Ruchita Saxena / Mumbai July 30, 2008, 5:45 IST

The battle for bottled water business in the country is expected to intensify further with Coca-Cola, the world's largest soft drink-maker, pricing its latest offering BonAqua at par with its other water brand Kinley as part of its plan to retain customers within the fold.

Manjit Kaur could hardly have believed it but she has been cured of a two-decade-old list of ailments. Her cure has come neither through a doctor nor a stack of pills, but instead from a community-based safe drinking water project commissioned in her native Muktsar district, Punjab, four months ago.

Now Kaur, 45, is among the first in queue to fetch a 20-litre can of treated water in her village twice a day. It was contaminated water that gave her joint pains and bleeding gums. Now that the water is clean, Kaur's health is reviving.

PEOPLE need clean water and sanitation to maintain their health. Water also sustains ecological systems and provides an input into the production systems that maintain livelihoods. Water security is an integral part of a broader conception of human security.

In broad terms, water security means ensuring that every person has access to enough safe water to lead a healthy life, while maintaining the ecological systems that provide water and also depend on water.

Seminar focusses on technologies for processing drinking water

CHENNAI: At a seminar conducted on packaged drinking water here on Saturday, officials from the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) underscored the need for adhering to good manufacturing practices.

The seminar, primarily meant for manufacturers, focussed on methods to deal with microbial contamination of water and technologies available for processing drinking water.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has announced closure of its water supply programme initiated by it in Azad Jammu and Kashmir in response to the October 2005 earthquake.

According to a handout released here on Thursday, the agency had rehabilitated and reconstructed over 40 rural water supply systems, involving rehabilitation and installation of over 600 kilometres of pipeline, in Muzaffarabad district in cooperation with the communities concerned after the devastating earthquake.

Jamshedpur, July 24: Jindal Steel and Power Limited has opened its local office in the city to expedite the process of land acquisition for its greenfield project.

The office that came up in New Baradwari would deal with the process of land acquisition for its proposed 5-million-tonne steel plant project.

The plant will be set up at Asanboni, about 25km from Jamshedpur.

The office premises would remain busy with the visitors, especially rayiats possessing landed properties at Asanboni and also the middlemen.

BHUBANESWAR: With drinking water supply in rural areas emerging as one of the major challenges, the State Government has decided to cover at least 35 percent rural population under the safe and sustainable piped water scheme (PWS). Official sources maintained that sustainability and water quality have emerged as two problems in rural water supply sector. The ground water estimate made in 1994 identified 43 blocks as hydrologically critical and estimation of 1999 shows two blocks, Bhograi and Baliapal, in Balasore district over-exploited with limited scope for further extraction.

CHANDIGARH: The Haryana Government on Wednesday signed a memorandum of understanding with the Hyderabad-based Naandi Foundation to implement a pilot project on community safe drinking water systems in select villages in the State in a phased manner.

The MoU was signed by Haryana Commissioner and Secretary, Public Works Department (Water Supply and Sanitation) Roshan Lal and National Director (Water Programme) Amit Jain on behalf of Naandi Foundation in the presence of Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Water Supply and Sanitation Minister Randeep Singh Surjewala here.

Press Trust of India / New Delhi July 23, 2008, 16:10 IST

Global soft drinks major Coca- Cola is going for a major re-branding of its packaged drinking water, Kinley to push sales on the 'purity' plank.

The re-branding exercise is aimed at increasing the company's share in the Rs 1,250-crore organised bottled water market in India.

"Our new campaign is intended to strengthen and re-affirm our bond with the customers. Kinley is a big brand for our company and we hope to keep on growing in the market," Coca-Cola India Marketing Director Avinash Pant said.