Alternative water summit aims to cause a splash
By Deepashri Varadharajan
BANGALORE (Jan. 31)—While an international water summit will be held in Bangalore from Wednesday through Friday, a “people’s summit” will run in parallel protesting against the Karnataka state government’s water privatization policy.
Amit Jain, account director of the Bangalore World Water Summit rejected criticism of the goals of the official summit.
“We are not promoting [water] privatization. So we will not be touching that topic (in the summit),” Jain said.
The coordinator of the People’s Summit for Right to Water said there is “no diversity” among those attending the world water summit—in other words, everyone supports privatization.
Kshithij Urs, co-founder of Peoples’ Campaign for Right to Water, a state-level campaign mainly comprising Dalit organizations and farmers unions, said, “They’re leading us towards one solution (of water privatization).”
World summit to focus on ‘Urban Water Management’
Jain said the Bangalore World Water Summit, to be held at Hotel Lalit Ashok, will focus on topics including water conservation, improving water quality, rainwater harvesting, information technology for water and the effect of climate change on water.
Representatives from countries including Australia, Britain, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, Singapore and the United States will discuss challenges in wastewater management, sustainable extraction of groundwater, water purification, water recycling and the development of water infrastructures.
Shyam Sundar S. Pani, the summit director, said Bangalore was chosen to host the summit because of “major innovations from the R&D perspective,” various recycling projects and water resource management work done by the Indian Institute of Science.
The summit is being 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.
Alternative forum: Replace failed model of water privatization
The People’s Summit for Right to Water, to be held on Thursday at Senate Hall in the premises of Central College, will discuss what it calls the “failed model” of water privatization in Karnataka, especially the Gulbarga, Hubli-Dharwad, Mysore and Belgaum areas.
The organizers of this summit demand that the state government make its stand clear on the privatization issue, and that public water sector institutions be strengthened.
They also demand the removal of Dr. A. Ravindra, who heads the Centre for Sustainable Development, which is organizing the summit, and holds other key portfolios in the state government, from the post of adviser to the chief minister as “he has, through this summit, proved to be serving private interests and is therefore unfit to provide an objective advice.”
Their press release says the summit “is an attempt of private water corporations to use the agency of Dr. A. Ravindra and his organization in commodifying water in Karnataka, with a clear eye on the profits to be accrued, and none whatsoever on sustainability and justice for all.”
(Additional reporting by Shubhankar Chakravorty)
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