Amita Bhaduri
Mapping land and water resources in India
Posted on 27 Jan, 2014 01:18 PMIndia’s mapping activity dates back to the Indus Valley Civilization (c. 2500–1900 BCE) as per the famous geographer, Joseph E. Schwartzberg. His work is based on a couple of surveying instruments and measuring rods that were excavated from the Indus valley sites. Our mapping traditions were influenced by Vedic, Tibetan, Islamic and more recently, British cartography.
![Water resources development in Gujarat (NATMO)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/mapping_0.jpg?itok=h6l4SPhH)
Pesticide 'thali'
Posted on 20 Jan, 2014 09:39 AMOne doesn't have to look far to find pesticide contamination in food and water in India.
![Toxins are used as ripening agents in vegetables](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/potato_2.jpg?itok=Y67YkoIL)
Are there greener pastures for pastoralists?
Posted on 01 Dec, 2013 08:34 PMPastoralist communities are those that depend primarily on livestock (domesticated animals in an agricultural setting) for their living. India has the world’s highest livestock population with 440 million livestock heads distributed over 100 million households (1) but in recent years, pastoralists have been facing threats to their way of life.
![Goat rearing in Udaipur](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/goats-udaipur.jpg?itok=DKgZbe3-)
Small MP village inspires neighbours
Posted on 01 Dec, 2013 08:31 PMThe 200 odd residents of Didakhedi, a sleepy village just 13 kms from Sehore town in Madhya Pradesh, never had adequate water. Two decades ago, most of the farming in the village was done during the monsoons. The village had no electricity and a lone diesel pump operated the shallow dug wells to irrigate some lands during the winter.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/didakhedi.jpg?itok=DVZQadvl)
Athirapilly falls under threat
Posted on 23 Nov, 2013 07:54 AMAthirappilly falls is situated 70 km from Kochi city in Kerala's Thrissur district. The 80 ft high falls is a part of the Chalakudy River and originates in the upper reaches of the Sholayar ranges in the Western Ghats. Lush greenery and little streams that cover the winding route up and down to the falls exhilarate and intimidate all at once.
![Athirapilly waterfalls Source:Sangfroid, Wikimedia](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/athirapilly.jpg?itok=JiKLRMOq)
More children stunted in India than in sub-Saharan Africa
Posted on 11 Sep, 2013 12:02 PMChildren in India are shorter when compared to those in sub-Saharan Africa even though Indians have higher income levels.
![Children in India; Source: MOSPI](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/children.jpg?itok=CZemKYZO)
Coping with floods and erosion in the Brahmaputra plains
Posted on 11 Sep, 2013 11:15 AMI began my latest journey in the land of the red river and the blue hills, Assam from Dibrugarh. The first time I saw the Brahmaputra at Guwahati many years ago, I was fascinated on looking at the mighty stream of water in its full glory after the monsoons.
![Floods in Assam](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/floods_1.jpg?itok=Zv4PlvIK)
The missing water bodies of Western Uttar Pradesh
Posted on 01 Sep, 2013 11:54 AMTraditional water bodies such as bawdis and talabs have long since been an integral part of rural life in India providing water, fish and sometimes even just a venue for people to chit chat. The flat plains in Western Uttar Pradesh, where the Ganga and Yamuna rivers meet, is no exception.
![Suraj kund at Meerut; Source: www.meerut-live.com](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/s_kund_0.jpg?itok=TmJJqMwe)
Blue technologies to fight the water crisis
Posted on 23 Aug, 2013 09:49 PMA recent news report said that UNICEF was promoting a machine that purifies sweat from people’s clothes to get potable drinking water (Fox News). Sounds gross?
![Conserve drinking water!](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/drinking-water.jpg?itok=k5YvjiwL)
Are Olive Ridley turtles nearing extinction in Orissa?
Posted on 17 Aug, 2013 11:00 PMSea turtles, a globally endangered species, have been around since even before dinosaurs roamed the earth.
![Olive Ridley sea turtles; Source: The Hindu](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/olive_ridley.jpg?itok=T6KdAA5K)