News and Articles

What do we see our rivers as? Are they merely conduits for water that is to be used to its fullest extent? Or are they valued and revered ecosystems? The Himmotthan Society, Dehradun and International Rivers, U.S.A., hosted a discussion a workshop on ‘Environmental Flows’ at Hotel Madhuban, Dehradun on 08 June 2012 that sought to clarify the issues around these questions.

A Primer on the What, Why and How of environmental flows, authored by Dr. Latha Anantha (River Research Centre, Kerala) and Parineeta Dandekar (South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People, SANDRP) and published by International Rivers, was shared with the participants.  The presentations made during this workshop are presented in this article.

The legendary Jog falls are a shadow of their former self after damming (Courtesy: Dr.Latha Anantha)

I have made a reed bed for treating bath,wash basin and washing machine water. The aim was to reuse the water for gardening without doing major changes in the plumbing of existing houses. I had posted a query in this regard on IWP and you can view that query/comment thread here : https://www.indiawaterportal.org/ask/12646

After close to two years from the first post here is an update:

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) aims at enhancing the livelihood security of people in rural areas by guaranteeing hundred days of wage-employment in a financial year to a rural household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.

Forest fires occur with distressing regularity in the Himalayan states in the summer. This article presents some information of the scale of forest fires in Uttarakhand, and a first-hand account of their  impacts.

Chhattisgarh brings to life the “gory” elements any state would fear – violence, struggle and bloodshed.  For over three decades Chhattisgarh and its people have been fighting with all this and have not lost – neither the battle nor the courage to keep combating.

“The current age is the era of knowledge and not of weapons, and only through education and knowledge can one break out of the abject poverty”. Wise words from Bihar’s Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who believes that times have changed since his government took over: now is the time to pick up the pen and discover its power.

Development of Indian cities in the recent past has been quite an eye-opener for the world. The world looks at India with pride today, be it in the medical, social, economical or cultural fields of development. Our natural resources are the envy of many nations but when we look at our villages in the 21^st century, our heads hang in shame.

Sarakki Lake, also known as Jagaranahalli Lake located in South Bangalore is one of the oldest lakes in Bangalore, and once upon a time one of the most glorious. It has now become a reservoir for untreated sewage and a dumping yard for the surrounding neighbourhoods. This lake was a source of water for four villages up until just a few years ago.

In 2001, the Himmothan Pariyojana (HMP) programme was initiated to work on rural development issues in collaboration with the Government of Uttarakhand, as formalised by a 10-year MoU between the two in 2004.