The monsoons finally hit Kerala on June 1, bringing respite for the drought-ridden southern state. Things are looking up this year with an expected 98% of rainfall in the state.
Water-starved Bangalore is unable to handle the rains yet again. A pre-monsoon shower for just two hours threw life out of gear in the city. There were countless traffic jams, disrupted power supply and flooded houses in many parts of the city.
As water level in reservoirs serving Chennai goes down, the city finds new hope in an old friend – Krishna! Release of Krishna river water will help tide the crisis faced by the city. Currently, the city’s four reservoirs have only 20% of their total storage capacity.
The issue of water as a state subject hampers the Centre’s objective of setting up an authority for planned development of river basins, which are areas where water is collected. Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh don’t want the Centre to interfere in their water management processes.
The Yamuna river finds some solace as doctors don their surgical caps, sanitised gloves and protective foot gear to breathe life into it. A group of young medical professionals work towards cleaning the dirty, polluted and dying river.
This is a weekly roundup of important news from June 3 -9, 2013.