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Study detects high levels of arsenic in cooked rice in Bihar
Need to remove arsenic from the food chain and not just drinking water in endemic areas Posted on 03 Mar, 2021 08:01 AM

Extensive evidence of elevated arsenic in the food chain, mainly rice, wheat and vegetables exists.

Median excess lifetime cancer risk of 2 per 10,000 from food arsenic exposure in Bihar. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
Managing groundwater demand: the way forward
Substituting groundwater irrigation by canal irrigation will not help in maintaining the current levels of food production in India. Managing groundwater demand will, finds a study. Posted on 02 Mar, 2021 07:25 AM

Groundwater reserves are depleting at rapid rates in India, which is one of the world’s largest consumer of groundwater with it  providing 60 percent of the irrigation needs of the country.

Groundwater, a valuable resource! (Image Source: India Water Portal)
Fluoride and nitrate - a health problem in Anantapur
High fluoride and nitrate cause dental, skeletal fluorosis and methemoglobinemia in infants and stomach cancer in adults Posted on 28 Feb, 2021 03:26 PM

Urban and rural areas rely on groundwater for drinking and around 90% of the rural people depend on groundwater for domestic purposes.

Non carcinogenic risks for adults are more prone to risk greater than those children and infants in the study area (Image: India Water Portal)
Digital tool to monitor groundwater
Women in Rajasthan use a groundwater monitoring tool to record water levels and promote water literacy Posted on 28 Feb, 2021 09:41 AM

According to a 2006 report by the Inter-Agency Task Force, titled ‘Gender, Water and Sanitation’, women’s participation in water governance projects is important for their success. Given the gendered division of labour in our society, it is not hard to see why.

Women use an open source groundwater monitoring tool that enables collection of water level data of wells and its collation on a web platform for easy access by all. (Image: FES)
Baravas - Unique water harvesting structures of Maharashtra
Baravas, the unique water harvesting structures of Maharashtra continue to stand the test of time. Urgent efforts need to be made to conserve them and learn from them! Posted on 24 Feb, 2021 10:56 PM

Traditional groundwater storage structures such as cisterns, stepwells, tanks, and wells in India are well known and had cultural, religious, social, and utilitarian significance in olden times.

A barav from Limb village in Satara district, Maharashtra (Image Source: Aarti Kelkar Khambete)
Dams and distress in the Himalayas!
Hydropower projects and compensatory afforestation plantations are spelling doom for the fragile Himalayan forest ecosystems. Urgent action is the need of the hour! Posted on 23 Feb, 2021 10:10 PM

Proliferation of hydropower development in the Himalayas is leading to extensive land use changes in the river valleys and threatening the diverse and fragile Himalayan ecosystems leading to deforestation, fragmentation, soil erosion and loss of forest biodiversity. These are a cause for serious concern for local communities, whose lives and livelihoods depend on these forests.

100 MW Tidong-I project, Kinnaur HP (Image Source: Manu Moudgil)
MARVI: Securing groundwater supplies through engaging village communities
Improving decision-making for sustainable groundwater use Posted on 23 Feb, 2021 06:02 PM

Groundwater levels across India have been falling rapidly, affecting the livelihood and wellbeing of village communities. Top-down approaches to groundwater management have not worked.

Designing participatory processes to assist village level discovery and implementation of solutions for sustaining groundwater use and improved livelihoods (Image: MARVI)
Water: Governance challenges and suggested tools
Supply-side solutions are creating havoc for the already disadvantaged and marginalised. Posted on 22 Feb, 2021 03:38 PM

Dahanu, an ecologically fragile area about 120 km from Mumbai, in Maharashtra’s Palghar district witnessed massive protests in 2019. Over 59 gram panchayats were opposing the land diversion to high-tech infrastructure projects.

Dahanu, a green zone enjoyed special protection since 1991 (Image: nathview.blogspot.com)
India gets its first wetland conservation centre
Policy matters this week Posted on 17 Feb, 2021 11:35 AM

Country’s first wetland conservation centre set up on World Wetland Day

Deepor beel, Assam (Image Source: IWP Flickr photos)
Disaster strikes Uttarakhand, yet again
News this week Posted on 17 Feb, 2021 11:28 AM

Uttarakhand glacier disaster: Death toll rises to 58 as rescue operation continues

Flash Floods in Chamoli, Uttarakhand (Image Source: India.com)
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