JULY 2020 - Volume 12 Issue 5 Rs 20

I n s I d e

Janani Murali, Bengaluru

Transforming lives of slum children, step by stepThe dreary life of urban slums can become toxic. This is the story about children in the Peenya slum in Bengaluru fighting everyday a brave battle dealing with harsh personal circumstances. The parents are daily-wage labourers, truckers and factory workers. To care for and nurture such children in the right direction is no easy task. One Good Step, an NGO, strives to provide a positive environment for them

Nisha is almost a parent to her infant brother. At the tender age of six, she

is expected to bathe, feed and care for her younger siblings and do household chores while her parents are at work. Raja was paralysed waist down due to an industrial accident. Roles reversed in his family when his young daughter had to become the primary caregiver to her father.

In the slums of Peenya in North Bengaluru, family units do not function the way most of us understand. For most urban children, the only responsibility is to get ready for school in the morning, but not for children who are integral to running households.

Twelve-year-old Payal is the daughter of a single mother. Her father died a few years ago. Single women with daughter (s) are often easy targets in ecosystems such as the ones we have. While her mother was at work, Payal faced physical and sexual abuse. Complaints to her mother were brushed off for long till the girl gathered the courage to video-record one instance and show it as proof.

Payal is not the only child facing such abuse. School sessions on good touch-bad touch seem tame in front of the abuse that some of the children

face. Very few are able to open up about the abuse they face and fewer are able to garner intervention.

Most children in the Peenya slum fight a brave battle dealing with harsh personal circumstances. The parents are daily-wage labourers, truckers and factory workers. The children value the opportunity to study and be in school. But born to illiterate and poor parents, they are inherently disadvant-aged compared to children who come from educated households. Unable to read until they step into school, with no support or guidance from their parents, and with an education system that does not hand-hold such children, the problem compounds with the years. By the time they have reached high school, the academic disadvantage is quite severe. Patterns of

dysfunctional families, an early exposure to vices and frustrating academic disadvantage are repeating patterns in urban slums. Is it possible to create a tangible impact in the lives of these children? Amitha Pai, Founder of One Good Step is not enamoured by the word ‘impact’. “The word impact makes it seem as if we have a wand in our hands that can magically transform the lives of these children. That is far-fetched,” she says.

Amitha was heading up the proverbial ladder in the corporate space, but a few years down the line she began to wonder if there was purpose to her work and life. After much thinking and looking within, she quit a lucrative career and decided to do something meaningful. But with no experience in the social sector and coming from the corporate arena, there was much learning and unlearning to do.

Amitha decided that the only way forward was to not be overwhelmed by the path ahead and just take one good step at a time and that was the beginning of One Good Step, a four-and-a-half-year-old NGO with projects in social development needs, healthcare in poor communities and education through school/ student development projects, serving Bengaluru and the neighbouring districts of Chikkaballapura, Nelamangala, Tumkur and Kolar.

“Children from the slums of Peenya attend the Government High School (GHS-Peenya). We realised that there was a dire need for intervention given the circumstances they faced every day. What we also noticed was that in spite of these circum-stances, the children showed enormous resilience and were hungry for opportunities. To show up at school with a smile

on your face despite the grim reality of their homes were huge lessons in gratitude for me”, says Amitha. One Good Step set up a counselling unit for girls who faced abuse and boys too who found themselves in vulnerable situations. The children are counselled on gender, abuse, child rights, challenging stereotypes, and interventions where required are facilitated.

There was also an acute need for positive outlets for their energies and frustrations. Music and dance lessons were instituted with the intention of providing a fun learning atmosphere. The hope also was to instil a sense of self-worth in these children and show them that a happy space is possible despite the odds being against them.

“Music and dance are inherently therapeutic and the response to these classes has been enormously enthusiastic. Our intention is not to create musicians or performers. In all likelihood, these children will give up on these arts once they complete Grade 10. But while they are here, they look forward to these pockets of fun and learning every week,” Amitha points out.

Amitha recalls that not all initiatives or programmes were initiated by her NGO. In a heart-warming instance, girls of Grade 8 came up with a request for tailoring classes. Vocational training was a practical solution, given the future that they saw themselves stepping into. Academic and non-academic support systems are essential for these children. Sewing units were set up at GHS-Peenya and the girls have eagerly lapped up the lessons.

With projects in more than 40 schools, GHS Peenya stands out because of the large number of Ph

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Tough times as people lose livelihoods and struggle to survive 2

Impoverished workers stuck in a bitter coil with little chance of escape 3

They are untouchables who face discrimination and apathy 4

Advocating for evidence-based traditional health practices 5

Removing fluoride from groundwater now made easy 7

Joining hands to conserve wetlands and waterways 8

Restoring tank irrigation can strengthen rural climate resilience 6

A counselling session in progress. (Continued on page 2)

Vocal and instrument classes are conducted every Saturday.

JULY 20202Focus

Tough times as people lose livelihoods and businessesThe bustling tourist town of Shimla lies deserted, and hotels, restaurants, shopkeepers, small traders and labourers who depended on the tourism business are staring at financial disaster on one hand, and the spectre of coronavirus infection on the other

Sarita Brara, Shimla

Parween Kumar used to sell articles of daily use in a makeshift shop near

the old bus-stand in Shimla. Because of the lockdown, he hasn’t been able to earn a single rupee for the past three months. His wife, Manju, a domestic help in nearly half-a-dozen households, was asked by her employers to stay away during the lockdown. The couple has two school-going children and a mother to look after.

“We not only spent our savings but also had to borrow money on high interest,” says Manju. She is now back at work, but her husband is not able earn much because of lack of customers, most of whom were visitors to Shimla from other places. Not many people are travelling, and even those who come are willing to spend only on essentials, he says.

Ram Shankar from Bahraich in Uttar Pradesh sells vegetable burgers with a salad and spicy chutney on the side. He makes the potato tikki for the filling hot and fresh at a portable stove. He had a regular clientele of students from two nearby colleges and staff of a few government offices. His roadside stand has been a fixture for the last 15 years. He was making good money. But all that is a thing of the past, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. He has three children, two of them school-going.

“It is only since the end of June that we have been allowed to sell eatables, but I am not able to earn even one-fourth of what I used to earn,” Ram laments. He says while he got rice free of cost from the ration shop, he had to borrow money on high interest rates to buy other household necessities and pay utility bills and his house rent. “Until educational institutes open, I will have to keep borrowing, as the money I am able to earn right now is not sufficient to meet expenses.”

