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Lifestyle
Swachh Bharat Mission: It’s all about numbers
Posted on 02 Oct, 2018 11:06 PMWe have just a year to go for Swachh Bharat Mission’s (SBM) deadline of making India open-defecation free (ODF). In the last four years, the government has built 86.08 million toilets (as on September 26, 2018) throughout the country as a part of this flagship programme on providing safe sanitation to all by October 2019.
![Sanitation is not just about constructing toilets. (Image: India Water Portal)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/toilet1_2_0.jpg?itok=KLv3wh45)
Kerala floods and after
Posted on 27 Sep, 2018 05:11 PMEvery time there is a huge flood in India with massive loss of lives and extensive physical damage, there is a hue and cry. Especially, if this takes place in an area not normally prone to such floods. Assam and Bihar, for instance, are regularly laid waste by floods and so, there is not much agitation over that anymore.
![The floods in Kerala have taken nearly 400 lives and have displaced around 1.2 million people. (Image: Ranjith Siji via Wikimedia Commons)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/800px-kerala_flood_2018_-_angamaly-_img_20180818_084500_0.jpg?itok=-ARq7XxK)
Jaundice grips Raipur
Posted on 20 Sep, 2018 04:09 PMThe family of Somesh Manikpuri of Amasivani colony in Raipur is still in shock of his sudden demise from jaundice in May this year. Six similar deaths have been reported from Raipur since April 2018. Memsingh Chandrakar, a resident of Naharpara, another locality in Raipur, was also affected by jaundice in May.
![A view of the Shakti Nagar slum area in Raipur. (Source: India Water Portal)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/13892294904_3c6caa28c1_z.jpg?itok=-KvA0O71)
Linking weather extremes with climate change
Posted on 17 Sep, 2018 10:40 AMEvery time an extreme weather event like the Kerala floods occurs, there is a great demand for information on its causes. The question uppermost in public discourse is if such events can be attributed to climate change and global warming.
![Whether an extreme weather event can be attributed to climate change or not is a question that has been on the minds of scientists for long. (Photo: IWP Flickr photos)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/21239153153_0a2b1a318b_z.jpg?itok=lUxQaHd6)
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)
Desertification: Not just a North Indian problem
Posted on 16 Aug, 2018 10:30 AMIndia is highly vulnerable to desertification.
![Increasing desertification is a challenge India needs to tackle. (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/desertification.jpg?itok=SlL6nMqG)
The Mahanadi tussle: Why Chhattisgarh and Odisha spar
Posted on 08 Aug, 2018 05:08 PMThe interstate dispute between Odisha and Chhattisgarh over the Mahanadi's water is an ongoing one and it looks like both the state governments have no interest in finding a long-term solution.
![The Hirakud dam on the Mahanadi (Source: India Water Portal)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/14075678201_097f9dcec5_z_4.jpg?itok=AMvouM06)
Trash out: People get together to clean the Himalayas
Posted on 06 Aug, 2018 10:50 AMMy first trek in the Himalayas was a transcendental experience. Even a decade after, I remember the intense beauty of every vignette I came across. That’s why I was excited about the Himalayan Cleanup, held on May 26 this year.
![Volunteers sort plastic trash during the cleanup. (Pic courtesy: Zero Waste Himalaya)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/img_2744.jpg?itok=cNfwJ7eA)
Challenges of being a ‘Prerak’
Posted on 27 Jul, 2018 01:35 PMMost of Etawah, a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in Uttar Pradesh, has plenty of stories to share about their favourite leader Daddaji or Mulayam Singh Yadav, one of the former chief ministers of Uttar Pradesh. The area bordering the ravines near Chambal, on the other hand, resounds with tales of dacoits like Phoolan Devi, Seema Parihar and Nirbhay Gujjar.
![Divyanshu Seth and Aishwarya Mishra (second and third from left in the first row) during a menstrual hygiene management session. (Pic courtesy: Divyanshu Seth)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/padman_challenge_completed_by_district_etawah_by_sessions_on_mhm_across_villages.jpg?itok=QzWbZuJL)
No water security without water quality
Posted on 16 Jul, 2018 10:19 AMGroundwater is a major source of water for a large number of Indians with 66 percent rural households and 27 percent urban households directly depending on it for drinking purposes, as per Census 2011.
![Unsanitary conditions lead to groundwater contamination. (Image: SuSanA Secretariat, Attribution [CC BY 2.0])](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/susana.jpg?itok=ftnfFsai)