Puducherry

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Innovative startups for a greener, period-positive future
5 Startups that are debunking menstrual myths and promoting sustainable menstrual products and practices Posted on 24 May, 2024 05:45 PM

“Achaar matt chhuo”, “Avoid taking a head shower”, “Don’t go to places of worship”

Reports suggest that in India, only around 13% of girls are aware of menstruation before their first period (Image: Eco femme)
Environmental fund misuse: NGT penalises CPCB, criticises ministry's response
Policy matters this fortnight Posted on 31 Dec, 2023 05:41 PM

NGT rebukes CPCB's 'gross misuse' of environmental funds

The NGT highlighted the diversion of environmental compensation funds for unauthorised purposes (Image: Needpix)
River basin governance: Learnings from Cauvery conflict
While the recent ruling of the Supreme court on the Cauvery conflict opens up new possibilities, a push for holistic and interdisciplinary river basin governance is required. Posted on 15 Feb, 2019 01:38 PM

The river Cauvery—an inter-state river shared by the southern states of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, as well as the Union Territory of Pondicherry—has often been in the news for the fight over its waters between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. What dominates the issue is the conflicting demands for irrigation from the plateau region of Karnataka and the delta region in Tamil Nadu.

Cauvery river at Hogenakal, Karnataka. (Source: IWP Flickr Photos via Claire Arni and Oriole Henri)
Simplifying defluoridation
A new device makes defluoridation simple and easy to execute in remote areas where fluorosis is found to be severe. Posted on 19 Aug, 2018 09:12 AM

Estimates suggest that about 10 million Indians are affected by fluorosis, a sickness associated with the consumption of increased concentrations of fluoride, mostly through water. Bones get weakened due to excessive accumulation of fluoride in them which results in increased hip and wrist fractures. Dental enamel gets eroded.

The Superfloc promises a sustainable and cost-effective solution to fluorosis. (Image: Martijn Nitzsche)
Ousteri lake needs help!
A large part of Ousteri lake has been converted into commercial, non-agricultural purposes. A video tells us why it is important to restore it. Posted on 19 Sep, 2017 12:04 PM

Ousteri lake is the largest water body in the Puducherry region.

Ousteri lake (Source: Screenshot from the film Ousteri Lake)
A city pond of its Aayi
Aayi Kulam in Puducherry is not just a pond that does its job of recharging the groundwater. It is a slice of history that needs to be preserved. Posted on 10 Nov, 2016 10:21 PM

Muthirapalayam has figured prominently in Pondicherry’s water supply map for a couple of centuries, dominating especially during the French regime. Though the burgeoning population has necessitated the commissioning of alternate supply routes and source wells, the story of Muthirapalayam is like no other.

Aayi Kulam is now completely dried up.
Keeping beach body in shape
Changing coastlines lead to erosion and threaten livelihoods of people dependent on it for survival. Artificial embankments provide temporary relief, but add to the problem in the long run. Posted on 21 Oct, 2016 08:36 PM

Life without sandy beaches is hard to imagine for artisanal fishermen. Beaches serve as boat-landing sites, net-repair yards, as spots to sort and dry fish, all at once. Increased erosion and the resultant loss of beaches essentially means loss of traditional livelihoods, all across the country’s densely-populated coast.

Seawall lines Pondicherry's Promenade beach. (Image courtesy: Lalit Verma for India’s disappearing beaches - A wake up call)
Farmers think tanks, fight to save water
While the villagers fight to save Puducherry’s cascading tank systems, corrupt authorities come in the way of their efforts. Posted on 29 Sep, 2016 05:57 PM

The union territory (UT) Of Puducherry is, for the most part, enveloped on three sides by the state of Tamil Nadu with the Bay of Bengal framing its eastern face. A total of 84 irrigation tanks--part of the Gingee and Pennaiyar river systems--dot the territory’s landscape. 

Villagers offer their prayers to the guardian of the Bahour tank, Ayyanar (Image: Seetha Gopalakrishnan, IWP)
Water at a click: Pictures to tell the story
Pondy ART’s photo biennale PondyPHOTO has water as its theme this year. Internationally acclaimed photographers are expected to exhibit their work at the event. Posted on 08 Aug, 2016 10:50 PM

A picture is worth a thousand words, but more often than not, insightful pieces of art and photography find themselves confined to affluent salons and galleries. While employing art and photography to address social issues is common in the West, the concept of public art is still in its incipient stages here in India.

Saved by tanks: The story of Puducherry’s Bahour commune
While the monster floods of 2015 mercilessly gobbled up villages along the coast of Tamil Nadu, settlements in neighbouring Puducherry managed to escape the fury. Miracle, you say? Posted on 16 Feb, 2016 10:13 AM

The East Coast of India is very much unlike its western counterpart both in terms of physiography and climatology.

The Manapet tank in Bahour has an ayacut of around 110 acres, most of which is now urbanised (Image: Seetha Gopalakrishnan, IWP)
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