| Water Voices |
| Hear first hand from MPs and government officials about their work in water and their positions on critical water issues. NGO leaders and thought leaders talk about the work done by their organisations and their vision for safe and sustainable water. Hear from some unsung heroes or heroines who have been doing outstanding work without much publicity. Eminent
'water people' speaking in first person in this section adds a personal touch to the Water Portal |
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Dr. Madhavrao Atmaram Chitale
A rare breed of techno-bureaucrat who is highly
knowledgeable but has a genuine sense of social commitment; has risen to the topmost echelon in career yet remains most modest to the core and patient with those who think differently.
Read More in >> English |
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Dr.Dipankar Chakraborti,
Director, School of Environmental Studies (SOES)
Jadavpur University, Kolkata.
Scientist, researcher, activist and crusader, Dr. Dipankar Chakraborti has donned many hats in his two decades of work on arsenic contamination of ground water.
Read More in >> English |
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M.Dinesh Kumar,
Water Resources Researcher
At an informal discussion, Dinesh Kumar talks about 'green water' and the water consumption involved with dairy farming.
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Deepak Gyawale,
Former Water Resources Minister of Nepal
Deepak Gyawale, former Water Resources Minister of Nepal analyses corruption in the water sector in this short video.
Read More in >> English |
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Mrinalinee Varanase,
Ecological Solutions, Pune
Ecological Solutions, a Pune-based NGO has been doing pioneering work in India on ecological restoration of streams. Here Mrinalinee talks about restoring the slopes around a reservoir.
Read More in >> English |
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Paul Calvert,
Eco-Sanitation Pioneer
Paul Calvert in many ways has been the pioneer with the modern Ecosan movement in India
Read More in >> English |
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Rukmini Banerjee,
Pratham, a NGO focussing primarily on education
Rukmini Banerjee of Pratham NGO puts forward an idea on getting a Village Report card on water and sanitation. Driven by NGO's this will be a citizens report on the state of water and sanitation in rural India.
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Raghuvansh Prasad Singh,
Union Minister for Rural Development
At the National workshop on Sustainable Sanitation the Honorable Minister of the Government of India Shri Raghuvansh Prasad Singh describes the issue in great detail and with typical candour and wit.
Read More in >> English |
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Depinder Kapurr,
Country Representative of WaterAid India
Water Aid is the largest international donor agency exclusively focussed on water and Sanitation issues. Depinder Kapur, Country Representative of WaterAid India talks about Water Aid’s activities to overcome poverty by developing access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene education. More in this open and frank conversation with Mr. Kapur.
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Farhad Contractor,
Sanskriti awardee for Outstanding Social Work
He is Farhad Contractor, an awardee of the prestigious Sanskriti award for Outstanding Social Work-Water harvesting in arid areas of Rajasthan. And the book is "Aaj Bhi Kharen Hain Talab", an undisputed classic on water harvesting, which has been translated into several Indian and European languages. Farhad names Anupam Misra, its author and a veteran Gandhian as his Mentor and Guru.
Read More in >> English |
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Bonnie Lovelace,
Chief – Water Protection Bureau, Montana state, USA
Bonnie Lovelace has been the Chief of the Water Protection Bureau for the Montana Department of Environmental Quality’s Permitting and Compliance Division since January 1997. In this interview she raises issues which find echo in India as well.
Read More in >> English |
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Shekhar Kapur,
Film Maker
A mob attacking a car to steal water from its radiator. That's a scene from Shekhar Kapur's film on water in the making - "Paani".
The acclaimed film-maker ('Masoom', 'Bandit Queen') talks about why he is concerned about water and using this film to express those concerns.
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Devika Mistry,
Strategic Foresight Group
Strategic Foresight Group has brought out a report that identifies emerging issues that will have an impact on global security and economy during next decade. India Water Portal talked with Devika Mistry, author of the chapter on water scarcity, to understand her views.
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Himanshu Thakkar,
Editor, "Dams, Rivers & People"
Himanshu Thakkar, an engineer from IIT Mumbai, is currently editor of "Dams, Rivers & People" and coordinator of South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers & People (www.sandrp.in). He has been associated with the Narmada Bachao Andolan, Centre for Science and Environment and the World Commission on Dams in the past."
Read More in >> English |
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Mohinder Slariya,
Sociology Teacher, Government PG College Chamba
We, operating at a supposedly national level, tend to ignore small town crusaders and thinkers. But you can't overlook Mohinder Slariya. As he critiques hydro electric projects in the Chamba valley, he carries forward a postcolonial discourse on development and displacement. Backing his arguments with field statistics, he establishes gains of power projects are too little, even those confined to apparently Project Affected Families marked in government muster. Clearly, majority of the affected people fall outside the musters.
Read More in >> English |
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Rajendra Singh,
Water Man, A Magsaysay award winner.
Water man, he is popularly called. In fact, his email ID also says 'waterman'. So much so, people may not recognize him by his actual name, but you say Waterman and they instantly know - Rajendra Singh.
Read More in >> English |
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Ramani Iyer,
Vice-Chairman, Forbes Marshall.
Ramani Iyer, Vice-Chairman of Forbes Marshall is a seasoned corporate professional, with over twenty years of experience. A committed Indian, he quotes Gokhle and Tilak at ease, even paraphrasing Tilak's proclamation to "Water is my birth right".