Vinod Sharma has a small dhaba near the railway station, catering mainly to porters and labourers from Sirmour. He has two children and also supports his ailing mother who lives in his native village. “During the lockdown, the dhaba had to be closed, and I had to either

work as a daily-wager or sell bread etc. With trains yet to start running, even after we were allowed to open dhabas, there are not many customers,” he says. He now sells vegetables and some eatables at the dhaba, but is unable to make enough money to meet daily expenses.

The Khans from Kashmir Valley traditionally carry huge loads of rations, furniture and other goods on their back. They have been facing a tough time. With little or no work during the lockdown, many of them have gone back to the Valley. “It is only the Khans like me who deliver cooking gas cylinders to homes who are earning money, the rest are eating into their savings,” says Rashid from Anantnag.

The Shimla Beopar Mandal President Inderjit Singh says the business community and shop workers have been the worst hit. Nearly 20000 employees work in the shops of Shimla. About half of them have either been laid off or have returned to their villages. Business is negligible and many shopkeepers are unable to pay the rent on their shops; some have been forced to vacate. The list of people whose livelihoods have been destroyed or badly affetced by the lockdown is long.

The historic town of Shimla should have been bustling with crowds during May and June, the peak season when lakhs of tourists arrive from all parts of India and abroad. Instead, the hill station lies desolate. Shimla’s main attraction, the Mall, would normally be swarming with people, young and old. But this too looks

deserted. Hotels should have been filled to capacity, and raking in profits, but now, owners are hard-pressed to pay salaries to their staff, most having been laid off. Even after restaurants have been permitted to open, not many customers frequent them. The once ubiquitous horses no longer take children on joy-rides on the maidan. The ghorewalas (horse riders) have either gone back to their villages or are seeking the help of the administration, NGOs or good Samaritans of the town to feed their horses.

This summer has been a disaster,” says Rahul Berry who

owns a handicraft shop on the famous mall. “I am unable to even make five per cent of the kind of profits I used to make in these few months.”

As the state government opens the doors to visitors again, is there a glimmer of hope for the people of this tourist town? Or has the decision come a little too late? More importantly, will the decision undo all the efforts that went into keeping Shimla in the green zone?

Inderjit Singh says that it was due to the cooperation from all sections of society, the

steps taken by the district administration and the efforts of all frontline workers that Shimla’s situation has been enviable so far. “All this will go in vain if the tourists are allowed to come, especially as the coronavirus cases are expected to peak by the end of July.”

Inderjit feels the decision should have been delayed till at least the end of the rainy season in September. His opinion is seconded by Prince Kukreja, VP of the Shimla Hotels and Restaurants Association. Others, however, back the government decision.

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Waiting for boni, the first purchase of the day.

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students enrolled (around 800), a headmistress who is as invested in the initiatives as One Good Step, and discerning students who are eager to work hard. “To ace the state exams under such trying circumstances are success stories that can inspire anyone. Talking to these children can get you thinking about the several uncomfortable questions that we tend to brush aside. But more importantly, it gets us thinking of all the difficult questions that we must ask those in power for the systemic apathy that has led to the degradation of government schools.” says Amitha.

So can these education initiatives be replicated at other government schools? How can an individual contribute towards such initiatives or initiate pro-grammes themselves? “I did not come with experience, guidance or a structured format

Continued from page 1

in mind when I began with One Good Step. If I can do it, so can anyone else,” assures Amitha.

“What is required is some definitive thought towards what can be done to improve conditions for a school or institution near you. It may begin with small steps but eventually the needs become apparent and one can then focus their work towards that end. For all the activism that people propound on social media platforms and the like, it would be worthwhile to invest your time

and energy towards one school near you.” “Urban landscapes are increasingly becoming bubbles and therefore children from privileged backgrounds rarely interact with children from socially or economically disadvantaged backgrounds. It is important that parents build bridges for their children. To learn of a reality different from theirs can go a long way in raising empathetic individuals.” says Amitha.

*Names of children have been changed to protect identity.

Transforming lives of urban slum children...

Vocational training: A tailoring class in progress.

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A photographer waiting for clients at the deserted Ridge Maidan.

Berry at his handicraft shop at the Mall.

JULY 2020 3

Impoverished workers – trapped helplessly in a bitter coilThe life of migrant workers in Maharashtra’s sugar plantations is hard, working long hours with no child care support or social benefits, only to fall deeper into debt. Thousands of children of such workers are bereft of an ideal nurturing environment as their parents struggle to keep the families afloat

rucha Satoor, Baramati, Maharashtra

It’s 7 am on a chilly December morning. The sugarcane fields of Someshwar in Pune

District’s Baramati reverberate with the sound of powerful hacks. Meera Gade, her sister-in-law, Pushpa, and their fellow agricultural workers have already been hard at work for three hours straight, since the crack of dawn, cutting sugarcane. They set small piles of sugarcane leaves on fire to keep themselves warm, as they industriously hack through the tall stalks with their machetes.

Meera, 21, a mother of two, is from Beed, one of the poorest districts in Central Maharashtra. Her husband, Rajendra, 27, and she are seasonal migrant farm labourers, and every year they journey to prosperous western and southern Maharashtra to find work, like half-a-million other families from across Maharashtra and Karnataka. Many of the female migrant labourers are either expecting or have become new mothers. And yet there is no respite from the hardships.

Meera is in Someshwar with her five-month-old son, Anand. “I left my three-year-old daughter back home with my sister’s family,” she says, adding, “After Diwali every year, we pack up and leave. The next six months are for oostodani (sugarcane cutting).” Her sister-in-law, Pushpa, is expecting her fifth child. She has left her three older daughters — nine, six and four years old — with their grandmother but has brought Yogeshwari, who is not quite two, with her.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the First Thousand Days of a child’s life — from the first day of

conception to the child’s second birthday — as a ‘critical window of opportunity’ that the family, community and state need to invest in, ensuring consistent nutrition, love, safety and mental stimulation to every child. Where do Meera’s and Pushpa’s children — and thousands of others like them — figure in the endeavour to provide every child an ideal nurturing environment?

