Society, Culture, Religion and History

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October 8, 2023 While the current push for legal personhood for rivers is facing obstacles and is stalled, it holds potential as a viable long-term strategy for the preservation of India's rivers
River quality deteriorates as demand for hydropower to support economic growth continues to expand. (Image: Yogendra Singh Negi, Wikimedia Commons; CC BY-SA 4.0 DEED)
June 16, 2023 Majuli serves as a symbol of both the delicate balance between human activity and the environment and the tenacity of its residents
Addressing various aspects of women's lives to enhance their social, economic, and political status (Image: Rebuild India Fund)
January 13, 2022 The water structures constructed during the Gond period continue to survive the test of time and provide evidence of the water wisdom of our ancestors.
Kundeshwar lake, Kundam in Jabalpur (Image Source: K G Vyas)
January 2, 2021 Lack of community ownership and local governance are spelling doom for the once royal and resilient traditional water harvesting structures of Rajasthan.
Toorji Ka Jhalara, Jodhpur (Image Source: Rituja Mitra)
December 7, 2020 The new farm related bills will spell doom for women workers who form the bulk of small and marginal sections of Indian agriculture, warns Mahila Kisan Adhikaar Manch (MAKAAM).
Farm women, overworked and underpaid (Image Source: India Water Portal)
December 11, 2019 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
If she built a country: A film review
The film looks at corporate grab of forest and private lands in the Scheduled Areas of Chhattisgarh. Posted on 04 Jan, 2020 10:49 AM

Maheen Mirza’s film ‘Agar wo desh banati/ If she built a country’ looks at the widespread displacement on an unprecedented scale for mines and industries in Raigarh, Chhattisgarh.

The documentary brings attention to how development interventions changed gender relations (Image courtesy: People's Film Collective)
India's composite score improves in SDG index with major success in water and sanitation
News this week Posted on 02 Jan, 2020 10:46 AM

Sustainable development goals index 2019-20: India's composite score improves

Sustainable Development Goals adopted in 2015 as a part of the 2030 agenda. (Source: Wikipedia Commons)
Nilogon for fluoride removal from groundwater
This unique low cost fluoride removal technology is not only affordable, but is also easy to operate as a water treatment filter with high efficiency suitable for rural application. Posted on 01 Jan, 2020 10:41 AM

Groundwater contamination has emerged as an alarming issue in India and a recent UN report reveals that India ranks 120th among the 122 countries in terms of water quality index.

Studies by the Central Ground Water Board in November 1999 confirmed the presence of fluoride in Assam which paved the way for the UNICEF and the government to collaborate on fluoride mitigation. (Image: India Water Portal)
Junk food red alert
A study by CSE rings the alarm bells on processed food responsible for obesity and non-communicable diseases. Posted on 29 Dec, 2019 12:50 PM

A new study by the Centre for Science and Environment has exposed that levels of salt and fat in junk food is far higher than proposed thresholds in the country.

The study by CSE underlines the need to regulate bad food (Image: Ankur Gulati, Flickr Commons)
Watershed Management Compendium
This compendium by Dr Mihir Kumar Maitra answers all questions that will be of great use to practitioners engaged in both engineering and management aspects of watershed management in the field. Posted on 27 Dec, 2019 06:32 PM

This compendium by Mihir Kumar Maitra is a valuable resource for all practitioners engaged in watershed management activities in the field.

Watershed management in India (Image Source: India Water Portal)
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. Posted on 11 Dec, 2019 11:16 AM

New Delhi, December 10 (India Science Wire): Even as efforts are underway to replace dry latrines with modern septic toilets, a group of scientists at Council of Scientific and Industrial Research’s Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology (CSIR-IHBT) have worked to save one type of traditional dry toilet. 

A traditional dry toilet. Image: India Science Wire
In wake of climate change, prioritise and invest in water security and clean drinking water
To adapt well & build resilience, climate change strategies need to factor in efforts towards water security, writes Vanita Suneja, Regional Advocacy Manager (South Asia), WaterAid. Posted on 04 Dec, 2019 05:33 PM

While climate activists and world leaders were gathering in Paris in the first week of December 2015 to discuss the impact of climate change, the metropolis Chennai in the southern corner of India was inundated with floods.

Image credit: WaterAid/Prashanth Vishwanathan
Water stewardship approach to minimizing risks for businesses
Water stewardship is an approach predicated on the concept that water is a shared resource and so water risks are also shared risks that everyone in a catchment will face Posted on 02 Dec, 2019 03:53 PM

Water, its use, availability, and impact on people has been on the public policy debate centerstage for the past several years. In India, a growing water crisis driven by climate change, inefficiency, and water pollution is slowly moving to a near-permanent state that will harm the country’s people, economy and environment.  

Picture credit: Romit Sen
CGWB signs MoU for participatory groundwater management
Policy matters this week Posted on 27 Nov, 2019 12:06 PM

MoU signed for groundwater management through community intervention

An irrigation well at Randullabad, Maharashtra (Source: India Water Portal on Flickr)
Shoddy impact assessments, mining and ruin in Goa
A study finds that weak environmental assessment reporting on the adverse impacts of mining has spelled doom for Goa’s environment. Posted on 22 Nov, 2019 03:40 PM

Development and its impact on the environment has long been a contentious issue in India, where lack of adequate monitoring and control mechanisms have led to severe degradation of land, water and forest resources. Mining activities in Goa have not only poisoned its land and water, but also affected livelihoods by negatively impacting agriculture, fisheries and forests.

A mining site in India (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons)
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