Read More in >> English |
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Bharti Patel,
Director, SVARAJ
(Society for Voluntary Action, Revitalization and Justice).
An informed leader of voluntary sector, Bharti Patel of SVARAJ in Bangalore refutes the claim that Indians do not value water. She says instead of asking the question - who is polluting the water, we are accepting the spread of bottled and treated water. She proposes that true Public Private Partnership can flourish only when the rights of the community assume centre stage.
Read More in >> English |
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Sujit Doshi,
Director, Doshion Limited.
To understand business in water & related issues, Ashutosh Bhardwaj interacted with Sujit Doshi, Director Doshion Limited, amongst the top players in water treatment.
Read More in >> English |
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Pushpendra Rajput,
Deputy Commissioner of Chamba.
An IAS officer of 1998, Pushpendra Rajput, Deputy Commissioner of Chamba is amongst the upright & hardworking bureaucrats. He has served extensively in remote areas of Himachal & has genuine understanding of water & development issues. He has done exemplary work for malnutrition & computerization of land records in villages of Chamba.
Read More in >> English | >> Hindi |
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Marcella D’Souza,
Executive Director - WOTR, Ahmednagar
Bringing women to the forefront and proving their capability has been Marcella's contribution to WOTR (Watershed Organisation Trust).
Read More in >> English |
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Dr. Bindeswari Pathak,
Founder, Sulabh International.
Dr. Bindeshwari Pathak, is an indefatigable crusader on a single-focus mission for the last 35 years - to make toilets and sanitation accessible to all. He was instrumental in organising the recent World Toilet Conference in New Delhi in November 2007.
Read More in >> English |
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Mitali Kakkar,
Director, Reef Watch Marine Conservation
From being a 'mountain person' to diving deep into the sea, Mitali Kakar has done it all. In this interview, Mitali, who is the Director, Reef Watch Marine Conservation (http://www.reefwatchindia.org) , talks passionately about her underwater adventures, the condition of and threats to Coral reefs and her plans for making marine eco-system a priority with the Government of India.
Read More in >> English |
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Munshi Ram
MP, Bijnor Lok Sabha constituency, Uttar Pradesh
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Ravi Prakash Varma
MP, Kheri Lok Sabha constituency, Uttar Pradesh
Ravi Prakash Varma, MP from Kheri Lok Sabha constituency in UP, is one of the most vocal members in the current Lok Sabha on water issues. He has asked the most number of water related questions to the Government. He talks about problems being caused in his constituency due to changes in the nature of the rivers flowing into India from Nepal. "For instance, a river with carrying capacity of 3 lakh cusecs today holds more than 10 lakh cusecs of water and silt"
Read More in >> English | >> Hindi |
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A. R. Shaheen,
MP, Baramullah Lok Sabha constituency, Jammu & Kashmir
"We cannot violate Indus Treaty today. That would destabilize the subcontinent. But, we can find a way out. If the problem between both the countries is resolved, we can start moving towards South Asian Union. We can bring Nepal, Bhutan and even Kabul into our fold"
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Harnath Jagawat,
Director, N. M. Sadguru Foundation
Harnath Jagawat is the Grand Old Man of water management in Gujarat. Director, N. M. Sadguru Foundation, he has brought about a silent revolution in Dahod region, transforming the lives of hundreds of tribals. His mantra is simple. Water holds the key to all development.
Read More in >> English |
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Dr. Anupam Mishra,
A Gandhian and an environmentalist
A Gandhian and an environmentalist, Dr. Anupam Mishra is an expert on traditional water harvesting structures.
Read More in >> English | Hindi |
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Prof. Rasa Singh Rawat,
MP, Ajmer Lok Sabha constituency, Rajasthan
You advocate of taking away the Irrigation and Agriculture rights from the States. However, these are the constitutional rights conferred on the States under the State list of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution. Also, we are moving towards cooperative federalism. State governments are demanding maximum rights from the center. In this context, taking away rights of the States will violate the spirit of the cooperative federalism.
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Manvendra Singh,
MP, Barmer Lok Sabha constituency, Rajasthan
Well, the long-term solution is water harvesting. We also need to change the priority from irrigation to drinking water. People expect the PHED to provide them water through pipelines. We are planning to move in that direction as well. About 1600 Crores have been sanctioned to get water from the main source in Nashna to other parts of my constituency through series of lifts and pipelines. It would then be dovetailed into the PHED network and supplied through pipelines.
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Mr Deepak Bharti,
Founder, Samajik Shaikshnik Vikas Kendra (SSVK)
Samajik Shaikshnik Vikas Kendra (SSVK) is working to empower the most downtrodden and marginalised people, especially women, in one of the India's poorest states, Bihar. Its founder Mr Deepak Bharti is a product of the great 1974 student movement, which engulfed major parts of the country, besides becoming one of the reasons for Ms Indira Gandhi to declare emergency.
No surprisingly, the follower of JP Narayan, Bharti is candid in his responses. He dissects Bihar floods with rare insight & practical wisdom. He notes embankment construction is the biggest cause of floods. Yet, they continue, reflecting the politician contractor nexus.
He has a fearless view on every issue - bureaucratic inertia, political stunts, and delays in deploying the helicopters.
Read More in >> English | >> Hindi |
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