Physiography

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Holi-Bajoli hydropower project shifts banks
A group of women in Himachal protest the shifting of a hydel project from the right bank to the left of the Ravi river. While it may seem like a simple 'side' issue, the truth is far more complex. Posted on 21 Jul, 2014 04:59 AM

I could just about see a small makeshift shelter with a yellow canopy. As I made my way through the small stream and climbed uphill, I saw a JCB machine trying to clear a path. Further up the road, female voices speaking the local dialect started to emerge. A small hearth surrounded by utensils and jars of tea, sugar and lentils greeted me at the entrance.

Himachal women protest Holi-Bajoli hydel plant
Genocide by indifference
The people of Chaubari, Uttar Pradesh have lived alongside and have depended on the Ramganga river for generations. Now, an upcoming barrage is poised to wipe them out. Posted on 07 Jul, 2014 03:40 PM

The Ramganga has many impediments in the course of its 655 kilometer stretch from its origin in the mountains of Uttarakhand to its confluence with the Ganga in Uttar Pradesh. In addition to the Kalagarh Dam, there are already two barrages along its length and now a third one is coming up a few kilometers from Bareilly.

Bareilly barrage across the Ramganga in UP
A water supply system that even Delhi would envy
Indwalgaon in Uttarakhand harnessed available government resources to move from a water-deficit to a water-adequate state, thanks to its Pradhan Madanlal. Posted on 06 Jul, 2014 08:28 PM

 Visitors and the Uttarakhand Tourism Department liken the mountain to 'devbhoomi' or the heavens but it isn't often that a villager of the area echoes those sentiments. Most of them are weary of the unending struggle to live in harmony with those steep slopes that make all manner of infrastructure difficult.

Madan Lal gazes at a water supply scheme
Water allocation to stay the same for Telangana and Andhra
News this week Posted on 10 Jun, 2014 11:08 AM

Telangana formed but no change in water allocation

Telangana boundaries (Source: Aditya Madhav)
Women water managers of Chopriali
Galvanised by the formation of a Mahila Mangal Dal and by some training, these women in a small village in Uttarakhand design, construct and manage their own water sources and structures. Posted on 04 Jun, 2014 01:21 PM

"We did everything ourselves", said the ebuillent Bhuvaneshwari Devi. "We took the cement up, carried the sand, everything! And we even told them where to place the tank"! She went on to narrate how the women's group of which she is a member, taught the men of the village that siting a tank in the stream will place it in danger of being washed away.

The tanks and canals that form the supply system
Himachal prone to Uttarakhand-like flash floods
News this week Posted on 02 Jun, 2014 04:24 PM

Scientists say Himachal prone to Uttarakhand-like flash floods

Glacier lake in HP (Source: Ankit Solanki)
Abolish manual scavenging: SC
Policy matters this month: SC directs all states to abolish manual scavenging; MoEF reduces ESA in its new draft notification on Western Ghats; Maharashtra all set to clean its rivers. Posted on 31 Mar, 2014 11:14 PM

Abolish manual scavenging: SC

A manual scavenger in Chennai (Namathu Blogspot)
Does tapping regional springs affect the Western Ghats?
Dr. Jared Buono, hydrologist at NGO Gram Pari, spoke of a project that helped revive springs in the Western Ghats at an event organised by IIT Mumbai and India Water Portal to mark World Water Day. Posted on 31 Mar, 2014 10:08 PM

The Western Ghats are made of up basalt rocks, which were formed from lava flows. These rocks are also known as water buckets as they are able to retain a lot of water. This unique feature helps create springs. At an event organised by IIT Mumbai and India Water Portal to mark World Water Day, Dr. Jared Buono talked about how springs were revived in Panchgani with the help of spring boxes.

World Water Day at IIT-Bombay
Prevention is better than rehabilitation
Commonly understood steps in disaster management are response, relief and rehabilitation but there is no mention of prevention. Awareness and education is the key to bringing about this change. Posted on 25 Mar, 2014 08:50 PM

The Himalayas were born of continental shift when the Indian subcontinent challenged the larger Asian landmass. This tortured birth still continues making the region susceptible to landslides and earthquakes.

A room overlooking the Gori Ganga, Uttarakhand
Fluid rivers but concrete mindsets
Flooded rivers may be a problem in Bihar, but diverting them is not a solution; neither is building embankments. Example: Sitamarhi. Posted on 25 Mar, 2014 08:42 PM

The twin sisters:  Bihar is a land of fertile farms bearing sugarcane, wheat, rice, gram and pulses. Interspersed between the fields are venerable mango groves. Of Bihar's children, perhaps none is as universally loved as Sita. The village that she was born in -Sitamarhi- welcomed another daughter along with Sita.

The old course Lakhandei at Sitamarhi
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