good news for Hyderabadis on the water supply front

Water Board to store water in Osmansagar and Himayatsagar to be supplied during summer

With regular inflows into the four main city reservoirs owing to a good spell of rain, Hyderabadis can hope for comfortable drinking water supply for the next two summers.

Against the total level of 1,790 feet and a capacity of 3.9 tmc ft in Osmansagar, the water level touched 1,781.3 feet and 2.2 tmc ft. Himayatsagar received 0.781 tmc ft inflows till Saturday against its capacity of 2.9 tmc ft.

The revival of the two reservoirs has been a good news for Hyderabad Metro Water Supply and Sewerage Board, which has been looking forward to resuming drinking water supply from these reservoirs through gravity. However, with Singur and Manjira almost full too, the Water Board has opted to store water in Osmansagar and Himayatsagar for some more time as there are adequate sources from Godavari and Krishna drinking water supply schemes.

“We are still not drawing water to the full installed capacity from the Godavari and Krishna water schemes. So, we want to store the water in the twin reservoirs for some more time and use during summer,” sources said.

The Singur reservoir has inflows of 29.4 tmc ft as against its total capacity of 29.9 tmc ft, while Manjira has 1.4 tmc ft as against the total capacity of 1.5 tmc ft. The Water board has also stepped up awareness campaign on conserving water so that the city would not feel the pinch even during the summer.

#dustfreehyderabad campaign 2

Today we have  conducted #dustfreehyderabad campaign 2 in association with Walkers Association Sundaraiah Park. GHMC jonal commissioner Mr. Dr. Gaurav Uppal IAS, and corporator Mr.V. Srinivas Reddy were guests to this program. Thanks to all and Special thanks to AURORA COLLEGE STUDENTS.

#dustfreehyderbad campaign launch

we have launched the #dustfreehyderabad campaign with Mr. Jitender I.P.S.,Addl. Commissioner of Police, Traffic presiding over the program. Mr. Chowhan I.P.S., DCP , Traffic along with other senior Police officials graced the occasion & 250 students from various colleges Geetanjali Engg. college, St. Mary's Degree college, Mahbub college, Wesley Degree college & Kasturba Gandhi degree college, have participated.

It has been done outside secunderabad railway station.

Dust make up to 33% air pollution. large amount of dust/mud is accumulated on the road sides. when it rains along with water, it is coming on to the roads. when a vehicle moves on the road this dust is raising in the air, causing lot of inconvenience to all of us.

THIS IS ALSO A MAJOR HEALTH HAZARD CAUSING BREATHING PROBLEMS.

With the help of local community volunteers, we intend to take up the task of making an attempt to make our city dust free.

Interested community groups can call on us.

cities not equipped to handle single day of rain. HOW LONG !

Delhi, Gurugram drown yet again; waterlogging gives commuters a hard time

Last updated on: August 31, 2016 12:30 IST

Traffic in national capital Delhi and adjoining Gurugram went haywire on Wednesday after heavy rains resulted in water-logging in many parts.

The Delhi Police tweeted about the traffic and poor visibility even as commuters continued to have a hard time as vehicular traffic crawled.

In a series of tweets, the Delhi Traffic Police tweeted: "Water logging on Dr Zakir Hussain Marg, W Point, Loha Mandi to Mayapuri, Gol Dak Khana, Kali Bari Marg, Chirag Delhi to Nehru Place flyover."

"Water logging at Alipur Village, Okhla Underpass, Jasola Red Light, Saket M B Road, Saket Metro Station, Lado Sarai T-Point, PTS Red Light."

"Water logging under Modi Mill Flyover, Sadik Nagar, BRT to Moolchand, Lala Lajpat Rai Marg, Nehru Place to Zamrudpur."

"Water logging on Dr Zakir Hussain Marg, W Point, Loha Mandi to Mayapuri, Gol Dak Khana, Kali Bari Marg, Chirag Delhi to Nehru Place flyover."

Puran Kumar, Jt CP, Gurugram said: If it does not rain heavily, traffic is expected to be normal in the next few hours.

US Secretary of State John Kerry's visit to Sisganj Gurudwara, Jama Masjid and Gauri Shankar temple has been cancelled due to the heavy rains, reported ANI. Kerry is on a three-day visit to India.

