Pollution in Ganga claims more lives than bomb blasts: L K Advani

NEW DELHI: Senior BJP leader L K Advani today expressed concerns over the increasing level of pollution in the river Ganga, saying it was claiming more lives than those caused by bomb blasts.

In his latest blog posting, Advani quoted Swami Chidananda Saraswati of Parmarth Niketan, Rishikesh, to argue that the pollution in Ganga was a serious matter.

"Today most people do not realize that nearly a million people living along the banks of the Ganga die each year due to illnesses caused by its polluted water...,"

"A few dozen people dying in bomb blasts in India becomes big news worldwide, and rightly so. But the tragic deaths of many people, who are dependent on the Ganga, goes unnoticed even in India. We must change this," he said, quoting Swami Chidanand.

"Ganga is languishing in such polluted state that people hesitate to bathe in her waters even in Kashi. This is caused by reckless and ill-planned industrialization and urbanization, made worse by lack of elementary civic facilities in towns and villages along it," Advani observed.

In the upper reaches of the river, hydro-electric projects have caused considerable damage to the Ganga and its natural ecology, leading to drying up of long stretches of the river-bed and depriving the nearby villagers of their main source of water, he said.

Suggesting measures to clean the river, the BJP leader quoted Swami Chidanand, "We must launch a mission, which I call the 3-T Mission -- toilet in every home, tap in every home bringing clean water, and tree-plantation on a massive scale in every village and town."

"Millions of Indians abroad would be inspired if India takes up this comprehensive Ganga Mission. They would even be willing to make generous contribution to this project," Advani said on his blog, quoting Swami Chidanand.

Glimpses of IRBM researches/approaches around the World

Twin2Go in a nutshell

Twin2Go reviews, consolidates, and synthesises research on integrated water resources management (IWRM) in basins around the world. Over the past years, the EU has funded several projects that undertook research on specific IWRM issues in case studies carried out on twinned river basins in Europe and in developing countries. The aim of Twin2Go now is to draw policy relevant research results on issues around ‘adaptive water governance in the context of climate change’ and to make them transferable to other basins.

The consolidated outcomes will feed into best practice guidelines for the implementation of adaptive water governance. To ensure up-take of the research results in water resources management practice and political decision making, all synthesis activities will involve stakeholders from the projects and basins and outcomes will be effectively disseminated to all relevant levels of target groups including high level decision makers in water policy.

River Authority board reduces property tax rate for fiscal year

San Antonio Business Journal - 10:38 AM CDT Tuesday, September 4, 2007

The San Antonio River Authority's (SARA) board of directors adopted a maintenance and operations tax rate of .015 cents per $100 valuation.

The property tax rate affects residents of Bexar, Wilson, Karnes and Goliad counties. The rate is slightly lower than the previous year's rate.

The rate supports SARA's budget of $103 million for the 2007-2008 fiscal year, which was formally adopted on June 20.

Chairman Louis Rowe says the tax revenue can be used for all maintenance and operating activities, including maintenance of flood control structures throughout the San Antonio River basin, debris removal programs, water quality protection initiatives and the development of digital flood insurance rate maps.

"The San Antonio River Authority's tax rate is rather small as compared to other taxing entities, but without it, we would not be able to provide the critical services required to accomplish our mission throughout the basin," Rowe says.

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