"Crop failure resulting from failed monsoon drives farmers to suicide in Saurashtra" - Roundup of the week's news (20-26 August 2012)

Near complete crop-failure drives farmers to suicide in Saurashtra, Gujarat

A failed monsoon resulting in near-total crop failure has driven farmers to suicide in Saurashtra. A failed monsoon this year has followed unseasonal winter rains in 2011 and heavy rains the previous year, both of which destroyed standing crops. Experts have called for government intervention lest matters worsen further by Diwali.

Realty boom spells doom for Noida water table

Construction projects in Noida are playing havoc with the water table, with several new projects in the pipeline. On an average each project extracts as much as 2 lakh litres per day. The fact that 70 of the 7000 industrial units follow the government directive to harvest rainwater has not helped either.

Uri II hydel project to be commissioned next year, says J & K government

Uri II hydel project is to be commissioned next year, says J & K government. The much-delayed project, on which Rs 1800 crore has been spent, will add 60 MW to the power output by the National Hydel Power Corporation. The project is set to go on stream in January 2013.

World Bank–funded Aquifer India Mapping Project (AQUIM) to map aquifers in Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Bihar, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh

Mapping of aquifers will be done by a helicopter fitted with electro-magnetic equipment on six sites identified in the five states. The project is to be scaled up later to prepare a micro-level aquifer map for the entire country to meet the growing groundwater demand.

Pachnada confluence of five rivers near Etawah, Uttar Pradesh, to be restored its eco-health with the help of Thames River Restoration Trust, UK

The Pachnada is a confluence of five rivers - Yamuna, Chambal, Kunwari, Pahuj and Sindh. The restoration will involve using the community and local groups in the process.