/topics/rural-water
Rural Water
Digital tools to tackle water scarcity
Posted on 30 Jun, 2020 08:57 AMIndia has the highest population of any country in the world without access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation. According to WaterAid and the World Health Organisation (WHO), 163 million people still lack access to safe water and millions still defecate in the open.
![About 200,000 people die each year in India from diseases related to unclean water (Image: FRANK Water)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/wash_basins1.jpg?itok=XlERiqmG)
Boosting rural livelihoods using agriculture and MGNREGA amidst Covid-19
Posted on 28 Jun, 2020 10:13 AMAs the Covid-19 pandemic was leaving deep scars around the globe, it forced governments to take measures to protect citizens and ensure food security for its people. In India, initially, it looked as if the remote rural areas would skirt the pandemic.
![MGNREGA can play an important role in integration of migrant labour in the rural economy (Image: Ashutosh Nanda)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/mgnrega_2_0.jpg?itok=QoVfpQsd)
Impact of the pandemic on the endemic
Posted on 25 Jun, 2020 03:08 PMWhile the pandemic Covid-19 has completely taken over the health infrastructure in the country and all eyes were on it, the annual havoc created by Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES), popularly known as Chamki Bukhar is already making news in districts of Bihar.
![Will our fragile health care systems and infrastructure be able to deal with the burden of diseases like Japanese Encephalitis? (Image: Gorakhpur Environmental Action Group)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/geag1_0.jpg?itok=IwbeNi0E)
Flood threat looms amid Covid-19 in Bihar
Posted on 23 Jun, 2020 03:09 PMBihar’s annual floods are right around the corner and there is a fear that the flood hazard will collide with the Covid-19 pandemic and amplify it in a manner that emergency responses to both will get disrupted. The state’s strategy to mitigate the effects of flooding needs to be updated in light of the deadly pandemic.
![An aerial view of flood affected areas in Kosi river, Bihar on August 28, 2008 (Image: Publi.Resource.Org; Flickr Commons (CC BY 2.0))](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/bihar_floods_2.jpg?itok=6mJGI6sa)
Elected women leaders of gram panchayats: Critical roles in Covid-19 response
Posted on 17 Jun, 2020 01:33 PMRadha Devi, the sarpanch of Bhadsiya, Nagaur tehsil, Rajasthan dissuaded the principal of the government school from forcing girl students to fetch water for mid-day meal preparation during school hours and sent these girls back to their classrooms.
![Women are emerging as effective leaders who can play constructive roles in containing the Covid-19 spread (Image: UN Women/Gaganjit Singh; CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/vandana.jpg?itok=Vail2rub)
Groundwater depletion in Punjab: Time for a major policy overhaul
Posted on 17 Jun, 2020 10:08 AMPunjab, a small state in northwest India, derives its name from the Persian words panj (five) and ?b (water), meaning the "land of five rivers". Ironically, this state is now regularly in the news for its rapidly depleting groundwater levels.
![Pumping groundwater with the energy generated from solar panels (Image: Prashanth Vishwanathan/IWMI; CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/solar-pumping.jpg?itok=7k94Ij0g)
Villagers in Rajasthan show resilience during national lockdown
Posted on 16 Jun, 2020 09:40 AMIndia’s national lockdown to curb the fast-expanding community transmission of coronavirus led to life coming to a standstill across the country. The long pause of over three months is starting to ease, and the new shift towards “normal” gives health and hygiene ultimate attention.
![Repairing the school infrastructures before students return to their classrooms (Image: Sehgal Foundation)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/pic_1.jpeg?itok=f4kpMm-X)
Centre approves JJM funds to Odisha and Chhattisgarh for this financial year
Posted on 05 Jun, 2020 05:23 PMGovernment approves Jal Jeevan Mission funds for Odisha and Chhattisgarh
![Child drinks water from a tap (Image: Imal Hashemi/Taimani Films/World Bank, Flickr Commons, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/tap-water_0_1.jpg?itok=fDK7tzXX)
Agricultural crop substitution can bridge rural and urban water needs
Posted on 01 Jun, 2020 02:51 PMWith 85 percent of water being utilized for agriculture in India, a gradual shift in agriculture towards water-intensive crops have exposed the country to an increased threat of water crisis. The erratic nature of monsoons adds to this exposure and calls for judicious use of water resources, especially in the dry regions.
![Cropping pattern in Maharashtra over the past 40 years has shifted towards water-intensive crops like sugarcane (Image: Terry Sunderland/CIFOR)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/sugarcane_0.jpg?itok=Le2jGiAp)
Impact of climate change on river basins in India
Posted on 21 May, 2020 07:29 PMIndia has many reasons to be concerned about climate change. Its large population depends upon climate-sensitive sectors such as agriculture and forestry for its livelihood.
![Global warming (Image: Sunando Roy, Flickr Commons, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/global-warming-sunando_roy.jpg?itok=5ryHmo0m)