PARADIP: Jagatsinghpur district has been witnessing a steep decline in groundwater level. The quality of water also deteriorated. Sources said groundwater level in the district has gone down to a great extent following unrestricted drawing of water by industries in the area. In the last few years hundreds of industries - big and small - have mushroomed in this coastal district. As there is no restriction, industries have been exploiting the situation to the hilt, resulting in the depletion of water table. As a result, water scarcity in the district has become acute.

Premachandran sees attempt to push through neoliberal reforms

A high-level consultative meeting and seminar on the draft National Water Policy 2012 here on Wednesday expressed concern over several of its features, calling for a cautious approach and serious thoughts on the actual objectives for amending the existing policy. The former Water Resources Minister N.K. Premachandran, delivering a special address at the event organised by the C. Achutha Menon Study Centre and Library and the Department of Environment and Climate Change

New Delhi: In another attempt to allay fears that its public-private partnership projects are a precursor to privatization of the water utility, Delhi Jal Board has said it has sufficient water to ensure 24-hour supply for a large part of the city but is losing much of it through theft or leakages. The PPP model will first curtail these losses, ensure a round-the-clock supply and full domestic coverage in the project areas.

Huge reserves of underground water in some of the driest parts of Africa could provide a buffer against the effects of climate change for years to come, scientists said on Friday.

Researchers from the British Geological Survey and University College London have for the first time mapped the aquifers, or groundwater, across the continent and the amount they hold.

"The largest groundwater volumes are found in the large sedimentary aquifers in the North African countries Libya, Algeria, Egypt and Sudan," the scientists said in their paper.