Discussion Guest Moderator: A. K. Singh, Sulabh International, New Delhi

Posted 20 June 2007

I am pleased to be invited to seek the help of the Water Community for my chosen task. At the Visioning Workshop of the Water Community in March 2007, I volunteered to act as a "convener" for engaging the Community in addressing this important topic. This e-discussion continues the conversations on the topic from the workshop towards a possible action group assignment for the Community on Strategies for Scaling up Rural Sanitation Coverage.

From Kulwant Singh, UN-HABITAT, New Delhi

Posted 28 August 2007

Dear Members,

Under the Water for Asian Cities Programme, UN-HABITAT is working in four cities of Madhya Pradesh (Bhopal, Gwalior, Indore and Jabalpur) for improvement and expansion of urban water supply, sewerage and sanitation, water drainage and solid waste management. UN-HABITAT has set up a revolving fund for financing small community managed water and sanitation initiatives in the project towns of Madhya Pradesh. A set of guidelines for the revolving fund, duly endorsed by the State Government of Madhya Pradesh, have been developed for this purpose. The revolving funds are so far working quite satisfactorily.

From Avanish Kumar, Toxics Link, New Delhi

Posted 31 October 2007

Rapid urbanization has put Third World cities in an urban crisis. Municipal authorities, in third world cities, have not been able to dispose off urban waste in a scientific and eco-friendly manner. Inappropriate waste disposal technologies have only intensified the problem. Composting has been promoted as an eco-friendly and sustainable solution to urban waste management. However, experiences of composting projects have not been very good.

From Bhawna Vajpai, The Loomba Trust, New Delhi

Posted 7 July 2008

I work for the UK based Loomba Trust, committed to upgrading and constructing water supply, sanitation and hygiene facilities in schools under its WASH initiatives. We aim to work in 1,000 schools across India (rural areas and small towns) in collaboration with state governments.

From Indira Khurana, WaterAid India, New Delhi

Posted 20 June 2007

You are aware that the Nirmal Gram Puruskar (NGP) has been instituted to “add vigour” to the Total Sanitation Campaign. In 2007, the National Committee on Nirmal Gram Puraskar selected 4,437 Gram Panchayats and Block Panchayats from 22 states for awards under NGP. The number of award winners has risen from 40 in 2005, 769 in 2006 to 4437 in 2007. These awards were given by His Excellency the President of India Shri A P J Abdul Kalam.

From Aparna Das, UNDP, New Delhi

Posted 11 January 2007

Under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, large investments are to be made for modernizing and upgrading sewage and solid waste management facilities in cities (See http://www.urbanindia.nic.in/moud/programme/ud/jnnurm.htm for details).

Original Query: Dr. B K Sharma, Gwalior Childrens Hospital, Madhya Pradesh

Posted: 9 December 2005

Dear friends,

I am posting this query on behalf of Gwalior Childrens Hospital, a grassroots organization in Madhya Pradesh. We are working in Gwalior and Chambal region especially in rural areas and building the Orphanage- Snehalaya near village Sikroda, where there is no infrastructure for sanitation at present. We are hoping to cater for 100 children and adults in its first phase though shall expand it to accommodate 500 children and adults there ultimately.

From Poulomy Chakraborty, Feedback Ventures (P) Ltd, New Delhi

Posted 4 November 2008

I work for Feedback Ventures, an infrastructure consultancy based in New Delhi. We are involved in a sanitation project known as 'Community Led Total Sanitation' (CLTS) which is supported by the Water and Sanitation Programme – South Asia (WSP-SA) in Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Sikkim.

Original Query: Vijaya Saradhi Atluri, Byrraju Foundation, Hyderabad

Posted: 20 April 2006

Byrraju Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing about a tangible improvement in the quality of lives of the rural underprivileged. We are currently working in 150 villages across five districts of Andhra Pradesh, India and impact nearly 1 million rural lives. Our programmes include a water treatment plant, constructed by contribution from NRI and 50% by contribution from foundation. Plastic cans are used to deliver water and sold at 1.50 to 2 RS. Per liter and enough is recovered to pay for O and M cost of the plant.

From Ajit Saxena, UNDP, New Delhi

Posted 26 April 2007

While working as an engineer in the water and sanitation (watsan) projects in Madhya Pradesh, I have seen that successful implementation of watsan programmes depends on balanced use of both software and hardware components. Thus, in addition to successful behaviour change communications, hardware support for implementation of watsan programmes is crucial. This ideally includes low cost construction material such as toilet pans, pit covers, squatting plates, drains, and material for superstructure.