BANGALORE (Jan. 16)—Water water everywhere, but not a drop to drink, for free that is. The blue gold of the 21st century is silently brewing up the toughest human rights battle across the globe to restore access to clean water.
Privatization of water, especially in urban areas, is a 21st century device of the corporate giants bent on controlling the people’s most basic need for survival.
Companies like Coca Cola in the states of Rajasthan and Kerala have been repeatedly accused of exploiting ground aquifers by extracting ground water for their manufacturing. Meanwhile, Biwater Plc. of Britain has been controlling the clean water supply in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, charging high amounts for the otherwise free natural ground water.
In El Alto, Bolivia, Suez Corporation of France is sucking out ground water resources, exhausting the water levels, and charging high amount suppling the same water. These companies that otherwise offer investment solutions to governments, restrict water supply to the people of the regions they operate in.
They block and tap natural water resources, charge absurd sum, tax the otherwise free natural water supply; inciting human rights struggle with protests often turning violent.
In the wake of this, Bangalore Water Summit is going to be held from the 1st to the 3rd of February, 2012. It is to be jointly organized by the Centre for Sustainable Development Bangalore; Bangalore Water Supply & Sewerage Board; Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Drainage Board; Indian Water Works Association and the Triple Tree Exhibitions & Sports.
The event has an extended plan of organizing seminars, multiple conferences; global trade shows; knowledge exchange forums on water resource and conservation, water quality and health, Water demand management, Information and Communication Technology for water, Effects of climate change on water.
It will provide for an interactive platform for exchange of plans and ideas, display of latest technologies in sustaining water resources and unbiased distribution of the same. The three days event will also see poster & paper sessions; case study presentations; awards, tech tours and walkathon related to promoting water awareness.
Waste water management, sustainable exhaustion of ground water, water purification, water re-cycling and also development of water infrastructures are the challenges that are going to be discussed by representatives from countries like USA, Germany, France, UK, Canada, Australia, China, Japan, and Singapore and more.
Integrated water management is essential for poverty control and reduction, environmental growth and sustenance and sustainable economic development.
From the vast regions of Africa and Asia where people have to walk for miles to fetch fresh, clean water to the first world countries where people have gas in their cars but not access to drinking water, a concern cannot get any bigger.
Human civilization is moving towards a dry age; where half of the world’s population is expected to lose access to clean water in the next three decades.
As governments around the world are but vulnerable to corporate pressures and are promoting privatization of water. World Bank similarly worships the theory of privatization of water in spite of the repeated failures in incorporating the same around the world.
(Published in upiu.com)
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