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Society, Culture, Religion and History
Borewells: Boon or bane for women?
Posted on 23 May, 2019 08:29 PMTamil Nadu is one of the most water-vulnerable states in India that depends heavily on groundwater for irrigation. As high as 56 percent of land in the state is currently irrigated by groundwater and the remaining by tanks and canals.
![Collecting water, a daily backbreaking task of women. (Image Source: India Water Portal)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/bagledi_0.jpg?itok=YGsHv6Yc)
What women want
Posted on 08 May, 2019 04:02 PMAs the world’s largest democracy is all geared for its biggest test - for voters to select their Members of Parliament and the Prime Minister, the top issues that dominate the electoral agenda at the national level have been increased jobs opportunities, controlling inflation, and reducing farmers’ distress.
![Image credit: WaterAid/Prashanth Vishwanathan](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/pv_wateraid_2019_day_2-7566.jpg?itok=mIGaNbLQ)
Coping with droughts: Gender matters
Posted on 08 May, 2019 12:38 PMDroughts are one of the most feared natural calamities impacting agriculture and food production as well as the morale of millions of farmers in India. Recent studies show that the frequency of droughts is increasing.
![Women are burdened with household tasks such as collecting water. (Image Source: India Water Portal)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/women_and_water.jpg?itok=tUmp9u8q)
Breaking period taboo
Posted on 06 May, 2019 11:18 AMLeela Patel (19) explains how women at Wali, a tribal gram panchayat in Kurabad block, just 30 km away from Udaipur, manage menstruation by using old scraps of cloth. She’s aware of cases when women have had to use ash, dust and soil to soak up their periods. Buying a pack of sanitary pads is a luxury in this poverty-stricken belt.
![Women at a manufacturing unit in Wali village that produces biodegradable sanitary pads at a low cost. (Image: India Water Portal)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/sanitary_pad5_0.jpg?itok=Hty0-EL9)
Water management: Still a neglected electoral issue?
Posted on 25 Apr, 2019 12:04 PMIndia is on the brink of a major water crisis. With drought looming over the southern and western parts of the country, the existing water resources are in peril. Rivers are getting more polluted, their catchments, water-holding and water-harvesting mechanisms are deteriorating and groundwater levels are depleting at an alarming rate.
![India's water woes need urgent attention. (Image Source: India Water Portal)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/bagledi.jpg?itok=maVTgl6w)
Making water available for all
Posted on 23 Apr, 2019 06:48 PMIndia, the second largest population in the world, is facing a water crisis with over 600 million people facing acute water shortage, as per a report by Niti Aayog, the government think-tank. India’s water crisis is expected to worsen, threatening the country’s food security as over 80 percent of our water is used in agriculture.
![The pollution rates of the river Hindon are alarming. Despite work by conservation groups, the efforts on the part of the government to fix the problem remain uncertain. (Image: Hindi Water Portal)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/hindon_river_1_2.jpg?itok=To8rG7Ji)
Water management solutions where users have a say
Posted on 17 Apr, 2019 10:10 PMIndia has, over the last 50 years, spent approximately $50 billion on developing water resources and another estimated $7.5 billion on drinking water, with little to show for the money (Devraj 2002).
![Canal irrigation has led to altered crop choice, organisation and techniques of production. (Image: India Water Portal)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/munak-clc1_0.jpg?itok=JWeUx6XU)
In conversation with nature
Posted on 15 Apr, 2019 05:42 PM“There is a special type of black ant that is visible just before (and during) the onset of heavy rains.
![Shape of clouds can be an important indicator of weather. Source: Robert Hensley/Wikimedia Commons](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/clouds1.jpg?itok=2qW8ZgBO)
Flourishing water markets in Darjeeling
Posted on 15 Apr, 2019 02:36 PM"Darjeeling today has a thriving water business, with a fleet of 105 trucks plying three or four trips a day from April to June, carrying 5500 to 6500 litres of water on each run"
![Private water tankers, a common sight in urban areas. (Source: India Water Portal)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/private_lorry_tankers_0.jpg?itok=S61g-Ou5)
Safai karmacharis release manifesto
Posted on 08 Apr, 2019 10:36 AMHundreds gathered to release the Safai Karmachari Manifesto ahead of Lok Sabha elections 2019 at the Indian Social Institute, Delhi on April 4, 2019.
![The toilet cleaners of Lucknow (Image source: CS Sharada Prasad)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/lucknow.jpg?itok=waHrMezI)