“I started cutting sugarcane when I was 15. Prior to marriage I used to accompany my parents, and later, the mukkadam (contractor) hired us as a koyta (couple), as is the practice around here,” says Meera while making bhakri (roti), even as little Anand gurgles in the background. Meera has brought him along as he is breastfeeding. She feeds him “as and when he cries”. An angry rash covers the infant’s face – “it’s because of the toos (splinters) of the sugarcane. It is better on the days we don’t go to the field,” she says.

This is a tense time for the couple—they have to gather at least two tonnes of cut cane, in shifts of 12 to 18 hours daily, as only then can they repay the mukkadam the Rs 100000

Workers wear jeans and pants to avoid deep cuts from the cane.

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they have borrowed. Highly underpaid at Rs 230 per tonne of cut sugarcane, they are unlikely to be able to return the money even after they work tirelessly for six months.

What about their living conditions? The factories in the vicinity that purchase the produce provide for a cart to transport the cane, a few essentials to build a hut, and a communal water tap. There’s no electricity, no food, no holidays and no child support. It’s a tough grind, as couples cut the cane, tie it into bundles and load them into carts or tractors to be taken to the sugar factory for sale. The men line up outside the factory for several hours before they can sell the sugarcane. Their daily wages are paid directly to their mukkadam. Of course, no transaction ever goes on record.

Meera’s baby lies unattended in the bullock cart onsite while she works with a group of sugarcane cutters. There’s singing and funny jibes to break the monotony. Over 10 hours, she only takes one water break, and feeds Anand thrice. Anand is sometimes in the bullock cart and sometimes on the ground.

A few days ago, Meera had a heart-stopping moment. “He had wet himself but by the time I went to check on him, he had already got cold. He was just...silent,” she recalls. Panicking, she quickly lit a fire and tried to warm his body. After a few agonizing minutes, he finally cried again. She hugs him tightly; a few stolen moments of love.

After her 12-hour paid workday is over, Meera’s ‘other’ (unpaid) duties begin. She heats water and bathes her baby, makes chutney and bhakris, washes the utensils and clothes, feeds her two oxen, reapplies a coat of cow dung to her house, fetches water and even pleads with a nearby house owner to let her use their electricity connection to recharge her battery-powered lamp. In between all this, she snatches a few moments to eat her meagre meal of two bhakris a day with chutney; incidentally, she works in the fields on an empty stomach.

Vegetables are a rare treat and apart from one chai per day, Meera doesn’t consume the sugar she helps produce. “It’s extremely hard to reach out to these families and provide health and education

benefits,” says Rohini Pawar, an accredited social health activist (ASHA) in Pune district, “Their workday starts at 3.30 am, they’re continuously on the move and even though they do want the best for their children, they’re hardly able to make ends meet.”

Like Meera, Pushpa takes a break to feed her two-year-old, Yogeshwari. She mixes a glucose biscuit in water, and hands it to her daughter. She recounts how she worked even while she was full-term pregnant with Yogeshwari. “I went into labour on the field. Someone took me to the hospital. I was back at work 12 days later with my baby,” she smiles. Twelve rest days meant 12 days of no wages, a luxury she could not afford.

The sugarcane field is also fatal for children. Ashwini Lokhande, a village mobiliser with AASHA, a non-government organisation working to ensure that children of migrant workers don’t drop out of school during cutting season, says. “Two years ago, as I was passing by a settlement of these workers, I heard a woman sobbing uncontrollably. When I asked around, I came to know that she had lost her child. Her baby was lying nearby as she

was cutting and a splinter pierced the child’s eye. The family ran from the primary health clinic to a private hospital to the government facility but could not save the baby.”

Come dusk and the lights from the massive sugarcane factory twinkle in the background as the tal (settlement of temporary houses) bustles with women going about their evening chores. It will not come as a surprise if Meera’s son, Anand, too, ends up like his parents — an impoverished sugarcane cutter. If their life is so harsh, why don’t these labourers look for other kinds of work?

Pushpa answers this with questions of her own: “I ask you, who would like to stay in conditions where your child cannot even eat two meals a day? We own about five acres of land back home in Beed. But the rains are so scarce; there is no water, no irrigation. There is no work for us there; we have no options.” Coincidentally, at that moment, Yogeshwari breaks into an impromptu jig and the women dissolve into laughter. Pushpa stops frowning, an indulgent smile spreads on her face.

(Courtesy: Charkha Features)

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Meera with her fellow workers in a moment of respite.

Rashes on Anand’s face because of the splinters.

A break for Pushpa and her daughter Yogeshwari — as they enjoy a water-and-biscuit meal.

JULY 20204

Three elderly people have been starving in full view of society for months. They would have faded away, as unobtrusively as they had been living, but for a timely SOS one of them sent

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Considered untouchables, they face discrimination and apathyAbject poverty, discrimination and exploitation describe the lives led by a semi-nomadic community in Uttar Pradesh. Now, a ray of hope has surfaced in their lives, in the form of an organisation that is helping them to claim their just rights more effectively

Bharat dogra, New Delhi

There are several marginali-sed communities in India, which due to a

combination of factors, face extremely difficult socio-econo-mic conditions, discrimination and a livelihood crisis. These communities need special help and sympathy, but instead, generally face hostile conditions. The Kuchbandiya Community living in scattered hamlets in the Bundelkhand Region and neighbouring districts of Uttar Pradesh, is one such group.

Officially listed as SC (Scheduled Caste), this community, like some others in Uttar Pradesh, finds itself closer to ST (Scheduled Tribe) status and has been demanding, without success, a conversion to ST categorisation. The community was earlier engaged in specialised tasks such as making certain kinds of rope and maintenance/ sharpening of kitchen implements.

There is a steep decline in the demand for such services (particularly the former) and, hence, they now hawk clothes obtained from small-town merchants, travelling from one remote village to another to do so. The community is semi-nomadic, retaining roots in a base settlement but frequently moving around within a radius of around 150 km.

The Kuchbandiyas are still considered untouchables. High-caste people don’t mix with them and also discriminate against their children, resulting in the very low presence of these children in schools. The community is more or less in a permanent economic crisis, with very poor housing and nutrition and a high level of debt. The

people often live in the most inhospitable low-lying parts of various panchayats, which are frequently waterlogged and have poor sanitation facilities.

The Kuchbandiya basti (slum) in Khamora Panchayat (Mahuwa Block) of Banda District is located in an area that is frequently inundated in the rainy season. People have to wade through knee-deep water, and the rainwater even enters the poorly constructed houses there. In fact, three children were drowned in the village recently. Nearly 75 per cent of the children here do not go to school, though one is situated just a km away from the colony, as they face discrimination, apathy and beating there.

