti, a son Arul- aged 5 years and a cute darling daughter- Anjali aged 2.5 years...I will post their pics once I learn a little more about blogging. We are a very close and loving family and we dot on each other. We stay in Hyderabad in the state of Andhra Pradesh in Southern part of India. My parents stay in the picturesque state of Kerala, where we come from. I have a brother, Santhosh who stays with his wife Gunjan and lovely daughter Subha in Bangalore-the silicon valley of India.

Before going much farther, let me explain the name of the blog- "TheBlueDrink". For the last three years, I am associated with providing safe water to the underserved people in India- especially far off remote rural villages and such challenging enviornments. I made this ie: "Providing Safe water to poor people" my mission in end 2005, and returned to India from Kuala Lumpur, where I was country head for a major business division of General Electric. The story of my moving back is interesting, but I will share it later..

"TheBlueDrink" for me denotes water in its pure sparkling form- that elixir of life, without which life is unimaginable. Which immediately brings to mind, deep satifying quenching of thirst, the rivers, the sparkling beaches....but which has become so scarce and such a precious commodity for the poor people living remotely from the cities and urban places. The worth of this liquid gold is known NOT to us, living off bottled waters and clean municipal treated waters which flow thorugh a household purifier before we drink it, but by a poor mother in a remote village when she loses a child due to diarea or cholera or jaundice. The importance is known to a mother who carries her daughter, vomitting and defacating to a village clinic miles and miles away, loses all her yearly savings in medical expenses and yet loses her child. Hence the blue drink for me denotes that clean safe water that needs to made available to the millions of people in this country. And there is an intricate link between water and children- and children are very dear to me- especially after I got my two children- the love for children is all pervasive...it is the same love that each parent gives his child...so when I see a child suffering, I am reminded of my own children and my heart shudders to think, if my child were in that situation...

So, that is what my blog is about...Safe, clean water and its access to children. I would be happy, if thorugh this, I can spread awareness on this critical problem and help solve it in whatever I can...My dream is to provide safe water to all by 2020, but even if I can walk a small way forward and can some more move with me, I would have done my job..