Original Query: Dr. B K Sharma, Gwalior Childrens Hospital, Madhya Pradesh

Posted: 9 December 2005

Dear friends,

I am posting this query on behalf of Gwalior Childrens Hospital, a grassroots organization in Madhya Pradesh. We are working in Gwalior and Chambal region especially in rural areas and building the Orphanage- Snehalaya near village Sikroda, where there is no infrastructure for sanitation at present. We are hoping to cater for 100 children and adults in its first phase though shall expand it to accommodate 500 children and adults there ultimately.

Original Query: Sheldon Mendonca, Watershed Organization Trust (WOTR), Ahmednagar

Posted: 28 June 2006

I work with the renewable energy department recently formed by Watershed Organisation Trust (WOTR). WOTR is looking to use renewable energy technologies to attempt solving the energy problems faced by communities in rural Maharashtra.

In this context, I would be grateful, if members of the community can share with me:

The case study titled “Making nightsoil-based biogas plants viable in Maharashtra’s Pune district” has been written by Dr. S V Mapuskar in India Infrastructure Report, published in 2007 by United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). It presents Dehu village of Maharashtra’s Pune district, where some families allow their neighbours to use their toilets for a nominal maintenance charge making attached biogas plants economically viable. The strategy has also eased the village Panchayat’s responsibilities for human nightsoil management and reduced environmental pollution due to open defecation.