Almost all the households here are overburdened with debt and face frequent harassment from moneylenders. Interest is charged at the rate of 5 per cent to 7 per cent, so that even a person who has paid back double the original amount borrowed remains trapped in debt.

Malnutrition levels are high. Houses are very poorly constructed. People have to borrow to pay bribes to avail of official housing assistance schemes and construction is seldom completed in a satisfactory way. Access to pensions is very poor. Whatever land people here had earlier has been grabbed by others under one pretext or the other. Now, all are landless. No one in the hamlet has a job card, hence there is no hope of getting work under NREGA.

There are only two hand-pumps for a settlement of about 150 households. Not a single toilet exists here even though the

entire district has been declared open defecation free. People have to walk a long distance for open defecation.

The situation in Khirwa-Masri hamlet in the same district is similar. This too is located in the most hostile, low-lying part of the panchayat and is frequently inundated in the rainy season and/or when the nearby canal breaches. Some 15 toilets were constructed here, but in such a poor way that they cannot be used. Water shortage is common in summer and the members of the community face discrimination in availing of existing water sources. More than 90 per cent of the children of the nearly 120 households living here do not go to the common village school as they face hostility. One child, Anuj, was beaten and his foot was injured so badly that he could not walk for a long time.

A ray of hope recently appeared in the two hamlets when branches of Chingari

Sangathan, a local organisation of women’s’ rights and resistance to injustice, were set up. Helped by a Lok Manch fellowship, Mira, a social activist, started helping villagers to assert their rights and express their demands more effectively. Media visits were organised to Khomara basti, which helped to focus attention on the problems there through local TV channels and newspapers.

Groups of women went time and again to meet the village pradhan (head), panchayat secretary and bock development officer. Although they were ignored the first time, they persisted, and finally the panchayat agreed to construct a drain which would help solve the flooding problem in Khamora Kuchbandiya basti.

The next step was to demand community toilets. This was approved and work actually started, but a powerful villager intervened, falsely claiming the land as his own. In both

settlements, initiatives are being taken to start educational facilities within the basti so that children who have been unable to go to school are able to learn something.

The initiatives, as well as the organisation of meetings to discuss other constructive work and reforms, have given these long-neglected members of the Kuchbandiya Community a sense of hope and direction. Raja, a leading community worker, says, “We will do all we can to take forward these first few steps.” Sumitra, a woman of Khamora says, “I’m extremely poor and I have to take care of my bed-ridden husband, but I’ll always find the time to help in these efforts.”

Mira adds, “In nearly six months I’ve seen that members of this completely neglected community have so many aspirations and are willing to work hard to realise them. There is hope after a long time, and we’ve to fulfil this hope.”

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Women and children of a marginalised community.

Ailing and starving, they lay unnoticed

A little while ago, Udavum Karangal, a philanthropic organisation in Chennai, received a WhatsApp message from 60-year-old Indira Priyadarshini. She said she and her 85-year-old mother and 75-year-old uncle were all ailing, unable to earn, and starving.

When social workers reached the address Indira had given, they were shocked to find a woman who was nothing but a bag of bones lying on the floor in one corner of the tiny house in the Thiruverkadu suburb of the city, and an emaciated elderly man lying in another corner.

“I’m used to going without food for several days,” said Indira Priyadarshini. Though frail and weak, she managed to tell them her pathetic story.

Around 50 years ago, Indira’s father Krishna, a cook, came to Chennai from his native Mayiladuthurai, in search of a job, bringing his

family with him. Unfortunately, Krishnan passed away suddenly, leaving his young family without any income or support. Indira completed Standard X from Sarada Vidyalaya, staying at the Seva Mandir Hostel, T Nagar.

However, tragedy continued to dog Indira. She was afflicted by a rheumatic problem in the 1970s and she has been bedridden for the past four decades. Some help came from Indira’s uncle Venkata Subramaniam, who came to live with the family after his own wife and daughter passed away. But he contracted leprosy ten years ago, and was unable to earn.

Out of sheer necessity, Indira’s aged mother became the breadwinner. She made appalams (papad) at home, and went from office door to office door to sell them. She made around Rs 200 a day. After paying the monthly rent of Rs 2500, the family was able eat one meal once in two days. But

after the pandemic struck and lockdown was imposed, even the meagre source of income dried up.

Indira’s sister Jayalakshmi lives in the city’s Ashok Nagar area and works in a ration shop while her brother Shankar works in Mayiladuthurai. Both are too poor to help their mother and sister. No other relatives or friends have come forward to help this family in distress.

Social Workers of Udavum Karangal have got Venkata Subramaniam hospitalised. A team from the organisation is cleaning up the house. A nurse has been assigned to visit the house daily to monitor the health of the women. UdavumKarangal has promised to supply food daily.

JULY 2020 5

Prevention is the absolute key and the government and community need to respond together, to address the locust attacks on farms, voiced an expert panel at a webinar organised by the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) on ‘Locust attacks: What India’s farming community needs to know’.

While suggesting links to climate change for the change in the swarm patterns, the experts indicated that South India is likely to be spared but Delhi and UP were likely to be affected in the oncoming pathway of locusts. From July onwards, the breeding of desert locusts in India could affect the kharif season, they warned. Most of all, identifying the actual pest – the gregarious desert locust

– was crucial to avoid panic and rumours. The locust swarms are present in Rajasthan, parts of Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra with possibility of movement to Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.

Grasshoppers change behaviour as locusts through a phenomenon called phase variation, from solitary to gregarious phase. Locusts, un-like grasshoppers move fast, in swarms, are active during day time and have a wide host range. Normally breeding in three seasons, in India, summer is the only ideal season for locust breeding. The movement from one region to another is controlled by wind. In India, with the southwest monsoon having set in, the wind movement is towards north-east.

Said Prof M.S. Swaminathan, founder, MSSRF: “The locust

Advocating for evidence-based traditional health practicesHow do we translate present policies into effective practices for local health and primary healthcare services, and protect the biodiversity heritage of India? Bringing all of these together here are a series of ten recommendations that have been built with evidence from years of research by the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation

India is a core region of bio-cultural diversity in the world, which means

symphony in the nature-culture relationship. Products used for human consumption from food to cosmetics, were done in harmony with nature over generations. The MS Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) has been working in three bio-cultural diversity hotspots of India – the Wayanad Region in Kerala, Koraput Region in Odisha and Kolli Hills in Tamil Nadu – to revitalize non-codified local food and healthy traditions.

