Manu Moudgil

Insects aren't the enemy, pesticides are!

Understanding the life cycles of vegetarian and non-vegetarian insects is key to keeping the natural balance in crop cycles. Farmers in Haryana who have studied this phenomenon, explain. Manu Moudgil posted 8 years 1 month ago

Women farmers studying insects during a class (Source: Keet Saksharta Mission)

Bihari bait for Punjabi fish

Fish traders in the state, which has the highest freshwater fish yield at 2,500 kg per hectare, are mainly groups of Bihari migrants playing to their strengths. Manu Moudgil posted 8 years 1 month ago

First half of the day is spent netting the fish which is sold in the evening.

Toilet subsidy is not the answer to sanitation problems

Deepak Sanan, one of the flag bearers of community led total sanitation (CLTS), believes that collective behaviour change works more than individual grants. Himachal Pradesh is a case in point. Manu Moudgil posted 8 years 1 month ago

Better waste management for cleaner Chandigarh

The city, which ranked second cleanest in the country in the Swachh Sarvekshan-2016 survey, is struggling with segregation and recycling. Manu Moudgil posted 8 years 1 month ago

Chandigarh does not have a specific waste segregation system yet.

High on potential, low on execution

Small hydro power projects, which could have a greater potential to deal with energy deficiency, are yet to yield what they promise thanks to procedural hiccups and bad research. Manu Moudgil posted 8 years 2 months ago

A small hydro power project in Chamba, Himachal Pradesh

Is Pumpkart streamlining an unorganised sector?

An e-commerce platform selling water pumps has big plans for India but will they be able to buck the trend of incurring heavy losses that other online stores face? Manu Moudgil posted 8 years 2 months ago

Agriculture is the biggest segment for pumping industry.

Echoes of Bhakra

Oustees of one of the highest gravity dams of the world fear yet another displacement--50 years after the first one. Manu Moudgil posted 8 years 3 months ago

Bhakra dam (Source: Apar Singh Bataan, Wikimedia Commons)

Odisha tribals humour changing skies with mixed platters

The Kondh tribes believe that the more one visits the farm, the better the crops will be because the bond between man, land and plant strengthens. Mixed cropping furthers this thought. Manu Moudgil posted 8 years 3 months ago

Aadi Kumbruka with various types of legumes, millets, oilseeds and corns grown on his farm.

A thousand streams spring back

Sahastradhara near Dehradun is testimony to the fact that nature’s bounty is unlimited if man treads carefully. Manu Moudgil posted 8 years 4 months ago

A view of Sahastradhara region from the ropeway (Source: Dr Umesh Behari Mathur/ Flickr)

Ponds--once a lifeline of India's agriculture--are being revived by some Punjab farmers

Farm ponds, rediscovered by a few farmers in Patiala, could be the answer to the state's growing groundwater crisis as they can harvest rainwater and cushion against flooding. Manu Moudgil posted 8 years 5 months ago

Harmesh Singh has taken to rainwater harvesting on his farm since the groundwater has gone down.

Let's not only blame Punjab's farmers for lighting up!

The current rice-wheat crop cycle and the cost of safe disposal of the straw push farmers towards burning, thereby causing them health issues as well as draining available natural resources. Manu Moudgil posted 8 years 5 months ago

Short period between rice harvesting and sowing of wheat forces farmers to burn straw. (Source: Neil Palmer Wikimedia Commons)

Bangalore needs to break class barriers if its lakes are to be saved

The govt. has started reclaiming encroached lake beds in the IT city but unless citizens interact across class divides, these urban water bodies will continue to spew foam, says Leo F. Saldanha. Manu Moudgil posted 8 years 6 months ago

Foam from lake engulfs vehicles in Bangalore. Source: Yoga Priya

Can the ‘Pad Piper’ lure away social taboos related to menstruation?

He wore pads, he figured out how to make them, and he's given rise to social enterprises around making biodegradable pads. Meet the 'Pad Piper' in this film by the same name. Manu Moudgil posted 8 years 6 months ago

A Muruganantham shows the working of a sanitary pad to women. (Source: The Pad Piper)

Water guards of Rajasthan

Taankas are trusted allies in the harsh weather of Rajasthan, but the focus is shifting now onto personal assets rather than community resources. Manu Moudgil posted 8 years 7 months ago

Shimla school goes from students bathing every other day to swimming daily!

Bishop Cotton School in Shimla tides over water scarcity by harvesting rainwater, setting an example for other residential schools located in hilly regions. Manu Moudgil posted 8 years 7 months ago

Four storage tanks are linked to 1350 sqm of rooftop area at Bishop Cotton School in Shimla.

Rajasthan's micro saviours need macro plans

North Rajasthan is making good use of subsidies for micro irrigation and solar water pumps but can this sustain? Manu Moudgil posted 8 years 8 months ago

Farmer Sunil Bishnoi has seen a five times rise in income from his farm thanks to drip irrigation.

People in Kinnaur are making all efforts to stop further destruction'

The Environics Trust collaborated with Himalaya Niti Abhiyan to assess the impact of hydropower projects in Kinnaur, Himachal Pradesh. R Sreedhar of Environics Trust talks about this to IWP. Manu Moudgil posted 8 years 8 months ago

At Pangi village, several houses have suffered damage due to a hydel project.

The nonexistent bridge in Punjab

At Punjab's Mand island, not many children go to school and pregnant women deliver at the river bank -- all because there is no bridge connecting it to the mainland. Manu Moudgil posted 8 years 8 months ago

The only connection of the island with mainland is through a pontoon bridge which the Public Works Department removes as the water level rises during monsoon.

Maharashtra's plan to seed clouds may sprout nothing

Altering cropping patterns and improving water management processes are better ways for the state to deal with drought than experimenting with inconclusive science. Manu Moudgil posted 8 years 9 months ago

A Cessna 210 with cloud seeding equipment (Source: Wikipedia)

Who's to blame for Shimla's water shortage?

It isn't just the tourists or its hilly terrain but a 140-year-old leaking water distribution system set up by the British in 1875 which is leading to heavy losses and contamination. Manu Moudgil posted 8 years 10 months ago

The Ridge houses Shimla's first underground water tank