/topics/contamination-pollution-and-quality
Contamination, Pollution and Quality
India has 45 critically polluted river stretches: CPCB
Posted on 19 Sep, 2018 01:47 PMPolluted river stretches increases to 351, as against 302 in 2015
![Solid waste on the banks of the Mithi river. (Image source: Rohit Sharma, Arpita Bhagat)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/image_7_0_0.jpg?itok=QCHzoKXQ)
Ganga clean up: It’s all talk and no action
Posted on 19 Sep, 2018 12:06 PMAs the Ganga emerges from the glaciers and glides along the foothills of the mighty Himalayas through the towns and cities with their sprawling ghats, engineered embankments, hydroelectric dams, and interrupted flows at barrages, the icy chilliness of its waters is lost.
![The Ganga at Garhmukteshwar (Image: Chicu Lokgariwar, India Water Portal)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/gadmukteshwar_sunset_1.jpg?itok=zkh85N_I)
Lake congestion worsened Kerala floods: CWC
Posted on 12 Sep, 2018 08:05 AMClean chit to dam management, CWC says congested Vembanad lake worsened floods in Kerala
![Vembanad lake in Kerala (Source: ATREE via IWP Flickr photos)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/3220026561_0f1113c7dd_o.jpg?itok=yvadvmkB)
Dealing with disasters in the Valley
Posted on 10 Sep, 2018 11:57 AMWitnessing a multitude of disasters from destructive floods to catastrophic earthquakes, the vulnerabilities arising out of natural disasters are ever increasing in Jammu and Kashmir.
![Destruction caused by September 2014 floods at a posh locality in Jammu and Kashmir, Rajbagh. Over 300 people lost their lives, thousands were rendered homeless and property worth billions was damaged during the floods. (All photos courtesy: Afsana Rashid)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/rsz_photo_vi-floods-.jpg?itok=AfgKTFoq)
Monsoon takes 1400 lives
Posted on 05 Sep, 2018 05:55 AMMore than 1000 people dead in three months in India due to heavy rains
![A man wades through knee-deep water with his belongings during flood. (Source: 101Reporters)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/img_0470_0_0.jpg?itok=_67HYkDz)
The art of saving a river
Posted on 03 Sep, 2018 03:01 PMRiver Mutha, the pride of Pune, lovingly called 'Muthai' or 'mother Mutha', is dying a slow death, thanks to the rapidly urbanising city which is depositing huge amounts of untreated sewage and dirt in its water. The pollution of the river is consistently rising.
![The highly polluted Mutha river as it flows through Pune. (Image Source: India Water Portal)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/mutha_3_0.jpg?itok=p8TOpcMf)
Footwear industry pollutes, villagers put their foot down
Posted on 23 Aug, 2018 08:09 PMAs per the regional plan 2021 chalked out by the national capital regional planning board in 2005, Bahadurgarh, a small town in Haryana is a part of the Delhi metropolitan area. The town, located in Jhajjar district, is growing at a fast pace.
![Leftover materials tossed out by the factories at the footwear park. These will end up in landfills and pollute the environment. (Image: India Water Portal)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/rubber-raw-compressed.jpg?itok=XYtRUGH4)
Simplifying defluoridation
Posted on 19 Aug, 2018 09:12 AMEstimates 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)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/lead-sf.jpg?itok=Utcwbs0r)
Maharashtra’s plastic ban: Another missed opportunity?
Posted on 09 Aug, 2018 11:03 AMThe recent plastic ban in Maharashtra has opened a can of worms and has raised many uncomfortable questions—about the setting of rules with clarity and foresight, better research to understand the challenges in implementing them and the role of citizens in making it a success.
![Increasing plastic waste is a problem in Maharashtra. (Image Source: India Water Portal)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/plastic_waste1.jpg?itok=LvGCcgFn)
Toxins on our plate
Posted on 08 Aug, 2018 03:45 PM“The recent scare due to the detection of formalin-laced fish across Goa, Kerala, Assam, Manipur, Nagaland and Meghalaya points to a link between water quality and food safety. Fish traders find it cost-effective to use formalin, a carcinogen, instead of ice to prevent the decomposition of fish during transportation to distant markets.
![The quality of food products and their safety are mostly decided at the primary production stage itself which is unregulated. (Image: Masahiro Ihara, Flickr Commons CC BY 2.0)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/veg.jpg?itok=eGsSWEG1)