Contamination, Pollution and Quality

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Featured Articles
September 5, 2024 The current state of play regarding sewage treatment standards in India
Clogged pipes: India's sewage treatment crisis (Image: Trey Ratcliff, Flickr Commons; CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
September 2, 2024 Recommendations made by an expert committee, the NGT's subsequent orders, and a critical analysis of these developments
Drum screens at Bharwara sewage treatment plant (Image: India Water Portal)
August 30, 2024 This article traces the evolution of the legislative framework for water pollution in India and its implications for wastewater treatment standards in the country. 
Open drains in Alwar (Image Source: IWP Flickr photos)
August 22, 2024 The journey of sewage treatment standards and the challenge of treating India’s growing wastewater
Need to fix wastewater effluent standards (Image: Kristian Bjornard)
August 1, 2024 Recognising the limitations of relying solely on herbicides, a strategic shift towards preventive measures is crucial
Relying solely on chemicals to keep weeds at bay isn't sustainable and can harm the environment. (Image: Needpix)
June 12, 2024 Leveraging research to optimise water programs for improved health outcomes in India
Closing the tap on disease (Image: Marlon Felippe; CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons)
Severe water crisis grips southern India
News this week Posted on 07 Mar, 2017 01:47 PM

Southern India reels under drought-like conditions

Parched land during drought in India. (Source: IWP Flickr Photos)
In harm’s way: Pulicat lagoon
Keeping Pulicat lagoon healthy is paramount to the health of the Chennai’s ecosystem. What is happening instead is its slow degradation. Posted on 06 Mar, 2017 03:34 PM

Along the east coast of India, five massive wetlands--starting from Point Calimere (Kodiakarai) and Pulicat in Tamil Nadu, the Krishna-Godavari basin in Andhra, Chilika in Odisha and Sundarbans in West Bengal--provide the necessary moisture for monsoon winds to precipitate.

Pulicat lagoon is the second largest brackish water body in the country after Odisha's Chilika lake. (Image: Seetha Gopalakrishnan, IWP)
Election update: Its hills vs plains in Manipur
The land of gems will have a new government soon. We look at what leading political parties have to say about issues related to natural resources. Posted on 04 Mar, 2017 05:33 PM

The key issue in the Manipur Assembly election is the ongoing economic blockade in the state, which, in turn, is attributed to the present government’s decision to

A Manipuri family. (Source: Coffee Table Book, Government of Manipur)
Effluent treatment plant a must for industries: SC
Policy matters this week Posted on 27 Feb, 2017 08:03 PM

SC gets strict with industrial units 

A creek near a thermal power plant. (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
Act to clean up the system
In our quest to feature unsung heroes who go about their good work silently, we met Pushpa RTI, an enthusiastic right to information activist, who fights for transparency in governance. Posted on 27 Feb, 2017 01:53 PM

With the Right to Information (RTI) Act coming into force in the year 2005, the country saw many RTI activists making the most of it to demand the rights and entitlements of the people from the government. Pushpa, warmly known as Pushpa RTI, is one of them.

Women at Jan Jagriti Sanvad organised by Lok Shakti Manch. (Source: Lok Shakti Manch)
Telangana’s groundwater crisis
A study from Telangana finds faulty power subsidy policies of the state and the resultant increase in tube wells with electric pumps as reasons for depleting groundwater levels. Posted on 15 Feb, 2017 06:50 PM

According to the data released by the Food and Agricultural Organisation’s AQUASTAT in 2010, at 250 billion m³ per year, India is one of the countries that uses groundwater the most. As high as 80 percent of its water is used for irrigation of which 65 percent is groundwater.

Declining groundwater levels and the impending crisis. (Source: India Water Portal)
Over 66 thousand habitations arsenic hit: Centre
News this week Posted on 13 Feb, 2017 09:08 PM

Arsenic present in drinking water at many habitations: Centre

People fight for their rights to clean and safe drinking water. (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
What WatSan got from the budget
Budget 2017-18: Which social sector schemes and ministries got major shares of the pie? An analysis. Posted on 09 Feb, 2017 12:26 PM

The much-anticipated budget this year treads largely on the path set last year with the rural sector receiving more allocation than its urban counterpart.

Water pots lined up for filling. (Source: McKay Savage, Wikimedia Commons)
Cleanliness broom: A village keeps its water clean
Sangrun village near Pune sets an example to all upstream villages by keeping its rivers pollution free. Posted on 07 Feb, 2017 10:36 PM

Located about 27 km from the city of Pune, Sangrun in Haveli taluka is a unique village. Situated in the rocky terrains of the Sahaydri hills, the village is at the confluence of three rivers--Mose, Ambi and Mutha--often referred to by the villagers as the Triveni Sangam or a place where three rivers unite.

Women get together for the cleaning drive at Sangrun. (Source: India Water Portal)
Wetlands in Uttarakhand degraded: WWF
News this week Posted on 06 Feb, 2017 08:02 PM

Negligence behind the degradation of Uttarakhand wetlands: WWF

Renuka lake in Uttarakhand. (Source: IWP Flickr Photos)
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