E-Dialogues | Dialogues 8.0, 9.0 & 10.0
Discussing capacity of Indian cities in the post pandemic world COVID-19 pandemic has hit the world at an unprecedented time. India has tried its best to fight this health emergency and control the situation. Cities are at the forefront of this and their capacity building at the ground level is the key to normalcy. Post pandemic problems are new and they need serious discussion to come up with an effective solution
40 August 2020 | www.urbanupdate.in
A
ll India Institute of Local SelfGovernment, in collaboration with United Cities and Local Governments – Asia Pacific (UCLG ASPAC) and Urban Update, organised a total of three webinars in the month of July as part of its E-Dialogues series. Throughout the three webinars, a range of daunting questions about contemporary urban issues were asked and efforts were made to find answers. The eighth edition of the Webinar series was based on the topic “Flood, Thirst: Water management in crisis?” Through the Webinar, Urban Update aimed to put together a panel with allround knowledge of water management in India and the problems it faces. Thus, the panel consisted of Ranjan Panda, Convenor, Combat Climate Change Network, India; Raman VR, Head of Policy, WaterAid India; Swami Shivanand Saraswati, Founder President, Matri Sadan; and Amla Ruia, Chairperson, Aakar Charitable Trust. The session was moderated by Kumar Dhananjay, Consulting Editor,
Urban Update. Dhananjay introduced the theme of the Webinar by stating how the world is witnessing unusual events in regions not so distant or different from one another. “While Chennai is facing a drought like situation, Mumbai is drowning in heavy rains and subsequent floods. This peculiar situation is prevailing in countries across the world and the most common reason for this is a poor water management system,” said Dhananjay. To take the discussion forward, Dhananjay invited Ranjan Panda as the first speaker. He began by saying that a number of water researchers, activists and on-ground workers have been sounding alarm bells about the challenges that water, as a resource, in India is facing. However, these warnings have been mostly falling on deaf ears as the authorities continue to turn a blind eye to the problems at hand. In addition to this, the issue of climate change has been in the limelight since the late 20th century. Although the Government of India has taken initiatives to tackle this problem, the success has not been satisfactory. “Although we have been talking about climate change and its effects since years, we have failed to take appropriate actions to stop it. This, coupled with the absence of an integrated approach in water management in India, is responsible for the establishment of a stark division between the people who have and do not have access to water,” said Panda. He added that although water conservation is the need of the hour, providing supply of water to every household is equally, if not more important. “Countless people die of water scarcity in India. Planned use of water for different purposes is one of the fastest way of saving as much water as we possibly can.”