On Monday, Kerry and his convoy were stuck in massive traffic near Satya Marg due to waterlogging caused by heavy rains while on his way to the hotel from the IGI airport.

The MET department has said that the NCR region is experiencing moderate thunderstorms which will continue for the next few days.

Roads leading to Gurgaon from Vasant Kunj area are completely jammed due to the rains. More jams are also expected across the capital.

Flight operations have also taken a hit with due to bad weather. All flights are delayed at Delhi's IGI airport with one flight being diverted to Jaipur.

Indigo has tweeted that to & fro flights have been affected and delays are expected.

The weather office has forecast thunderstorm with rain through the day. The minimum temperature was recorded at 26 degrees Celsius at 8.30 am.

The city received 3.9 mm of rainfall in the last 24 hours, an official said.

All Photographs: ANI video grabs

WATER IN INDIA & ISRAEL

Israel, a parched land, has transformed itself into a water sufficient nation thanks to an innovative approach to water management. Can India pick up a few tips?

The water scarcity that India is facing even before the onslaught of summers, and the plight of farmer’s in Marathwada have been making headlines every single day. Our water problems have been exacerbated by climate change, rapid development, increasing energy demands and unmindful, extravagant use of this limited resource. To ensure that we have enough water for tomorrow, what we need is more usable water and also better farming methods and policies that aid this initiative. 

Lost Lake, Oregon
Lost Lake lava tube Every winter, a lake appears in Hood County, Oregon, but as the season changes, water drains through a 6-foot wide hole, transforming Lost Lake into a dry meadow. There’s a geological explanation for the bizarre annual occurrence though: The water that drains from the lake like a bathtub flows into a lava tube, a tunnel-like structure formed by flowing lava. Lost Lake is likely constantly draining, but it becomes more evident in drier months when the rate of draining exceeds the the amount of snow and rain. It’s unclear exactly where the water goes when it disappears down the lave tube, but scientist say it’s possible that it seeps into porous volcanic rock and feeds springs in the Cascades.

Karnataka’s worst water problem

  

The state is staring at the worst drinking water crisis in 40 years, the government said on Wednesday. "The inflow into Krishnarajasagar reservoir (KRS) has been very low and this is the worst situation in the Cauvery basin in the last 40 years," said energy minister D K Shivakumar.

 "We require 15tmcft (thousand million cubic feet) of water for drinking till next summer. Currently, we have only 12.68tmcft. It is going to be tough in the coming days if there is no rainfall in the catchment area," he said.

Shivakumar added, "Bengaluru and Mysuru are likely to face a shortage of drinking water because the inflow into the KRS has been very low".

The weatherman has forecast low rainfall in the Cauvery catchment area. Though the initial forecast for the Cauvery catchment area was positive, it was later revised and the probability of rainfall in the next four or five months is low. "We expect an inflow of 15tmcft to 20tmcft into the reservoir, but the demand for water is quite high," Shivakumar said. The reduced inflow has put the state government in a tight spot. "We are concerned about drinking water availa bility but we cannot neglect the water needs of farmers in the Mysur u-Mandya region," Shivakumar said.

"About 50% of the farmers have started agricultural activities in anticipation of water availability and we cannot afford to ignore them. Though water experts have advised us against releasing water for agriculture, we have decid ed to release water for farming into canals till August 30. Release of water will be stopped f rom September 1 to 10. If we have to release water for the next 80 days we will require 40tmcft," he said. The district administration met farmers in Mandya and briefed them on the situation.

 "We have appealed to farmers not to grow water-intensive crops. We have decided to set up a vigilance committee to monitor the type of crops being grown in the Cauvery basin till the crisis eases. Farmers too need to understand the plight of the government and use water judiciously," S hivakumar said.

 The low rainfall has also taken a toll on power generation in the state. "Last year, all electricity companies suffered losses of Rs 2,500 crore because of shortage of hydel power. The situation is grim this year too and we are ready to float a tender for power purchase," he said. Later in the day, the cabinet delved into the water crisis, which may take a serious turn in the coming days. "We expect farmers to irrigating crops in the Krishna and Cauvery basins. The state has been facing a dry spell in the last 15 days and the forecast is not good for the next few weeks," said law minister TB Jayachandra. He said the government is preparing to tackle the water crisis and instructions have been given to use water sparingly for drinking purposes only. Barring Almatti and Narayanpura dams, all other ones are low on water storage, he said.