ZoneAsia-Pk

The right to water and sanitation is recognised in international law, but it is often left up to each local community's initiative to secure that right. And a village in the Thar Desert of western India has recently been singled out by The Hindu newspaper for its exemplary water rationing system:

In Kalyanpur village of Barmer, one of the most parched and barren districts of Rajasthan, the villagers have found a solution to their water woes in water rationing. There are no fights over water distribution, no quarrels over breaking the queues or attempts at snatching other people's share of water… [the village's well] is a blessing in the barren zone for its water is very sweet and light, devoid of fluoride or other contaminations … [A steering committee has] laid down rules after assessing needs of the 1,100 families in Kalyanpur, said Loon Chand, secretary of the committee. The [well] was constructed through public participation and the water rationing system also is being run successfully by the committee.  

A six-passenger spaceship owned by an offshoot of Virgin Group fired its rocket engine in flight for the first time on Monday, a key step toward the start of commercial service in about a year, Virgin owner Richard Branson said.

The powered test flight over California's Mojave Desert lasted 16 seconds and broke the sound barrier.

"It was stunning," Branson told Reuters. "You could see it very, very clearly. Putting the rocket and the spaceship together and seeing it perform safely, it was a critical day."

Load-shedding in Punjab would be reduced by three hours within four days, and a further two-hour reduction will follow in the first week of May, tweeted caretaker Chief Minister Najam Sethi on Thursday.

According to a press statement, at a meeting at the chief minister’s secretariat, it was decided that a sum of Rs45 billion will be given to Punjab, to relieve the province of its energy crisis.