Aarti Kelkar Khambete

Bengaluru lakes, in crisis!

Urban wetlands are increasingly under threat in cities such as Bengaluru! Community participation and better planning, management and monitoring of urban spaces is the need of the hour! Aarti Kelkar Khambete posted 3 years 5 months ago

Ulsoor lake, Bengaluru (Image Source: Subhashish Panigrahi via Wikimedia Commons)

Breathing life into the dying rivers of Pune!

Jeevitnadi continues with its mission to breathe life into Pune’s rivers and has been awarded the prestigious Bhagirath Prayas Samman 2020 this year! Aarti Kelkar Khambete posted 3 years 5 months ago

Mutha, the lifeline of Pune city (Image Source: India Water Portal)

Cereals drain India dry

A study on virtual water flows in interstate trade of cereals in India shows that cereals are rapidly draining the states that have the most critical levels of groundwater. Aarti Kelkar Khambete posted 3 years 6 months ago

Cereals and millets at a bazaar in Nizampet, Hyderabad (Image Source: Aditya Madhav, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons)

Unsafe drinking water burdens urban poor

While urban poor in Delhi are forced to access water from informal sources, this water is highly contaminated posing multiple risks to health. Aarti Kelkar Khambete posted 3 years 6 months ago

Safe drinking water, a valuable resource (Image Source: IWP Flickr photos)

The fast disappearing traditional water harvesting structures of Rajasthan

Lack of community ownership and local governance are spelling doom for the once royal and resilient traditional water harvesting structures of Rajasthan. Aarti Kelkar Khambete posted 3 years 6 months ago

Toorji Ka Jhalara, Jodhpur (Image Source: Rituja Mitra)

Digital water infrastructure to help India become water independent

Digital water infrastructure has a great potential in solving India's water crisis by preventing wastage and encouraging optimum use of water. Aarti Kelkar Khambete posted 3 years 6 months ago

Smart water meters for efficient use of scarce water resources (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Crafts bloom in the parched Thar desert!

Communities from the harshest part of the country, the Thar desert, cope with drought, through their art. Aarti Kelkar Khambete posted 3 years 7 months ago

Art, to deal with drought (Image Source: Rituja Mitra)

Plundered rivers, vanishing ecosystems: Sandmining in India’s west

While sandmining is increasingly killing rivers in India, what is the state of rivers in western India? Aarti Kelkar Khambete posted 3 years 7 months ago

River sand continues to be plundered for the construction industry (Source: P Jeganathan/Wikimedia Commons)

Connecting the dots: Reimagining water security at scale

Can digital technology aid in bringing samaj, bazaar and sarkar closer to solve water and livelihood issues? What do learnings from the ground show? Aarti Kelkar Khambete posted 3 years 7 months ago

Connecting the dots (Image Source: www.kudumbshree.org, kudumbashree via Wikimedia Commons)

Not in the interest of women farmers!

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). Aarti Kelkar Khambete posted 3 years 7 months ago

Farm women, overworked and underpaid (Image Source: India Water Portal)

Reviving traditional tanks to control floods in Chennai

A study finds that desilting and reviving traditional tanks in Chennai can greatly help in mitigating the impacts of frequent floods in the city. Aarti Kelkar Khambete posted 3 years 7 months ago

A small tank near Thalambedu in Kanchipuram (Image Source: India Water Portal)

Patterns of social exclusion in watershed development in India

How have watershed development projects fared in India? Have they helped in better distribution of benefits among the poor and marginalised? Aarti Kelkar Khambete posted 3 years 7 months ago

Watershed development: Towards equitable outcomes (Image Source: India Water Portal)

Helping nature take its course: Composting!

While urban areas are being engulfed by a sea of garbage, the need of the hour is to think about recycling waste that we generate at the source, so as to avoid sending it to the landfills. Aarti Kelkar Khambete posted 3 years 7 months ago

From waste to value: The miracle of composting (Image Source: India Water Portal) at h

Meghalaya villages join hands to save environment and bolster women empowerment

Villages in Meghalaya have not only successfully dealt with their water problems, but also encouraged women to get involved in the process. And the effects have been for all to see! Aarti Kelkar Khambete posted 3 years 8 months ago

Water collected at a mega dam in a village in Meghalaya (Image Source: KM-MBDA)

Ahar pynes: Traditional flood harvesting systems of South Bihar

The Ahar pynes of South Bihar are a classic example of a community managed irrigation systems and need urgent revival. Aarti Kelkar Khambete posted 3 years 8 months ago

Ahar Pyne system in Gaya, South Bihar (Image courtesy: Hindi Water Portal)

Leave no household behind

Access to basic entitlements is a critical safety net for vulnerable communities. Aarti Kelkar Khambete posted 3 years 8 months ago

Basic entitlements, a safety net for vulnerable communities (Image Source: India Water Portal Flickr photos)

Women hold the key to dietary diversity

A study finds that women's control over income and better decisionmaking power can go a long way in improving dietary diversity and tackling malnutrition in rural India. Aarti Kelkar Khambete posted 3 years 9 months ago

Empowering women to improve nutritional outcomes (Image Source: India Water Portal)

Forests, the fast disappearing treasure troves of forest dwellers

Rapidly disappearing forests are not only a threat to the biodiversity, but spell death knell for the livelihoods of forest dwellers who depend on them for food and survival. Aarti Kelkar Khambete posted 3 years 9 months ago

Dried mahua flowers (Image Source: Pankaj Oudhia via Wikimedia Commons)

Water wisdom of the Gonds of Garha Mandla

A peek into history shows how the Gonds of Garha Mandla managed their water needs with great ingenuity and wisdom by constructing and maintaining water tanks . Aarti Kelkar Khambete posted 3 years 9 months ago

Kolatal, a traditional tank in Garha region of Jabalpur (Image Source: K. G. Vyas)

Where does the water in a well come from?

In the water sector, the focus on fixing demand and supply is taking us away from the real problem - the unnoticed groundwater dependencies in ever-expanding urban India. Aarti Kelkar Khambete posted 3 years 9 months ago

An open well in Maharashtra (Image Source: IWP Flickr photos) Image used for representational purposes only.