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Political
When it rains, it stores!
Posted on 25 Mar, 2014 09:03 PMv\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} o\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} w\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} .shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
![Rainwater diverted into an open well in Thrissur](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/img_5079.jpg?itok=fu7bRXZ2)
Prevention is better than rehabilitation
Posted on 25 Mar, 2014 08:50 PMThe 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](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/img_0020.jpg?itok=_Zf_dIVo)
Fluid rivers but concrete mindsets
Posted on 25 Mar, 2014 08:42 PMThe 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](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/p1030671.jpg?itok=P92lO3vs)
Barter by the beel
Posted on 25 Mar, 2014 08:33 PMThis was my first time here. I had heard of this festival, perhaps the only existing one in India, where barter takes place at such a scale. Jon Beel mela in Jon Beel, Jagiroad Assam- a historic festival where people from the hills and plains come together for a unique exchange of goods and agricultural produce near a moon-shaped wetland.
![Eatables laid out for exchange at Jon beel mela](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/dsc_0743.jpg?itok=IPEAN80q)
Their land lost to a dam, 2,000 farmers take to fishing -- in cages
Posted on 25 Mar, 2014 08:28 PMThe Chandil dam reservoir is located 30 kms from Jamshedpur on the Subernarekha river in Jharkhand. While this dam is a 'tourist hotspot', its construction has resulted in the displacement of more than 20,000 families from 116 surrounding villages. “We lost our farmlands because of the project and now, to support our families, we have to take any job available", says Narayan Gope.
![Modular cages used for cage culture in Chandil](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/dsc05976tp.jpg?itok=9eLwk-lG)
A pathway for water
Posted on 25 Mar, 2014 08:18 PMPophala is a dry land farming village with 73 families that cultivate 290 acres. The people would spend as many as 5 hours to go to another village and get water. In the year 2013, the Gram Sabha in Pophala village, decided on something unique. They decided to figure out a way to get and keep water in their village so as to not be dependent on anyone else.
![From dry land farming to Water conservation](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/wp_20140218_11_21_25_panorama.jpg?itok=XJGsshs4)
Fatehabad - Another Fukushima?
Posted on 25 Mar, 2014 08:14 PMNational Highway 10 passes through Badophal, a village in Fatehabad district of Haryana. The highway is lined by a tiny market and a point where several jeeps start and terminate. These jeeps are headed to Gorakhpur village, some 15 kms away via Kajal Heri, another village en route.
![Gorakhpur nuclear power plant site](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/board.jpg?itok=LKIeQso9)
The key to successfully managing groundwater in India
Posted on 23 Mar, 2014 10:47 PMDr. Himanshu Kulkarni is the Executive Director of the Advanced Center for Water Resources Development and Management (ACWADAM), a non-profit organisation in Pune. It is a premier education and research institution, which facilitates work on groundwater management through action research programmes and training.
![A study group observing groundwater in a well](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/dsc_0222tp.jpg?itok=ZG5mq6SO)
No water, no power - no problem!
Posted on 23 Mar, 2014 10:46 PMSea Line Co-operative Society, is a residential complex with 25 apartments in Bandra-a suburb in Mumbai. The 70 residents required 6000 kilolitres (KL) water per year but they managed to procure just about 5000 KL while paying through their noses - Rs. 20,000 per month, to be exact.
![Navin Chandra, near the water treatment plant](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/dsc00100.jpg?itok=0bs3qui1)
Floods despite dams
Posted on 23 Mar, 2014 10:42 PMFloods in Bihar have acquired menacing proportions following the embanking of its rivers, which has led to severe dislocations in the society. Estimates suggest that 70% of the population in north Bihar lives under the recurring threat of flood devastation (1). The 2013 floods affected more than 5.9 million people in 3768 villages (2).
![Floods disrupt life in Bihar](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/floods_3.jpg?itok=h2zrKr12)