Aarti Kelkar-Khambete

In the olden times, people knew the importance of water and had devised a number of techniques to manage and conserve water resources. These efforts not only met the drinking water needs of the people, but also helped the survival of livestock and agriculture in areas where perennial rivers were absent and the population depended on rains and often faced water scarcity or droughts.

What's not to like about sugarcane juice in summer? Would you drink as much of it or more if you knew that those selling it in Pune where I live, are people who have migrated temporarily from drought-affected villages in rural Maharashtra, and are counting on juice sales to get through the whole year?

With water resources dwindling at a rapid rate globally and its predicted serious impacts on economies and livelihoods, World Water Day 2016

Maharashtra is the fourth state following Karnataka, Chattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh to seek out relief from the Union government thanks to more than 15,000 of its villages across Marathwada and parts of Western Maharashtra reeling under drought in 2015 [1].

This story of the untiring efforts of a commerce ex-lecturer to convert twenty five acres of a barren piece of land into a self sustainable green farm, provides an ideal example of a model for rainwater harvesting and demonstrates how persistence and the sheer determination to go on till the end, can yield miraculous results.

A visit to Dhanushkodi makes one wonder as to how such  peace and tranquility can at times, also unleash such fury and destruction, but then life goes on, as does for the small section of the fisherfolk who continue to inhabit the island and depend on it for their basic needs of food and drinking water, which the island continues to provide for them

The 200 old revived lake in Valni village, Nagpur

The Congress was jointly organised by Centre for Environment and Development (CED), Thiruvananthapuram and the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (RGCB), Thiruvananthapuram 

Inauguration of the conference

Around 350 participants including eminent scientists, agricultural experts and students participated in the event. The conference was inaugurated by the Chief Minister of Kerala, Sri. Oommen Chandy. Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister, highlighted that development and environment were linked and that the approach to the cause of agriculture and environment needed to be realistic since the state could not neglect both development and environment. He also pointed out that Kerala was one state having a very high reputation in preserving and protecting the forest cover, which was much  higher than the national average in the state. This was possible due to the will and awareness of the people of Kerala. He emphasised the need for a more realistic approach to deal with issues related to the agriculture and environment.

Inaugural speech by the Chief Minister of Kerala