Amita Bhaduri
Rajasthan's ancient yet ever-evolving water heritage
Posted on 21 Jul, 2019 11:10 AMThe state of Rajasthan has an immense range of ancient and ingenious water harvesting systems, like the famous johads or step wells managed by communities in the arid Thar desert, which receives very low rainfall.
![The design of Chand baodi (stepwell) in Abhaneri village, Rajasthan, was intended to conserve as much water as possible (Image: Unseen Horizons, Flickr Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/chand_baoli-abhaneri-.jpg?itok=_hila_Ug)
Budget 2019 talks big on water
Posted on 10 Jul, 2019 02:04 PMNirmala Sitharaman, Finance Minister alluded to gaon, garib and kisan as the centre of all policies of this government, while announcing a clutch of schemes aimed at the rural and urban poor.
![Indian children tapping water (Image: Global Water Partnership, Flickr Commons, CC BY NC-SA 2.0)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/indian-children-tapping-water.jpg?itok=otjkRpho)
Surya Ganga: A film review
Posted on 14 Jun, 2019 10:42 AMSurya Ganga, a film directed by Valli Bindana takes an all embracing view of the energy sector, especially the social and environmental consequences of big energy projects in India. The film was released in India recently.
![Ganga's riverflow near Dhari Devi temple in Uttarakhand (Image: SuryaGanga Facebook Page)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/dhari-devi-temple.jpg?itok=c9gYZMRc)
Air pollution surges to emergency levels in India
Posted on 11 Jun, 2019 03:53 PMUrban India needs to take air pollution more seriously than it does now. The Centre for Science and Environment’s report, State of India's Environment 2019 has come up with startling facts on the state of air in the country.
![Narratives from Korba in Chhattisgarh is proof that breathing the dust laden air near the power plant is injurious to health. (Image: Ishan Tankha)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/photo4.jpg?itok=F3v5umuW)
Understanding the Yamuna and life around it
Posted on 03 Jun, 2019 07:30 AMSarla Yadav, a resident of Yamuna Ghat 24 is a treasure trove of stories on the river Yamuna. She runs a boat business with her son Shyam who provides a nuanced personal account of living by the river and of eking out a meagre livelihood by plying boats. They are among a few families who have not sold their boats so far.
![The Yamuna river and its people (Image: Shashwat Jain, Wikimedia Commons; CC BY-SA 4.0)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/the_yamuna.jpg?itok=4YUS0-YP)
Monsoon to arrive late, less rain expected: Skymet
Posted on 30 May, 2019 11:25 AMSkies in several parts of Kerala are overcast with pre-monsoon but monsoon is progressing sluggishly, as per meteorological predictions. “This year’s monsoon rains will arrive on India southern coast in Kerala on June 4 and deliver less rain than average year,” says Skymet, a private weather forecasting agency.
![Monsoon in Sikkim Himalayas (Image: Marina, Wikimedia Commons, CC-A-2.0-Generic)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/800px-monsoon_in_himalayas_sikkim_india.jpg?itok=kbwPCqxy)
Reservoir storage in western India below normal: CWC
Posted on 23 May, 2019 04:49 PMThe recent data from the Central Water Commission (CWC), released on May 9, 2019 reveals a reassuring situation of water storage in the river basins of India. The overall water storage in the 91 reservoirs monitored is slightly more (105 percent) when compared to the average water storage over the last 10 years, the data shows.
![Mulshi dam reservoir in Maharashtra (Image: Rohit Gowaikar, Wikimedia Commons)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/mulshi_1.jpg?itok=8DbjGyT9)
What happens when you throw away pencil cells?
Posted on 14 May, 2019 05:33 PMA recent study by Toxics Link, an environmental research and advocacy organisation on batteries titled Dead and buried: A situational analysis of battery waste management in India estimates that 2.7 billion pieces of dry cell batteries are being consumed annually in India.
![The evolving framework of end-of-life battery management could be inclusive of the informal chain of collectors and segregators. (Image: Toxics Link)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/battery.jpg?itok=VBAqoo1w)
Only 37 percent of world’s long rivers free flowing
Posted on 14 May, 2019 05:02 PMA little over a third of the world's 246 long rivers remain free-flowing, as per a study by a team of 34 international researchers, including those from McGill University in Canada and World Wildlife Fund India.
![Pancheshwar dam on Mahakali river is feared to break the natural flow connectivity of river. (Image: Vimal Bhai)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/lead_7.jpg?itok=JouaRezl)
Breaking period taboo
Posted on 06 May, 2019 11:18 AMLeela Patel (19) explains how women at Wali, a tribal gram panchayat in Kurabad block, just 30 km away from Udaipur, manage menstruation by using old scraps of cloth. She’s aware of cases when women have had to use ash, dust and soil to soak up their periods. Buying a pack of sanitary pads is a luxury in this poverty-stricken belt.
![Women at a manufacturing unit in Wali village that produces biodegradable sanitary pads at a low cost. (Image: India Water Portal)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/sanitary_pad5_0.jpg?itok=Hty0-EL9)