Preliminary Water and Sanitation Assessment for Alappuzha Town

Abstract

This is part of a Working Paper series that came out of studies and action done by CANALPY, an initiative out of the collaboration between Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay and the Kerala Institute of Local Administration. The major aim of CANALPY is the rejuvenation of canals through decentralised and participatory social and technological interventions. It aims to work with youth and students for an informed understanding of the problems and equip them to reclaim the canal commons from their current state of dilapidation due to free flowing waste water and dumping of solid wastes. The studies done by CANALPY are trans-disciplinary in nature by forging a partnership with local youth, students and especially the municipality so that the data can be readily used for interventions. Every study is followed by presentations, consultations and brainstorming to arrive at solutions and explore the implementation challenges. The initiative started with 18 students from Centre for Technology Alternatives for Rural Areas (CTARA), IIT Bombay and 17 students from the SCMS College of Engineering and Technology, Kerala coming together for a Winter school in November 2017 organised by Kerala Institute of Local Administration (KILA) in collaboration with IIT Bombay. They developed a methodology using open source mobile applications and Geographical Information System (GIS) to undertake technical and socio-economic analysis of the water and sanitation practices and infrastructure of Alappuzha town of Kerala. This report presents the findings of the Winter School. These are abridged versions of the larger reports. The academic reports may be downloaded freely from the CANALPY website, www.canalpy.com