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
Separated by a spring
Two villages used the same spring as their source of water for generations but over time, it divided rather than unite them. What caused it and was it ever resolved? Posted on 06 Jan, 2014 10:02 AM

Numerous small villages dot the Himalayas. These villages obtain water from springs that are in their turn supplied by small aquifers. Due to the complex folded nature of the rocks that make up the mountains, the area from which these aquifers receive their water may be at some distance away from the actual spring.

Bedu Naula, in Uttarakhand
The indefinite fast continues
River activist Shashi Shekhar has restarted his fast to protest embankments on the Adhwara Samuh rivers in North Bihar. Will the authorities relent this time around? Posted on 06 Jan, 2014 08:50 AM

Noted activist Shashi Shekhar has been on an indefinite fast since December 10th, protesting the construction of embankments on the Jheem Jamura river. These rivers are a part of the Adhwara Samuh rivers in North Bihar, which originate from the foothills of Nepal.

Activist Shashi Shekhar (Source: Water-Vagabond)
Environment Minister Moily takes controversial decisions
Policy Matters this week: Moily takes controversial decisions on the Western Ghats, UP declares eco-sensitive zone around sanctuaries and the UN appreciates Odisha's disaster management efforts. Posted on 29 Dec, 2013 06:54 PM

New Environment Minister brings in new polices

Environment Minister Moily (Source: Livenewz)
Drinking water quality worst in Kerala: Report
News this week: NSSO says drinking water quality worst in Kerala, migratory birds desert flooded wetland and villagers protest against hydel project in Uttarakhand. Posted on 29 Dec, 2013 04:50 PM

Kerala scores worst in access to potable water: NSSO

House wells not safe? (Source: Wikimedia)
How do rural India's toilets measure up?
The Total Sanitation Campaign now called the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan is the country's flagship programme for improving rural sanitation, with a spend of Rs. 7000 crore every year. How is it faring? Posted on 28 Dec, 2013 12:21 AM

India's rural sanitation programme- Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC) was started in 1999, with a goal of eradicating open defecation. Renamed to Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan (NBA) in April 2012, the focus and approach of this programme was supposed to undergo a paradigm shift.

Toilets constructed under Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan
Applications invited for 'sandwich' PhD position on 'Climate Policy, Conflicts and Cooperation in Peri-Urban South Asia', SaciWATERs
Applications are for candidates from Bangladesh, India, or Nepal, willing to do field research primarily in their own country.
Posted on 24 Dec, 2013 05:57 PM

For more information on SaciWATERs, please click here

To apply for the same, click here.

You may download the details of the vacancy from below .

 

A peak at the future: Simulating Coonoor’s water situation
Using computer simulation, Keystone Foundation demonstrates the impact of domestic use, tourism, plantation and farming on the water situation in Coonoor in the Nilgiris. Posted on 23 Dec, 2013 03:40 PM

The Nilgiris have undergone an incredible amount of change in the last 10 years. Coonoor, an area well endowed with natural resources, is the second largest tourist destination here. However, over the last year (2012-13), the town has been reeling under a water crisis [1].

Coonoor Land Use Map
Bihar villagers against asbestos plant
News this week: Bihar villagers oppose asbestos plant, J&K government restricts civilian movement near Kishanganga dam site and dams for Mumbai result in tribal displacement. Posted on 22 Dec, 2013 08:40 PM

10,000 Bihar villagers file petition against asbestos plant

Asbestos inflammation (Source: Adam Cohn, Flickr)
Yamuna Nama: a book review
Born out of citizens' concern for the Yamuna, the bi-lingual Yamuna Manifesto presents a lucid and succinct snapshot of the river, it's troubles, and the potential for its resuscitation. Posted on 22 Dec, 2013 05:51 PM

The Yamuna Manifesto -or Yamuna Nama- is a bilingual book with passages in both Hindi and English, published as part of the Yamuna Elbe project. In five deceptively short sections, the book takes us from the birth to the river to its future.

Yamuna river (Source: www.pilgrimageindia.net)
1 dam, 2 projects, many fools?
Two different hydroelectric projects on a single dam built on the Nethravathi hide under the guise of a mini-hydel project and blatantly flout green norms. Is this another scam? Posted on 22 Dec, 2013 05:49 PM

I was looking for Greenko’s 24.75 MW Perla Mini Hydel Project at Perla village near Bantwal, Mangalore. One would think that you wouldn't really have to search for a hydel project site given its size and scale but the villagers at Perla were puzzled when I asked them to take me there as the Project Design Document had noted the project location as Perla village.

AMR dam across Netravathi (Source: Jerry Pinto)
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