Egypt: Ethiopia rejecting ''fundamental issues'' on Nile dam

Cairo, Jun 14 (AP) Egypt and Sudan said talks over a controversial massive Nile dam would be resumed Monday, amid Egyptian accusations that Ethiopia has sought to scrap “all agreements and deals” they had previously reached, and that “many fundamental issues” remain rejected by Ethiopia, the third party to the talks.

The construction of the USD 4.6 billion Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile, which is over 70 per cent complete and promises to provide much-needed electricity to Ethiopia''s 100 million people, has been a contentious point among Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt, the three main Nile Basin countries.

The three countries have been holding talks for years, without reaching a deal. Those talks came to an acrimonious halt in Feb. when Ethiopia rejected a U.S.-crafted deal and accused the Trump administration of siding with Egypt. [Readmore]

WRD to update wireless system across dams

Nashik: The Water Resources Department (WRD) has decided to update its wireless system across all the major and minor dams in the district to ensure a backup plan is ready in case of a failed communication.

Till very recently, the WRD had been communicating with its various offices across the district with the help of wireless sets until mobile phones came into the picture. Yet, the need for wireless communication is being felt and the WRD has, therefore, decided to reinstall and repair the wireless systems as an alternate channel of communication.[Readmore]

GRMB seeks DPRs from AP, Telangana by June 10

Hyderabad: The chairman of Godavari River Management Board (GRMB) J Chandrashekhar Iyer on Friday directed both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh to submit Detailed Project Reports (DPR) of all the projects they have taken up on River Godavari by June 10. The Board sought the reports of nine projects taken up by Telangana including enhancement of Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme (KLIS) as alleged by the AP government.[Readmore]

IIT Madras helps Chilika Lake to triple Irrawaddy Dolphin population

Bhubaneswar/Chennai: Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras researchers undertook a major project at the famous Chilika Lake, the largest brackish water body of Asia and the first Ramsar site of India, to help in tripling the population of the Irrawaddy dolphins.

The scientific investigation was carried out by Prof. R. Sundaravadivelu, Department of Ocean Engineering, IIT Madras, Dr. L. K. Ghosh (Ex-Additional Director CWPRS POONA),Dr. P. Chandramohan (Indomer Coastal Hydraulics, Chennai) and Dr. Ajit Kumar Pattnaik (Ex-Chief Executive, Chilika Development Authority) to trace the root cause of degradation.[Readmore]

No takers in Maharashtra for dam reinforcement technology by Pune-based firm

A technology developed by a Pune firm for the reinforcement of dams that has been endorsed by the Central Water and Power Research Station (CWPRS) and utilised by seven states, besides Konkan Railway and the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), has been bypassed by the Maharashtra irrigation department.

While states like Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand have used the ‘poly ironite ceramic cementitious (PICC) coating technology for the reinforcement of dams, specifically to prevent breaching, it has been bypassed by Maharashtra.[Readmore]

Pune CWPRS completes 100 years: Open house, water management programmes on June 14

The CWPRS, which caters to research and development needs for design of water resource structures will complete 100 years of its existence on June 14.

The Central Water and Power Research Station (CWPRS) is all set for a flood forecasting and integrated water resources management programme with a view to optimise the resources for a particular region or area. This programme is expected to reduce the reliance on crisis management as was done during the summer months for Latur, said director of CWPRS Dr MK Sinha on the sidelines of unveiling the centenary celebrations of the CWPRS, which will see an open house and several programmes on June 14. He said that the programme is part of the National Hydropower project, which is a Rs 3,679 crore outlay undertaken with 50 per cent funding from the World Bank.[Readmore]