MSSRF’s green-health programme from 1998 to 2005 focused on (i) rejuvenation of local health traditions, (ii) inventory, collection, multiplication and documentation of medicinal plants, (iii) promotion of medicinal rice Navara, (iv) survey and documentation of wild food plants, and (v) promotion of millet-based health foods.

The rejuvenation of local health traditions aimed to promote sustainable use of medicinal and edible wild and little-known nutrition-rich plant diversity of India. Promoted through trained women self-help groups and farmers’ forums

under the traditional healers, ayurvedic physicians, botanists and nutrition experts resulted in revitalizing many primary health care traditions, household-level herbal collections and consumption of medicinal and wild edible plants, and establishment of herbal gardens in these three hotspots.

As part of the inventory and documentation, Wayanad has an active collection of 300 species and Koraput, an active collection of 350 species. A nursery in the gardens raises all-important plants in primary healthcare to supply identified medicinal plants to households and form community-level medicinal plant gardens and commercial cultivation Over the past ten years, one lakh seedlings have been distributed to households of SHG members.

Navara rice, in cultivation in Kerala for over 2500 years since Susruta, the Indian pioneer in medicine and surgery, is reported to have multiple uses nutritious, balanced and safe food for people of all ages. Rice paste to rejuvenate muscles and body massage with roots of the medicinal plant Bala (Sidaalnifolia / alnifolia) offer vitality and immunity. In the local health care system, Navara is also used in diarrhoea, urinary

diseases, muscle wasting, burns and scalds.

Study of the extensive knowledge of tribal groups of Wayanad regarding wild food showed 372 wild edibles accessed by tribal communities, including 102 leafy greens, 19 species of Dioscorea, 40 species of wild mushrooms, 5 species of crabs, 39 species of fishes and five types of honey, some serving as ‘life saving’ plant groups to marginal farming and forest communities, during food scarcity.

Compared to rice, the main staple food in India, millets have higher protein however with the need to be complemented with legumes to fulfil protein needs. Diets containing Kodomillet (Paspalumscrobiculatum) and finger millet (Eleusinecoracana) flour have potential benefits to mitigate or delay onset of diabetes-related complications. Finger millet is extremely high in calcium, highest among all cereals and can overcome calcium deficiency of a rice diet.

Investigations to assess nutrition/ health outcomes showed women’s adequate dietary level of calcium was directly linked to finger millet consumption. Since iron deficiency anaemia limits human and national development,

In Wayanad, a farmer proudly shows off sheaves of paddy produce.

Locust menace: Prevention is key, community must also respond

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mainstreaming minor millets can bring substantial benefits to address iron deficiency anaemia in India.

Biodiversity is a major link between environment, medicine and human health. It can have the capacity to serve as a protective factor to prevent infectious diseases that threaten wild species as well as people who depend on them. The emergence of many more pathogens in the future cannot be ruled out.

The Indian subcontinent is popular for well-documented examples of world cultural and health heritage. India has one of the largest healthcare systems in the world for addressing the primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare needs. The country also has age-old non-institutional healthcare with the active participation of around one million traditional healers and around 200 million informed households and use of over 7500 plant species.

Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani, Yoga, Naturopathy and Swa-Rigpa systems of medicine originated in the region. There are about 60000 plant species reported globally with their medicinal, nutritional and aromatic properties. Plants and microbial diversity together serve as the single greatest

menace is causing serious damage to agriculture. Farmers are worried. The best way in controlling the locust invasion is to spray neem seed decoction over the plants. Neem is a strong repellent. Neem also serves as fertilizer. I hope our farmers will be able to manage the serious threat to crop security,” he said.

Belinda Luke, senior insect pathologist and team leader, Biopesticides, CAB International, explained that bio-products, particularly entomopathogenic green muscardine fungus, Metarhizium anisopliae, were effective but should be targeted on breeding sites to expose eggs and immature stages of the insect which are highly susceptible rather than adults, making it important for bio-inputs to be used before the locusts attain adult stage. She pointed out that biologicals

were slow to act, taking 7-10 days to kill the insect compared to chemicals which acted in less than 24 hours. Jaba Jagdish, scientist and head, Entomology, International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), added that it was high time we oriented farmers to differentiate between locusts and ordinary grasshoppers and felt that it could be achieved through dissemination of vernacular technical materials, manuals, pamphlets. The reported occurrence of insects in Trivandrum in Kerala, Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and Krishnagiri in Tamil Nadu, were grasshoppers and not the desert locusts, he said.

J.S. Kennedy, dean, School of Post Graduate Studies, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, said it was important to use fungus in breeding sites of locusts

as it was done in manure pits to manage coconut rhinoceros beetle. He pointed out that locusts preferred dry desert-like barren land or sandy soil for egg laying but needed vegetation to grow.

Jagdish requested farmers to do deep summer ploughing and expose the eggs to sunlight or predatory birds, digging trenches two feet depth around the field and spraying Quinalphos to kill crawling nymphs that fell into trenches, creating sounds by beating the drum, or the radio. Kennedy suggested that baits may be impregnated with insecticide, crops dusted with fine sand and washing crops with water.

(Courtesy: MSSRF)

source of natural product drugs to date. Origin from natural products can be traced in 75 per cent or more in the antibacterial, antiviral and antiparasitic formulations approved by the USFDA between 1981 and 2010.

Although India has an estimated 7,500 plant species recorded with diverse folk medicinal usages, only a fraction of these have been studied scientifically for the pharmacological potential or the health benefits.

(Courtesy: MSSRF)

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JULY 20206

Restoring tank irrigation can build up rural climate resilienceSince India’s Independence, tank water irrigation has declined in the country due to a combination of reasons: policies, neglect, population rise and the shift to groundwater. Tank water harvesting and irrigation offer a host of benefits such as replenishing groundwater levels, providing drinking water for rural communities and livestock, conserving top-soil and harbouring fish. Both tank and groundwater irrigation must be treated as complementary methods rather than substitutes and must be integrated at the watershed level, say researchers in recent research papers. Tanks should be designed to be climate resilient to tackle future floods and droughts`

Researchers from three H y d e r a b a d - b a s e d institutions have ex-

tensively reviewed past studies and experiences on community-based traditional water har-vesting systems, known as tanks, and concluded that the benefits of rehabilitating tank water irrigation outweigh the costs in most cases, particularly by increasing groundwater recharge. Other benefits include providing a source drinking water and fish. They urge scaling up of tank restoration and long-term maintenance with support from the Central and state governments while taking into account regional requirements. They claim that tanks need to be included in an integrated water management policy.

