"With an average annual rainfall of 1,170 mm, India is one of the wettest countries in the world. Still, even with its rich natural water resources, with more than 300,000 square meters of bodies of water, the country is plagued by environmental issues such as water pollution from raw sewage and runoff of agricultural pesticides (Sharma, 2005). Another major problem is that tap water is not potable throughout the country. This implies that people, especially those from the lower income bracket, cannot avail of clean drinking water, since these have to be bought. Repugnant as it may sound, it is a reality that millions of Indians queue up everyday at public taps for one of life's most precious commodity — water." -ADB

Monday 9 November 2009

Pollution board for studying Jaipur fire impact

The Hindu : News / National : Pollution board for studying Jaipur fire impact: "The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has recommended environmental impact assessment (EIA) of the area affected by the raging fire in the Indian Oil depot at Sitapura in the outskirts of Jaipur.

It also suggested regular monitoring of air, water and soil in Jaipur, Haryana and Delhi along with the State Pollution Control Boards.

The CPCB is monitoring the impact of the fire in Delhi and the data observed so far does not indicate any adverse effect of the fire on air quality here.

An assessment of the air quality was being carried out by the CPCB at Siri Fort, Delhi College of Engineering and ITO-Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg.

A zonal team of the CPCB has already at the site, keeping a vigil on the situation. Rajasthan State Pollution Control Board is monitoring the ambient air quality at five locations: Pratap Nagar police station, Delawas, Mathurawala Gaon, Chowkidhani and Shivadaspura police station. The data received from these locations between October 30 and November 2 showed that suspended particulate matter (SPM) was more than the permissible limit while sulphur dioxide and oxides of nitrogen were within permissible levels.

But, in the absence of regular monitoring in the rural areas of Jaipur city, the incremental values could not be calculated. Haryana has also been asked to monitor the quality of air. The Zonal office at Bhopal is also in touch with the CPCB head office here.

The Rajasthan government has constituted a five member committee under the principal secretary (environment) to assess environmental impact and offer suggestions regarding corrective and precautionary measures. The committee will submit its report by November 15."
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Disclaimer: This Blog is a small step towards building a knowledge-based platform for Professionals interested in "water resources management(WRM)". One of the objective is knowledge dissemination. Please note that VIEWs expressed here are purely personal.