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Water not for profit
Water privatisation has a history of failure in India. Why are we still engaging private operators to manage our waters? Posted on 16 Oct, 2016 08:58 PM

In August 2016, the Karnataka government gave Abu Dhabi-based businessman B.R. Shetty permission to privatise the iconic Jog Falls to make it a perennial waterfall and to develop it into a tourism hotspot.

NMC employees union and residents of Nagpur protest water privatisation.
Get wealthy with water
This year’s winner of Thiess International Riverprize, Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper talks to India Water Portal on how their river restoration efforts became a success with public participation. Posted on 15 Oct, 2016 11:59 AM

The Thiess International Riverprize is a globally renowned prize that is awarded by the International RiverFoundation to those demonstrating outstanding results in the sustainable river basin management, restoration and protection across the world.

Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper receive the Thiess International Riverprize at the 19th International River Symposium. (Image Source: International RiverFoundation)
Health check up for the rivers
While the health of the rivers needs to be comprehensively assessed to bring the contamination down, public participation remains crucial in keeping the rivers alive. Posted on 14 Oct, 2016 06:16 PM

A severe crisis is plaguing the rivers in India.

The Krishna river, Wai, Maharashtra. (Source: India Water Portal)
Who cares for a canal?
Buckingham canal in Chennai plays a crucial role in flood mitigation. It is rapidly deteriorating and needs immediate attention to avoid a repeat of last year's flood. Posted on 14 Oct, 2016 06:49 AM

Long-time Kottur resident Narayanan’s earliest memories of the Buckingham canal are those of the famed salt and timber-laden wooden catamarans of the 1950s and the 60s. A namesake of the Duke of Buckingham and Chandos, the erstwhile governor of Madras, the canal was initially constructed as a brackish water-navigation channel in the early 1800s, connecting the north of Madras with Ennore.

Elevated MRTS rail line right on the canal in Adyar (Image: Seetha Gopalakrishnan, IWP)
Can we build castles without sand?
Sand mining is posing a huge threat to the life of the rivers in the country. Increasing water scarcity demands a permanent solution to this and alternatives to sand have come up as an option. Posted on 14 Oct, 2016 05:45 AM

Sand is today the most consumed raw material in the world after water. From building infrastructure to making glass, silicon chips, solar panels and even detergents and toothpastes, sand is an omnipresent element of our living.

Illegal mining affects the natural course of the river, its flood-regulation capacity and the groundwater levels.
Empty fields remain as schemes fail
CAG audit of Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana, a scheme that promised a revitalised agriculture sector, suggests only 62 percent work was completed. They are fraught with irregularities, too. Posted on 13 Oct, 2016 01:20 PM

Phaguni Ho hails from East Singhbhum district in Jharkhand. Come March, Phaguni’s husband will migrate to Chennai to work as a daily wager at a construction site. Unable to handle the small farm in Singhbhum alone, she has given it on lease to another farmer. “I have to look after my four children and livestock.

Phaguni is one of the victims of the crisis in farming.
Ways to keep arsenic away
There are many arsenic removal technologies available to ensure safe drinking water for villages. Picking the right approach is key. Posted on 11 Oct, 2016 10:12 PM

For villagers at Madhusudan Kathi, the handpumps serving water from an unprotected source led to arsenic contamination, making water from these pumps risky to drink.

Arsenic removal unit developed by Arup Sengupta, Lehigh University, Bethlehem at Howrah, West Bengal. (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
New Supreme Court bench to hear Cauvery dispute
Policy matters this week Posted on 11 Oct, 2016 02:38 PM

Cauvery dispute: New Supreme Court bench constituted

Cauvery river (Source: India Water Portal)
River transport projects on development track
News this week Posted on 10 Oct, 2016 10:36 AM

Government starts river transport project with eight waterways

River transport project work in progress. (Source: India Water Portal)
A losing battle
A film explores the truth behind the shrinking Dal and ways to reverse the situation. Posted on 08 Oct, 2016 10:30 AM

At the recently concluded Woodpecker International Film Festival held at Sirifort Auditorium, New Delhi, Abdul Rashid, who works for Educational Multimedia Research Centre (EMMRC) in the University of Kashmir, was awarded Young Green Filmmaker 2016.

Abdul Rashid receives the nomination certificate during WIFF 2016.
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