Amita Bhaduri

Amita Bhaduri
Small MP village inspires neighbours
Once water-deficient, Didakhedi in Madhya Pradesh is now a village with year-round water supply and a sense of community and belonging.
Posted on 01 Dec, 2013 08:31 PM

The 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.

Athirapilly falls under threat
Another proposed power project blurs the lines between cost to environment and need for development. Will it ever cease to be a dichotomy and become a win-win situation for both?
Posted on 23 Nov, 2013 07:54 AM

Athirappilly 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
More children stunted in India than in sub-Saharan Africa
Studies show a link between open defecation and stunted development, but merely building toilets may not be the answer.
Posted on 11 Sep, 2013 12:02 PM

Children in India are shorter when compared to those in sub-Saharan Africa even though Indians have higher income levels.

Children in India; Source: MOSPI
Coping with floods and erosion in the Brahmaputra plains
Floods are a way of life in this region. Over the years, people and ecosystems have developed methods to deal with this including raised hand pumps and houses on stilts among others. Posted on 11 Sep, 2013 11:15 AM

I 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
The missing water bodies of Western Uttar Pradesh
Over 3000 water bodies which once existed in Meerut district alone are now in a pitiable state. Will returning to a community-based water management system help revive these?
Posted on 01 Sep, 2013 11:54 AM

Traditional 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
Blue technologies to fight the water crisis
Industry experts, water purifier companies and civil society groups talk about buyers expectations, market-centric strategies and future trends in household water purifiers for rural areas.
Posted on 23 Aug, 2013 09:49 PM

A 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!
Are Olive Ridley turtles nearing extinction in Orissa?
Sea turtles have survived for 66 million years but are dying more incidental deaths now thanks to mechanized fishing. Community-based conservation programmes are the answer to preserving the species.
Posted on 17 Aug, 2013 11:00 PM

Sea turtles, a globally endangered species, have been around since even before dinosaurs roamed the earth.

Olive Ridley sea turtles; Source: The Hindu
Touched by very little water
Anupam Mishra talks about how the desert societies of Rajasthan have managed their scarce water resources for over 1000 years.
Posted on 01 Aug, 2013 11:54 AM

Author and conservationist, Anupam Mishra has spent decades promoting water conservation and management. Through his travels across various states of India, he has been studying and teaching the time-tested techniques of rainwater harvesting.

Kunds and tankas have been used to collect water
Beware of genetically modified crops
The passing of the Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India bill will hasten the arrival of genetically modified (GM) crops in India. Are we aware of all the facts around it?
Posted on 25 Jul, 2013 01:36 PM

When the DNA of a plant is modified using genetic engineering techniques or biotechnology, the plant is said to have been genetically modified (GM). What does this mean to you and I? Quite simply, it means that the crop could have undergone this process in order to become something that it wasn't in the first place. 

Protest against BRAI bill Source: Greenpeace
Water for sale - to the highest bidder
Water is a natural resource that should be 'free' for all or at least easily accessible but why is India allowing more and more companies to privatise it?
Posted on 25 Jul, 2013 01:02 PM

Did you know that the planet would die in three days if it ran out of water? Water is a basic necessity and the United Nations recognized the right to it as a basic human right in 2010. Isn’t it ironic that we are still allowing a few utility companies privatise it, speculate over it and control it?

Rising cost of water Source: K.N. Balraj
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