Society, Culture, Religion and History

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Featured Articles
October 8, 2023
India's rivers: From conservation movements to legal personhood
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 Island: A tapestry of resilience and environmental harmony
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
Water management in the times of Gonds of Central India
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
The fast disappearing traditional water harvesting structures of Rajasthan
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
Not in the interest of women farmers!
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
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.
A traditional dry toilet. Image: India Science Wire
Ganapati idol immersion continues despite ban
News this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 30 Aug, 2017 05:28 AM

Despite ban, immersion of Ganpati idols made of PoP continue in Bengaluru lakes
Ganesh Visarjan (Source: Wikimedia commons via Chetan Gole)
Mangroves: The green coast guard
Mangroves in the country are under threat from rapid development. A video tells us how investing in nature can reverse this ecological crisis.
Shubhangi Singh
Posted on 23 Aug, 2017 07:09 PM

In our effort to make space for infrastructural developments, India's green cover is declining at an alarming rate. The overall mangrove cover in the country stands at 4,740 sq. km., which is 0.14 sq. km of India’s overall geographical area. 
Mangrove nursery (Source: India Water Portal)
What do rural women say about sanitation?
Women, who need safe sanitation the most, are often left out of crucial sanitation-related decisions at households, a study says.
Parimita Routrey
Belen Torondel
Thomas Clasen
Wolf-Peter Schmidt
Posted on 15 Aug, 2017 10:09 AM

Does gender matter when it comes to sanitation? Apparently, it does.
Women and their unvoiced sanitation needs. (Women in Deogarh morning, Orissa, India. Source: Simon Williams / Ekta Parishad)
Bad times at Baddi
Unless industries clean up their act and authorities take it up seriously, Baddi’s water will continue to be polluted causing hardship to its residents.
Anil Gautam
Puja Raghubanshi
Vivian Konijnenberg
Sumit Sharma
Chicu Lokgariwar
Posted on 09 Aug, 2017 05:59 AM

When Satya Devi was a child, the open well near her house in the village of Malku Majra was the water source for the household. She reminisces, “The water was clean and soft. The well would never go dry.
The state pollution control board insists that none of the factories in the area allow any pollutants to be discharged into the environment. The state of the surface water bodies, however, belies this statement.
Draft of groundwater rules signal relaxation
News this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 08 Aug, 2017 12:23 PM

Groundwater rules might get relaxed
A well in Rajasthan (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
To some, floods can be good news
A large part of the Kanwar Lake has been converted to permanent agriculture compromising its ecological diversity. A video tells us why it is important to restore it.
Shubhangi Singh
Posted on 02 Aug, 2017 05:52 AM

Floods are generally considered destructive but in some cases, overflowing rivers have the potential to create wetlands. These wetlands can serve as agreeable landscapes that turn resourceful due to the multiple functions it can host. The Kanwar Lake in Bihar is a striking example of this shared, altering landscapes. 
Red-naped Ibis at the Kanwar Lake (Source: Wikipedia)
How a poor labourer became a rich farmer
A video tells the story of a poor farmer who, through effective water conservation methods, became rich and a role model to other villagers.
Makarand Purohit
Posted on 27 Jul, 2017 07:59 PM

Vasant Baburao Parkale, a 52-year-old farmer, has become a role model for many farmers in the drought-prone Marathwada region. His determination and the will to excel in life have helped him to transform his dreams into reality.
Vasantrao Parkale (Source: India Water Portal)
Maharashtra mandates drip irrigation for sugarcane
Policy matters this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 25 Jul, 2017 04:32 PM

Maharashtra cabinet decides on drip irrigation for sugarcane cultivation 
A sugarcane farm (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
What ails Indian farmers
A study finds faulty agricultural policies and practices and not just indebtedness to blame for rising suicides among farmers.
Ajay Dandekar
Posted on 24 Jul, 2017 08:03 PM

Over the last few months, we saw protests by distressed farmers of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and other states over farming crisis and farmer suicides.
Loans are not the only reason for farmers' distress. (Source: India Water Portal)
SC strict over wetland preservation
Policy matters this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 18 Jul, 2017 01:02 PM

Supreme Court pulls Centre over preservation of wetlands
Deepor Beel in Assam (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
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