Voluntary Citizen or Civil Society Sector

It was 1961. Simon Oraon, a Class IV school drop-out began his journey against drought in Bedo, a tribal block of Ranchi, Jharkhand. An idealistic young man, he along with his fellow villagers began constructing earthen dams to capture rainwater for recharging groundwater.

In January 2016, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) Employees Union and residents of Nagpur yet again protested the privatisation of water services in the city.

The Ujjain Simhastha (Kumbh Mela) in Madhya Pradesh will begin on April 22, 2016 and go on for a month. The event, held once every 12 years, holds religious significance to Hindus, and throngs of people--approximately 5 crore over the month--take a holy dip in the Kshipra river during this time.

Groundwater levels are reducing all over the world: NASA analysis

The coastal district of Puri in Odisha is infested with water hyacinth. In 1982, 10 million people and 3 million hectares of agricultural land was affected by floods causing the water hyacinth to increase to such an extent that it has affected the lives and livelihood of communities for almost three decades.

The East Coast of India is very much unlike its western counterpart both in terms of physiography and climatology.

With the budget 2016-17 round the corner what are the asks from the standpoint of food security? This year’s budget is being prepared in the wake of many parts of the country being affected by drought resulting in greater distress, hunger and starvation for a large number of people.

Per a report by the Planning Commission, India’s burden of water borne diseases remains grossly underestimated. The improvements in access to drinking water has not been matched by a proportionate decline in deaths and illnesses from waterborne diseases.

Recent data from the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) as well as the Agriculture Census highlighted the plight of Indian farmers. Around 85 percent are small and marginal farmers with an average monthly income of only Rs. 4653, which is lesser than their monthly expenses. Debt rates are very high among farmers with an average loan of more than Rs.

While the WatSan sector has been prioritised in the country’s policy agenda through the launch of the Swachh Bharat Mission, last year’s budgetary outlay was way below desired levels.