Tanks, usually constructed and managed by villagers, are water bodies that can hold enough water to irrigate over 100 hectares of cropland. An ancient method of water harvesting, tanks collect and store monsoonal rainwater, which is used for drinking and protective irrigation during dry periods. “Irrigation water is supplied to crops through canal distribution systems,” explains V. Ratna Reddy, lead author of the paper and director of Livelihoods and Natural Resource Management Institute in Hyderabad.

Over the past decades, however, their use in irrigation has declined substantially. In 1950-51, tanks were used for irrigating approximately 3.6 million hectares (17 per cent) of the total irrigated area in India, but in 2014-15, the share dropped to a mere 1.7 million hectares (2.5 per cent). Traditionally, the southern and eastern regions have placed greater importance to tank irrigation followed by the west and the north. In fact, the south had the highest proportion of tanks in use in the country standing at 35 per cent in 2000-01 compared with other regions. Regionally, the south and the north both experienced a steady drop in the area under tank irrigation from 1972 to 2008, although there was a slight uptick in the

south from 2003 to 2008. Before India’s Independence, there were institutional arrangements to protect tanks such as Dasabandam and Kudimaramat of the south and Johads and Pals of Rajasthan and these were supported by local rulers, explain the researchers. However, the British policies viewed irrigation as a source of revenue as opposed to a protective source, which eroded these institutions. In drought-prone regions, neglect coupled with environmental degradation led to silting of the tanks as well as reduced capacities. At the same time, populations were rising, but the tanks, which were designed only to cater to a small population, “were not able to meet the needs of an increased population,” says Reddy.

Then came the shift to groundwater, fuelled by green revolution technologies and subsidised power, said Reddy. “This has led to private management of water and public policy has conveniently ignored the maintenance of tanks.” As well-irrigation rapidly gained momentum—becoming the single largest source of irrigation—the tanks fell further into disrepair.

With overexploitation, wells started to dry up and recently there has been a revival recognising the value of these ancient systems. But efforts need to be stepped up because less than 10 per cent of defunct tanks have been restored over the past two decades, according to Reddy and his co-authors, M. Srinivasa Reddy, assistant professor at the Centre for Economic and Social Studies and K. Palanisami, an emeritus agricultural economist at the International Water Management Institute.

One of the most pressing reasons for increasing the capacity of tanks is the positive effect they have on groundwater replenishment, particularly in drought-prone regions that are dependent on well-irrigation such as Rajasthan, for example.

Although most tanks have the ability to recharge ground-water, percolation tanks which

are smaller, enable water to percolate into the underground aquifers during the dry periods.

Indeed, a 2018 study from West Bengal has unveiled a strong link between surface tank water and groundwater. The team found that in districts with a high density of tanks, the depth at which groundwater becomes available reduces (when measured from the surface), implying the positive effect of tanks in recharging groundwater levels. Because they are inextricably linked, both Koushik Chowdhury, PhD student and lead author of the study, along with Reddy’s team stress that tank and well irrigation must be viewed as complementary to each other as opposed to substitutes to maintain a hydrological balance.

Tank irrigation does not only benefit those with bore wells such as land-owning farmers. With a larger area under irriga-tion and more crops produced, “farm activities continue for a longer period in a year requiring more people to work on and hence more employment for the landless labour households,” explains Reddy. And, “in the long run even the small and marginal farmers benefit as they invest in wells as well,” he adds.

Tank water has been a crucial source for drinking water among the poor in the east of India. Since many people and livestock drink water from wells, percolation tanks ensure

the availability of well water over a longer period of time. In arid states like Rajasthan, livestock plays a large role in rural livelihoods and the tanks help keep soil erosion in check by reducing runoff.

Some farmers in the state even use the emptied tank beds for cultivation and the silt serves as fertiliser for the eroded soils.

In the region of Bundelkhand and in eastern India, tanks have been used for fishing, particularly among poor households, noted Reddy’s team. As their uses vary regionally, they emphasise that tank restoration needs to be aligned with the different stakeholders in order to be equitable and prevent any conflict of interests.

Despite the host of benefits they provide, there is no systematic policy to address the problems of tank systems, though some state level or even central policies exist, says Reddy. Most of these are pro-gramme-based activities and are funded by external donors such as the World Bank, he pointed out. “There are no regular and sufficient budget allocations for maintaining the systems.”

Chowdhury concurs, stating that there are no policies to manage tank water harvesting. “Previously, these tanks were treated as wetlands in wetland policy 2012, but in 2017-policy the wetland tags were removed from tanks. This means there will be no control over the en-

croachment on traditional water harvesting structure.”

Apart from ramping up allocations towards re-habilitation, Reddy’s team proposes that the financing of the tanks should be treated as asset-based planning as opposed to a one-time approach. They suggest that adopting a life-cycle cost approach may help where asset management is included in the cost of the project. Also, tank management committees “need to be linked with constitutionally recognised institutions such as Panchayati Raj institutions at the village level with funds, functions and functionaries,” says Reddy. “This would sustain these institutions and the tank systems in the long run.”

(Courtesy: Mongabay India)

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Multiple uses in a tank located in Pakbira Village, Puncha Block, Purulia District, West Bengal. Cows graze on the tank bed and lotus flowers are used to generate income for the villagers.

Desilting of tank work under MGNREGA in Andhra Pradesh.

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neha Jain

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JULY 2020 7

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aMita Bhaduri

Removing fluoride from groundwater made easyMillions in India continue to drink water containing excess fluoride. In Assam, a low-cost fluoride removal technology has been found to be easy to operate as a water treatment filter with high efficiency suitable for rural application. The main challenge now is making the common people aware of such patented do-it-yourself methods, which are being used by tens of thousands of people in Assam

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lGroundwater contamina-tion has emerged as an alarming issue in India

and a recent UN Report reveals that India ranks 120 among the 122 countries in terms of water quality index. As high as 70 per cent of the water supply in India is contaminated, resulting in nearly 0.2 million deaths each year. Fluoride contamination has emerged as one of the important concerns in India. A report by the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation indicates that 14.7 million people in India face serious health hazards due to arsenic and lead contamination in groundwater.

