Voluntary Citizen or Civil Society Sector

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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)
October 6, 2022
Visualizing the Vrishabhavathi river to keep it alive
In an effort to inform the general public, especially citizen activists, policymakers, researchers, and students, about the current status of the Vrishabhavathi river, Paani.Earth has created the necessary maps, data, analysis, and information to drive conservation awareness and action around the river.
Vrishabhavathi river (Image Source: Paani.Earth)
October 1, 2021
Community videos: By the community, for the community
Community videos as a tool to influence behaviour change and adoption in rural communities
Community videos are produced by farmers themselves and feature local participants and agents from the rural communities themselves (Image: Digital Green)
September 17, 2021
Villagers’ shramdaan revives canal, enhances area under cultivation
Benefits of well-managed commons on livelihoods
Collective efforts revived the canal structure of Bichhiya dam bringing water to the village (Image: Foundation for Ecological Security)
September 4, 2021
How Paani Foundation harnesses the power of communication for social transformation
Committed to use the power of all forms of communication to bring about behavioral change and transformation at scale
Villagers participating in shramdaan for making watershed structures (Image: Paani Foundation)
September 3, 2021
Learning about safe water practices and solutions
Safe water learning cards being used to train a wide spectrum of stakeholders
Different combinations of safe water learning cards can be customised for a session based on the target audience (Image: INREM)
Locks down, barrage scares Durgapur
Ruined lock gates of Durgapur barrage call for immediate attention and repair to avert another water leak.
Gurvinder Singh
Posted on 18 Apr, 2018 11:41 AM

The industrial township of Durgapur, situated 150 km from Kolkata, faced a severe water crisis for two days in November last year when the Durgapur barrage became dry following a leak at one of the lock gates of the barrage.
Durgapur barrage. (Pic courtesy: Gurvinder Singh)
Treating sewage with plants
Neknampur lake serves as a fitting example of how low cost but effective natural techniques can be used to clean city lakes that are choking with pollutants.
Mahesh Bacham
Posted on 17 Apr, 2018 04:56 PM

A radical new method is fast emerging as an effective and sustainable solution to increasing pollution in urban lakes. Called floating treatment wetlands (FTW), they are artificial islands with plants that stay afloat on the lake. The plants clean the lake through hydroponics system, resulting in a cleaner, beautiful lake and an improved habitat for creatures that depend on it.
Floating treatment wetland at Neknampur lake. (Pic courtesy: 101Reporters)
Tackling fluorosis by following Nalgonda's lead
Engaging with the fluorosis problem in Nalgonda gave the FKAN a chance to understand the problem and apply the solutions nationally.
Fluoride Knowledge and Action Network
Posted on 15 Apr, 2018 04:21 PM

Fluorosis continues to be a regional issue in Telangana to this day, even decades after the first cases were discovered in Nalgonda in 1937. More than three lakh people in the district are affected with skeletal and dental fluorosis, a stigma that has stuck for generations.
Shifting to non-fluoride affected food and increased nutrients is necessary to deal with fluorosis (Image: Fluoride Knowledge and Action Network)
Saving Jhabua’s children from fluorosis
INREM Foundation’s work helped develop protocols on designing proactive action on safe water and nutrition to help mitigate fluorosis in Jhabua.
Fluoride Knowledge and Action Network
Posted on 13 Apr, 2018 09:03 PM

In 2010, nine-year-old Kailash from Miyati village, Jhabua developed symptoms of skeletal fluorosis. Fluorosis, which affects millions of people in India, is a health issue caused due to high fluoride content in drinking water. Skeletal fluorosis is marked by deformed bones.
Nutrition garden developed in Jhabua for sustainable nutrition and resistance from fluorosis among villagers.
Power play chokes Korba
The video tells the story of residents of Korba and nearby villages who are affected by the fly ash from power plants which makes Korba the fifth critically polluted area in the country.
Makarand Purohit
Posted on 11 Apr, 2018 02:05 PM

Korba in Chhattisgarh is an industrial area which has a significant number of coal mines and thermal power plants. Fly ash is a byproduct of the thermal power plants and has become a significant problem for the residents of Korba now.
Fly-ash dust at CSEB thermal power plant in Korba.
There’s no better gift, Daan Toilet!
Assam’s Jorhat district inches closer to being open defecation-free, thanks to a novel initiative by the administration.
Pranjal Sarma
Posted on 11 Apr, 2018 11:49 AM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pet project, Swachh Bharat that envisages an open defecation-free India by the year 2019 has witnessed many local administrations take drastic measures to get people to b
Baghmoria resident Bitul Gogoi poses in front of a newly constructed ‘Daan' toilet donated by Dr Richa Agarwala of Jorhat.
Down in the dumps: Delhi’s waste pickers’ saga
A study by Action India provides insight into Delhi’s recycling nightmare and its unacknowledged waste pickers.
Amita Bhaduri
Posted on 10 Apr, 2018 04:05 PM

Eight-year-old Meera (name changed) got ill after eating filthy food remains from a dump at Mansarovar park in Delhi. Children like her work in filthy environments, rummaging through hazardous waste with bare hands and feet. They play in these dumping ground strewn with syringes, scrap iron, rotting waste, solid and liquid household waste.  
Waste pickers face harrowing occupational hazards and are exposed to toxins in the absence of protective gear. (Image: Ted Mathys, 2009)
Seven reasons why Bengaluru can still run out of water
Citizen Matters looks at what the city should do to manage its water better.
Nagesh Aras
Posted on 05 Apr, 2018 03:20 PM

A recent BBC report projected that Bengaluru will run out of water soon.
Image courtesy bwssb.org
Mangar Bani: NCR's green patch calls for help
With the threat of urbanisation looming large, the sacred grove of Mangar Bani begs for attention.
Amita Bhaduri
Posted on 27 Mar, 2018 02:39 PM

According to the local legend, Mangar Bani, a green patch between Faridabad and Gurgaon, was home to a Baba (a holy man), Gudariya Das Maharaj around 500 years ago. Popular among the local Gujjar herdsmen, the dominant community of the area, the Baba asked them to treat this forest as a sacred grove, the forested abode of a local deity.
Mangar Bani, with its trees, plants, birds and animals, is an ecological hotspot but it is finding it hard to keep builders and land grabbers at bay. (Image: Pradip Krishen, Facebook)
Fluorosis detection: A step towards providing clean water
FKAN’s work on preparing an action plan for the fluoride-affected Remuna block in Balasore shows how proactive policy work can help highlight the issue.
Fluoride Knowledge and Action Network
Posted on 26 Mar, 2018 05:21 AM

Rabindra Kumar Jena, the Member of Parliament (MP) from Balasore, Odisha knew that something was wrong with the health of people in a part of his constituency but he could not put his finger to it. By sheer chance, in 2015, he got to know that this seemed to be related to excessive fluoride in water, which caused a disease called skeletal fluorosis.
People became crippled in Balasore due to skeletal fluorosis. Image: FKAN
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