Architecture and Building Construction

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December 11, 2019
Scientists intervene to save dry toilets
Dry toilets have long been hailed as a sustainable solution to the sanitation and waste management crisis facing India today, but have been overshadowed by more modern toilet designs.
A traditional dry toilet. Image: India Science Wire
October 11, 2019
Saving Aarey, the last lungs of Bombay
Mumbai’s citizens came out in droves to save trees from being felled in Aarey to make way for the metro. Collective action is crucial to save the green lungs of India's rapidly urbanising cities.
Aarey, the green lungs of Mumbai (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons)
September 30, 2019
The Water Future Conference in Bangalore: Towards a Sustainable Water Future
The recently concluded 4 day conference in Bangalore looked at the current state of global water resource challenges & future pathways to achieve the SDGs, while ensuring equity in access to all.
Charles Vorosmarty, Chair, COMPASS Initiative, Water Future at the opening plenary on advanced water system assessments to address water security challenges of the 21st century.
August 21, 2019
In photos: How temple tanks are helping Chennai conserve rain water
During the monsoon, temple tanks in Chennai fill to the brim with water, helping in groundwater recharge.
Parthasarathy temple in Triplicane has the biggest tank. Recently, volunteers belonging to the Central Industrial Security Force cleaned the tank. Pic: Laasya Shekhar
August 7, 2019
"Digging recharge wells is the only way Bengaluru won’t run out of water"
A million recharge wells for Bangalore
Ramakrishna Bovi is a traditional well-digger in Bengaluru. Image credit: Citizen Matters
July 24, 2019
Dibang hydel project gets approval
Policy matters this week
People protesting Dibang Hydropower Project (Source: SANDRP)
Why floodplains need to be protected
Damage to floodplains harms the riverine ecosystem, lessens groundwater recharge capacity and poses threats of flash floods. Enforcement of floodplain zoning regulation is a must to avert floods.
Amita Bhaduri
Posted on 12 Oct, 2018 11:56 AM

The Kerala flood of 2018 was 30 percent less intense than that of 1924 deluge, the biggest in Kerala’s history. Yet it caused a huge loss of lives, property and infrastructure. Swollen rivers ruptured their banks and floodwaters gushed through houses built on the floodplains.
Real estate development has wiped out large swathes of land on the active floodplain of the rivers in Kerala; the reduction in its cross section led to massive inundation during the Kerala floods, 2018.
In the business of transformation
A toilet complex managed by college students sets an example of a sustainable model for accessing sanitation.
Amita Bhaduri
Posted on 02 Aug, 2018 04:11 PM

Pramod Kumar Singh, the caretaker of a community toilet complex in northwest Delhi’s Sultanpuri area is proud about its upkeep. The complex, built by the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) and inaugurated in 2016, is well maintained with beautiful landscaping, posters and wall art.
Delhi Street Art has painted cartoons and caricatures on the walls to attract people to the community toilet complex at Sultanpuri. (Image: Project Raahat, Enactus)
Pink city turns heat island
A new phenomenon, urban heat islands in Jaipur indicates that the city has begun to witness the worst of climate change.
Amita Bhaduri
Posted on 18 Jun, 2018 09:37 AM

This summer, Jaipur’s temperatures are soaring upwards of 40 degree Celsius. Jaipur witnessed its hottest day on April 26 when a temperature of 43.2 degree Celsius was recorded.
A man sits under the scorching heat of the sun in front of Amer fort in Jaipur. The city landscape is now dominated by heat trapping materials that prevent its cooling through evapotranspiration. (Picture courtesy: Prabhu B Doss, Flickr Commons: CC-By-NC-ND-2.0)
Village swims in desperation
Livelihood and education affected, villagers of a marooned land look for solutions.
Gurvinder Singh
Posted on 18 May, 2018 10:45 AM

“Our village is also called the swimmers’ village because almost all of us including small children know how to swim. To learn swimming is not a luxury but a necessity for us.
A girl oars a boat to go to college. (Pic courtesy: Gurvinder Singh)
Harvesting rainwater effectively
An innovative project makes rainwater harvesting easier and more effective in certain areas of Mewat village with increased groundwater salinity.
Lalit Mohan Sharma
Posted on 15 Feb, 2018 01:25 PM

One of the major causes of deterioration of water quality is the increase in overall salinity. Total hardness and the presence of materials like fluoride, nitrate, iron, arsenic, and toxic metal ions determine salinity levels in groundwater. With the demand for groundwater growing rapidly, its exploitation is also accelerating which causes depletion.
The innovation was introduced in a government school building in Untka village located in Mewat district of Haryana.
Hotels and industries polluting the Ganga to be sealed
Policy matters this week
Aarti Kelkar Khambete
Posted on 27 Dec, 2017 11:43 AM

Hotels, industries, ashrams polluting the Ganga to be sealed
Ganga river at Sangam, Allahabad (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
India Industry Water Conclave on Nov 28, 2017 at FICCI, New Delhi
The third edition of India Industry Water Conclave and fifth edition of FICCI Water Awards on Theme : ‘Water Use Efficiency- An Imperative for India’
Posted on 07 Nov, 2017 10:12 AM

The theme for the Conclave this year is “Water Use Efficiency: An Imperative for India” to highlight the imperative of water use efficiency in the industry, agriculture and urban contexts. 
Are people in villages less thirsty?
Veteran journalist P. Sainath says we are living in a time of inequality--of wealth, water and income--driven by policies. Shouldn’t we be more angry about this?
P Sainath
Posted on 18 Oct, 2017 07:49 PM

In India, there has been a stunning growth of inequality in the last 25 years and a spectacular growth of inequality in the last 15 years. It is not just a question of wealth and income; inequality is visible in every sector. It is visible in water whether (it is) water for irrigation or drinking water.
An upcoming building in Mumbai has a pool on every floor. At the same time, migrant labourers rely on tapping municipal leakages for their drinking water. India has more inequality than the rest of the world.
Can grey and green coexist on urban landscape?
As cities spread wide, grey infrastructure projects flout green norms to provide affordable housing for all.
Amita Bhaduri
Posted on 31 Aug, 2017 03:03 PM

Far in the distance, towards the edge of Noida and Greater Noida flows the Hindon river amidst clusters of modern highrise buildings. A few years ago, the landscape here was more countrified and quite distinct from the low rise neghbourhoods of Delhi dotted with its numerous parks and abundant institutional spaces. 
Building bye-laws mandate that builders adhere to environmental norms and install energy-saving mechanisms like solar installations, water harvesting and waste recycling methods.
Why East Kolkata Wetlands needs to be protected
East Kolkata Wetlands that provides many ecosystem services needs to be preserved to meet the SDGs and to mitigate the effect of global warming.
Haimanti Pakrashi
Posted on 17 Aug, 2017 12:27 PM

Increasingly in both academic and social sectors, sustainable development goals (SDGs) are being quoted often and set as targets.
Five-star hotels under construction backdrop the Dhapa vegetable patch.
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