Fluoride, a naturally occurring mineral, though essential in limited quantities for bones and teeth, exceeds the threshold concentration in a large part of the country’s groundwater affecting more than 100 million people as per estimates by Eawag researchers. It can cause damage to teeth and bones (dental and skeletal fluorosis) and other health problems such as osteoporosis, arthritis, brain damage, cancer, neurological disorders, if consumed in excess.

Geostatistical prediction models indicate that western and southern parts of India are more likely to be affected by fluoride-contamination of groundwater. These include the states of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

While, low-cost, safe, environment-friendly, easy to operate methods on fluoride removal are being developed world over, the need to develop such methods is even more urgent in India. One such effort has been made by the team led by Robin Dutta at the Department of Chemical Science, Tezpur University, Assam. This low-cost filter technology – Nilogon – that removes fluoride from groundwater is not only affordable, but is also easy to operate as a water treatment filter with high efficiency suitable for rural application.

The genesis of the initiative goes back to 1997 when the department was setting up its laboratories. Robin Dutta was trying to do research that had societal relevance when widespread fluoride contamination of groundwater of the order of 20 ppm came to light in parts of Karbi Anglong and Nagaon Districts of Assam.

A detailed survey in 1999 suggested horrifying manifestation of its ill effects – fluorosis. Many schools in Karbi Anglong had more than 50 per cent students with dental fluorosis and a large number of people suffering from skeletal fluorosis manifesting in the form of deformed limbs, joint pain and stiff backbone. The filters available in the market were either inefficient in fluoride removal or prohibitively costly for common people. Dr. Dutta felt the urge to take up this tough challenge as fluoride was already known as a difficult-to-remove contaminant.

“While we were striving to find a low-cost and efficient fluoride removal method, the presence of deadly arsenic in groundwater in vast areas of the Brahmaputra and Barak Valley of Assam was reported in 2004. I have known how it feels to have lost family and friends to deadly water contaminants,” says Dutta who belongs to a village which has seen 30 cancer deaths since 1975, many of them being from his family due to consumption of arsenic-contaminated water.

With the support of students, friends, colleagues, traders, affected people, Tezpur University and funding agencies, Dutta developed two do-it-yourself type simple, low-cost, safe, efficient rural technologies for removal of arsenic and fluoride by 2010 and 2011 known as Arsiron Nilogon and Fluoride Nilogon. Nilogon means removal in Assamese.

“The field trial of the patented fluoride removal method, based on precipitation-adsorption, has been carried out in some villages of Assam with groundwater sources

containing 1.8-20mg/litre of fluoride at community as well as household levels,” says Asadulla Asraf Ali, a member of the team at Tezpur University. The team is trying to test for the usefulness of the technology in other states. Asadulla was testing for limestone samples in Kanker, Chhattisgarh to look for high purity calcite using XRD analysis.

Technically, Fluoride Nilogon may be called phosphoric acid-crushed limestone treatment method of fluoride removal from water. The method can remove fluoride from a high initial concentration to zero ppm. However, as a small quantity of fluoride is required for healthy teeth and bones, the final concentration of fluoride is kept at 0.65 (±0.1) ppm with this dose of phosphoric acid. The crushed limestone bed remains active for at least four years and nine months. Crushed limestone bed where the fluoride-containing water, premixed with a very small quantity of edible phosphoric acid to 0.00068 molar concentrations, is treated for a residence time of 3 hours.

Fluoride Nilogon units can be custom designed with any capacity of treated water. A popular domestic Fluoride Nilogon unit of 15 litre per batch capacity requires:

• A 40 litre plastic bucket with a plastic tap for the crushed limestone bed

• About 50 kg of crushed limestone of size approximately 0.1-1.5 cm

• A filter of any type, preferably a sand-gravel filter of a 20 litre plastic bucket

A small community unit for a school consists of:

• A 500 litre or 200 litre plastic drum as crushed limestone bed

• About 625 kg or 250 kg, respectively, of 0.1-1.5 cm sized crushed limestone

• A sand-gravel filter made using a 200 litre or 30 litre plastic drum

The recurring cost incurred in Fluoride Nilogon includes the cost of phosphoric acid. The cost of limestone, which has almost unlimited lifetime is included in the capital cost. The units have no maintenance costs. The market retail price of 85 per cent phosphoric acid is Rs. 100. Thus, the recurring cost of the treatment turns out to be Rs. 0.00467 per litre of treated water. This is much lower than that of RO (approximately Rs. 0.54 per litre considering Rs 6000 for annual maintenance and 30 litre water consumption per day) and other adsorption based fluoride filters.

The capital cost includes only the cost of two plastic containers of desired size, two taps, crushed limestone, sand and gravel. The capital cost turns out to be Rs 600 and Rs 4500 for household and small community Fluoride Nilogon units respectively. “Limestone, a low-cost sedimentary rock, is readily available in most of the fluoride-affected areas of India making Fluoride Nilogon a good rural technology for fluoride removal,” sums Ali.

(Courtesy: www.indiawaterportal.org)

Studies by the Central Ground Water Board in November 1999 confirmed the presence of fluoride in Assam which paved the way for the UNICEF and the government to collaborate on fluoride mitigation.

8

been given notices to vacate, according to the district collector. Eighty seven families in the low lying areas have been identified and will be shifted to the new 172 tenements coming up in Prakashapuram, near Coonoor.

Simultaneously, Clean Coonoor has started a project to reclaim wetlands around Coonoor town. Studies con-ducted by Keystone Foundation identified wetlands, which are by definition common property resources (CPR), in different categories and in most cases, fall under the jurisdiction of the panchayats. The first type is the encroached CPR wherein the wetland has been encroached upon for construction or has been tapped for water supply for the town or panchayat. The second type of wetland is the direct access CPR that is found largely in the valleys where agriculture is carried out. Lastly, there are wetlands on private land, mainly tea estates, some which are reasonably well managed.

Clean Coonoor has identified four wetlands close to Coonoor — Ottupatarai, Fernhill, Yedapalli and Brooklands. Vasanthan said that these marshes are now “dried up and are a sorry sight. These invaluable water sources have vanished because of human activity while large tracts have been converted into wattle and blue gum plantations. The remaining areas have been taken over by exotic grass and the lantana scrub.”

