Although the Environment Cell of Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (Wasa) in 2003 detected 36 industrial plants in Tejgaon Industrial Area of the capital as the main polluters of the Balu river and linked canals, no action has yet been taken against them. The list comprises 30 washing and dyeing factories, 4 soap factories, and 2 ink producing factories.

With the growing threat of water scarcity in the state capital and suburbs, the Tripura Government has sent a proposal of Rs 665 crore for a project to transport water from the Gumati river, about 70 km away, through pipelines to ensure water supply to an additional 1.5 lakh families in the city. Official sources said here today that a high level committee, headed by Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar, approved the project earlier this week and sent it to the Union Urban Development Ministry for funding under the Jawaharlal Neheru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM).

Even as Pune is finding it difficult to meet increasing water demand of citizens and is spending crores of rupees in revamping its supply lines, a proposal to revive the Peshwa era supply line with a capacity of seven lakh gallons a day and last used in 1970, is gathering dust in the Pune Municipal Corporation. The said committee report was to preserve and use as per requirement the Peshwa era water supply line that once catered to the demand of the central part of the city. The said water supply was set-up in 1749-50 during the rule of Balaji Bajirao Peshwa.

People of different localities of Sukkur held demonstrations on Sunday in protest against unannounced loadshedding and shortage of water, which has almost paralysed normal life in the city.Irked by hours-long loadshedding and scarcity of water, hundreds of citizens held demonstrations in New Pind, Mughal Colony, Old Sukkur and other areas while shouting slogans against Hesco and the taluka municipal administration.

PML-N government in Punjab will form a joint working group comprising Water and Sanitation Agency, representatives of government and civil society organisations to ensure safe drinking water in the province. The government will make concerted and coordinated efforts to resolve environment problem including water and air pollution. A comprehensive anti-encroachment campaign would be launched soon.

The water-harvesting structures constructed in six villages to provide irrigation and agriculture sustainability in the area have proved to be a bane for villagers as the dams have not been desilted since their inception.

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has criticised the Meghalaya government for its failure to provide safe drinking water to the people under various schemes. "The objectives of the schemes remained largely unachieved because of significant shortfall (53 and 45 per cent) in providing safe drinking water to the identified habitations during 2002-2007,' the CAG report stated.

The East Godavari district planning committee meet, conducted for the second time, witnessed heated arguments between minister Gollapalli Surya Rao and East Godavari Telugu Desam president and local bodies MLC Nimmakayala Chinarajappa on Sunday. The trouble started when the issue of supply of protected water in rural areas was being discussed at the East Godavari zilla parishad meeting hall.

The Corporation quarters on M M Road in Cox Town, opposite the Government Boys School, which houses 10 residences has been receiving coloured drinking water contaminated with worms for over a week. Leakage of water through the old corroded pipes in the area is said to be the cause for it and BWSSB has temporarily rectified the leakage on Friday.