India
India, Kerala: government crack down on illegal sand mining
19 May 09
The Kerala State government is planning to amend legislation so that it can impose more severe punitive measures against illegal sand-miners. Indiscriminate river sand mining has resulted in a sharp fall in groundwater tables and acute drinking water shortages in several parts of Kerala.
India, New Delhi: water subsidies benefit the rich and not the poor
18 May 09
Slum residents in New Delhi pay more than three times as much for their water from illegal private contractors, than affluent consumers do for their metered supply.
India: Supreme Court issues notices to address manual scavenging
12 May 09
The Supreme Court has sent notices to the Delhi government and to district magistrates in over 25 districts in the states of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan about their failure to implement a central law against manual scavenging.
India, Haryana: no toilet, no wedding campaign having an impact
22 Mar 09
Women in Haryana, India, are fighting against insanitation by insisting that their daughter marry into a household with a toilet. The campaign is part of the government's objective of improving sanitation practices across the agriculture-dependent state.
India, Uttar Pradesh: Oscar village to get improved water supplies
04 Mar 09
A village in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh is to undergo a makeover since a film about one of its younger residents won an Oscar. The film, Smile Pinki, tells the story of Pinki Sonkar, whose cleft lip made her a social outcast.
India, Karnataka: responses to household water and sanitation survey
04 Mar 09
In 2008, the Indian NGO Arghyam conducted an extensive survey of household water and sanitation in the state of Karnataka. Arghyam then asked experts and practitioners for advice on how best to analyse the data.
India, Andhra Pradesh: stream polluted by world’s highest levels of drugs
09 Feb 09
A team of researchers led by Joakim Larsson of the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, has discovered that a stream in Patancheru, in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, contains the world's highest levels of drugs.
India, Bihar: Gram Gaurav Yatra launched to promote sanitation
09 Feb 09
To sensitise people to the importance of health and hygiene, a month-long Gram Gaurav Yatra (solidarity march) has been launched in the Indian state fo Bihar to promote sanitation.
India: national survey shows that 70% of schools in seven states have no toilets
19 Jan 09
A national survey in India has revealed that 70% of elementary schools in seven states are without toilet facilities, while 20% of schools in over 10 states have no drinking water.
India, Maharashtra: drastic measures to make people use toilets
19 Jan 09
The administration in Pune district in the Indian state of Maharashtra has resorted to drastic measures to force people to install toilets in their homes. Civil servants who fail to comply will lose their house-rent allowance, while members of the public may be refused government loans or even land-ownership documents.