Iyanna said that rejuvenating these wetlands would partially address the long-term water shortage problem faced by Coonoor town. Vasanthan added that Clean Coonoor will clear the marshes of garbage and replant the exotic grasses with native varieties of grass. Clean Coonoor along has just received a grant of Rs 100000 from the district administration to replant 0.9 acres along the wetland in Yedapalli, a small village near Coonoor. The grant is being funded from the green tax (Rs 20 per vehicle) levied on tourist vehicles entering the Nilgiris.

(Courtesy: Mongabay)

Registered with The Registrar of Newspapers for India under TNENG/2009/27557

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Joining hands to conserve wetlands and waterwaysShocked by the level of garbage in their small mountain town, the citizens of Coonoor started a movement to clean their town, its waterways and wetlands. A Madras High Court order directing the district administration of the Nilgiris to remove encroachments from the boundaries of water bodies and wetlands will help Coonoor citizens’ efforts to conserve the ecosystem

nina VargheSe, Coonoor, Tamil Nadu

A Madras High Court order to evict encroachers from the banks of water bodies

in the Nilgiris came as a shot in the arm for the citizens of Coonoor, in their efforts for reclaiming their water bodies and wetlands. The citizens of this small town in the Nilgiris, in India’s southern state of Tamil Nadu, have adopted a multi-pronged approach to clean and rejuvenate their water bodies, aided by the district administration and the elected bodies.

Over the past 40 years, the people of Coonoor with its present population of over 50000 (during 2011 census it was 45494) have watched with dread as the town and the hills around were being systematically destroyed by tourism, construction, congestion and garbage. In addition to these problems is the perennial water problem the residents suffer from.

“It began in 2014: one fine Diwali day, on noticing the amount of litter left behind by tourists near Sim’s Park, a Coonoor-based dentist, Dr Bhavana Iniyan posted a few pictures on Facebook and a status message that she was going to try and clear up the mess by herself,” said Samantha Iyanna, the founder of the Clean Coonoor initiative. “The post had its desired effect. The next day, a few like-minded individuals joined her in her efforts and the place was free of trash. On this very day was born Clean Coonoor, an informal citizen’s group of individuals, filled with one singular purpose: to keep the town clean,” Iyanna added.

Since then, the citizen’s group has been cleaning up various parts of the town, creating awareness among the townspeople and schoolchildren. Slowly, the town awakened to the need of

preserving the environment and more people joined the movement. Clean Coonoor’s work gained momentum as more people joined in. A plogging (jogging plus picking up trash) heritage walk along the tracks of the Nilgiri Mountain Railway was successful thanks largely to the large number of people who turned up. Cleaning the storm water drains and culverts (the tunnels which channel water under roads) seemed to be the next logical step.

Panchavarnam Vasanthan, a retired government doctor and active member of Clean Coonoor said, “The storm drains and culverts are more than adequate, provided they are not allowed to clog up. However, the sewerage system, which has undergone no great change over the years, is totally inadequate being designed for a population of around 5000 individuals. The population of the town has now crossed the 50000 mark. It is a fact that many homesteads and business establishments now discharge, both sewage and sullage, directly into the many rivulets which ultimately empties into the Coonoor River.”

The Coonoor Municipality was constituted in 1866 and the first mention of culverts which were either simple stone or wooden structures is seen in the 1847 report on the survey of the district made by Colonel Ouchterlony. These were later replaced with regular cut stone box culverts when the existing roads were partially metalled in the 1880s. A few of these box culverts still survive, but most have been replaced with concrete pipe culverts, Vasanthan said.

The first sewerage system came into place only in 1891, with the drainage area being divided into two areas: Mission Hill and Bazaar Hill, each drained by two covered main sewers which finally discharged into the Coonoor River. The old idea of discharging sewage into rivers has now proved to be a big problem — not just in the Nilgiris but all over the country — with the dark and murky Coonoor River being totally contaminated. Younger residents say that they did not know it was a river and always thought it was a gutter.

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A three-year World Wide Fund for Nature study on ‘Water quality assessment in the upper reaches of the Bhavani and Moyar in the Nilgiris’ released in 2017 states five million litres per day (MLD) of untreated sewage from Coonoor was discharged into the Coonoor River which eventually joins the Kallar River. The Coonoor Municipality does not have a sewage treatment plant. The findings further reveal that coliform bacteria present in the Coonoor River water is 10 times higher than the norm set by the Central Pollution Control Board.

Vasanthan said that the real challenge in cleaning the Coonoor River lies in the transportation and disposal of the garbage collected even with the municipality trucks transporting the waste. The river is estimated to hold around 75-100 tons of plastic and other trash in dry weight along its entire five km stretch.

Though the Clean Coonoor volunteers have been doing a great service, the time has come for corporate and government help. Vasanthan said a group of 50 volunteers can be expected to collect around 1.5 tons of trash per day which works out 50-70 trips from the site of collection to the dump yard. The cost of preventing further accumulation of garbage such as barriers, mechanical separators and such, needs further evaluation, he said.

The Coonoor Municipality has identified 20 bulk waste generators in the town; this includes the Pasteur Institute, schools and hotels. The

municipality has helped these establishments install biodigesters on their premises to dispose of the wet waste, J. Raghunathan, municipal health officer said; this includes biodigesters for the 60 onsite residences of Pasteur Institute. Other households in town have been advised to set up pipe composters. The government has sanctioned Rs. 1.15 million (Rs. 11.5 lakh) to set up 660 pipe composters, he said.

Nikhil Suresh, the managing director of Vivek Tourist Home, one of the larger hotels in town, said, “We manage our own waste – segregate and dispose the biodegradable waste by way of four chambers of biodigester septic tanks, which are basically Syntex tanks with the bottom cut out. The municipality helped us with the technology and provided us with the enzymes required to decompose the waste. The hotel has its own sewerage treatment plant (STP).”

The collector of the Nilgiris District, J. Innocent Divya, said that the Government planned to set up six decentralised sewage treatment plants (STPs) in Coonoor because of the gradient and the topography of the town. One large STP will not work in Coonoor as the town is spread over a series of hills.

The Madras High Court order asking the district collector and the district administration to evict those encroaching on the wetlands will help in the process of cleaning the wetlands and waterways. The dwellings and commercial establishments along the banks of the river have

Garbage at Laws Falls near Coonoor.

Volunteers cleaning a culvert in Coonoor.