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
Defunct Delhi power plant could soon turn into a waste-to-energy unit
Posted on 04 Jan, 2016 09:48 AM
Delhi government mulls converting the defunct Rajghat power unit into a waste-to-energy plant
The Delhi government is looking for ways to utilize the machinery that lies unused in the now defunct Rajghat Thermal Power Plant and is seriously consid
The Last Builder of Naulas in Chatola, Nainital
Constructing naulas, the small structures that house springs in Uttarakhand, requires an intimate knowledge of many sciences. One of the last practitioners of this dying craft tells his story. Posted on 03 Jan, 2016 05:57 PM

No temple is as venerated in Uttarakhand as the little unassuming naulas. These small hut-like structures dot the mountains and hold within them a great treasure--water. Usually made of stone masonry with pyramid-like slate roofs, every naula respresents within it a residing spirit which can range from a simple stone piece to an ornately carved statue.

Ratan Singh Bisht is one of the few people today who constructs naulas
Indigenous knowledge helps fisherfolk cope with floods
Observations based on changes in animal behaviour and the position of celestial bodies among others have helped Dhemaji's fisherfolk in the early prediction of rains and floods. Posted on 03 Jan, 2016 05:39 PM

Dhemaji is one of the most flood-affected districts in Assam. Although the majority of its population depends on agriculture and sericulture, fishing and driftwood businesses are also practised on a smaller scale. People of Dhemaji are intimately associated with fish culture and capture for their livelihoods.

High frequency of floods and its effect on livelihoods

Fisherfolk, traditional knowledge, and coping with disasters (Source: India Water Portal)
Lounging by Laknavaram Cheruvu in Telangana
Tucked away in the middle of picturesque paddy fields and the rolling hills of Govindaraopet, Laknavaram cheruvu is the perfect spot for a idyllic weekend getaway. Posted on 24 Dec, 2015 01:21 PM

Erstwhile undivided Andhra Pradesh, like its neighbours Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, is a land of tanks. The ‘Cheruvus’, ‘Eris’ and ‘Keres’, as they are known in the respective regional languages, are irrigation tanks dug centuries ago by kings and philanthropists to feed thousands of acres of thirsty paddy fields. 

Laknavaram Cheruvu in Warangal, Telangana
Life and water at Rachenahalli lake
It provides natural resources to people living around it, acts as a sink for fisher folk cleaning fish or women doing laundry, and receives treated sludge from new residences around it. Posted on 22 Dec, 2015 02:04 PM

Rachenahalli is one of the few living lakes in north Bangalore. It is connected to water bodies upstream and downstream, particularly Jakkur Lake on the north-east. Both these lakes have been rejuvenated at substantial costs by the Bangalore Development Authority over the last decade.

Rachenahalli Lake (Source: Sumetee Pahwa Gajjar)
The importance of women in natural resources management
A study among the hill women in Uttarakhand found that they showed a high inclination to participate in water and forest management programmes through Informal communities. Posted on 16 Dec, 2015 12:40 PM

Although the state of Uttarakhand is rich in water and forest resources, its watersheds are under threat of wasting and erosion due to decreased forest cover, faulty agricultural practices, hydrologic imbalances and natural calamities. The growing population is further increasing the pressure on natural resources.

Hill women and natural resources management (Source: India Water Portal)
No new construction to be taken up on the Ganga: Government
Policy matters this week Posted on 16 Dec, 2015 11:11 AM

Government decides not to allow new construction on the Ganga

Ganga river at Sangam in Allahabad (Source: IWP Flickr Photos)
A thousand streams spring back
Sahastradhara near Dehradun is testimony to the fact that nature’s bounty is unlimited if man treads carefully. Posted on 15 Dec, 2015 12:58 PM

Govind Ram has seen the worst and best that man can do to nature.

A view of Sahastradhara region from the  ropeway (Source: Dr Umesh Behari Mathur/ Flickr)
Ultratech Cement mines limestone (and villagers) in Chhattisgarh
The people of Parswani were promised jobs, healthcare and water. Now, after signing an MOU, they just about get polluted water for irrigation purposes. Posted on 13 Dec, 2015 03:38 PM

Paraswani village in Balodabazar district, Chhattisgarh contains vast reserves of limestone, a sedimentary rock that is a primary ingredient in the cement manufacturing process. Since 1992, Ultratech Cement Ltd. (UTCL) followed by four other similar companies, have begun excavating this rock within a 30 km radius of the village.

A view of the Ulratech Cement factory from Paraswani
How will India's growing thirst for water impact regional relations?
India's growing water security requirements can threaten to test regional relations over the next ten years. Cooperation, not competition, is needed to maintain the stability of the region. Posted on 09 Dec, 2015 12:00 AM

As the demand for water is projected to increase globally, South Asia is becoming a hotspot where the economy and the population could be adversely impacted by poor water security due to growing household, agricultural and industrial needs, as well as increase in water-related disasters.

The threat of water security challenges faced by India

The Brahmaputra river (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
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