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Society, Culture, Religion and History
Of broken pots and dreams
Posted on 24 Sep, 2016 11:25 PMWomen in Salmora area of Majuli, the world’s largest riverine island and India’s first island district, practise their traditional form of pottery--the one that does not use a wheel but is hand beaten to shape and uses a viscid kind of clay. As the Brahmaputra eats away huge swathes of land year after year, the clay that these potters use is being taken away by the river.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/29070238244_3b0f82f440_k.jpg?itok=PyymqsMQ)
Majuli: A hungry river and a succumbing island
Posted on 24 Sep, 2016 08:30 PMBrahmaputra is the highest siltation-carrying river in the world, and controlling erosion is not easy. Because of its characteristics, it does not have a parallel with any other river in the world. Mythologically also, the Brahmaputra has always been a disturbed river, highly meandering, says Gunajeet Kashyap (ACS), Election Officer, Majuli.
![A boatman looks at the vast and furious Brahmaputra](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/lead_1.jpg?itok=HJlG6ax8)
Who gives a sh*t?
Posted on 20 Sep, 2016 05:47 PM“My mother used to head out with a basket full of ash every day. She would visit dry latrines in the area one by one, sprinkle the ash on the night soil, scoop it up and carry the excreta-filled basket on her head to dump the contents into a small tanker. This was almost 40 years back in our 'Singara (beautiful) Chennai',” recounts Ravanaiah.
![Despite the ban, manual scavenging continues. (Image courtesy: The Hindu)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/th-drainage_2210670f.jpg?itok=cW6vLs5D)
Forgotten water bearers of Guwahati
Posted on 19 Sep, 2016 06:04 PMGuwahati, one of the fastest growing cities in India, is thousands of years old. Once known as Pragjyotishpura or the city of eastern light, Guwahati has many ancient stories attached to it. This beautiful city finds mention in epics such as Ramayana, Mahabharata and the Puranas.
![Jorpukhuri near Ugratara temple.](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/29629934472_0a3d8388e8_z.jpg?itok=dO1-JDkk)
Release 12,000 cusecs of water to TN: SC to Karnataka
Posted on 19 Sep, 2016 09:20 AMCauvery river dispute: Karnataka to share less water, SC raps the two states over protests
![Cauvery river in Karnataka (Source: AmyNorth via Wikipedia)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/cauvery_kaveri_river_karnataka_india_2.jpg?itok=OImBLWSC)
A river on fire
Posted on 17 Sep, 2016 05:52 PMRiver Cauvery has been in the epicentre of agitation and violence in the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu--both fighting over their share of the Cauvery water. Thanks to the deficit monsoon this year, the Cauvery basin reservoirs in both these neighbouring states are only filled half as much as they should be![1].
![Cauvery river at Hogenakal, Karnataka. (Source: IWP Flickr Photos via Claire Arni and Oriole Henri)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/cauvery_river_0.jpg?itok=TgxYOAov)
Mapping the Swachh Bharat Mission process: A study of three states
Posted on 15 Sep, 2016 12:00 PMTo accelerate the efforts to achieve universal sanitation coverage and to put focus on sanitation, the Prime Minister of India launched the Swachh Bharat Mission on 2 October, 2014. Following this, guidelines for the implementation of the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) were issued by the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Government of India (GoI).
![](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/enhancing-the-implementation-of-sbm-gramin-arghyam-and-fourthlion-technologies-4-638.jpg?itok=6Fhmx6CW)
When Osaka comes to Lucknow
Posted on 14 Sep, 2016 10:14 AMRaghunath Lakhpat is a terrified man. He can only watch warily as the land on either side of his modest home is being dug up by huge earthmovers. “We are stuck in the middle. Sooner or later, we will have to leave. But where will we go? What will we eat?” he asks helplessly.
![Earth movers cluster on the riverbed of the Gomti, engaged in channelizing the river](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/gomti_cover.jpg?itok=_aWu-JXd)
More than just toilets needed to clean India
Posted on 12 Sep, 2016 01:42 PM![](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/a-community-discussion-in-progress.jpg?itok=5Y1z54rC)
Majuli, world’s largest river island
Posted on 11 Sep, 2016 08:34 PMGuinness World Records names Assam’s Majuli world’s largest river island
![The Majuli river island in Assam. (Source: IWP Flickr Photo)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/23046088960_bd7b7be2a7_z.jpg?itok=WSNpUM5N)