Amita Bhaduri

Amita Bhaduri
Princely' private ponds
The 'Apna Talab Abhiyaan' programme promotes the building of private talabs on peoples' lands to help improve groundwater recharge in Bundelkhand. Posted on 07 Mar, 2014 10:14 AM

Charkhari, a princely state of India in the colonial period was once a beautiful settlement founded by Saurabh Singh Bundela, a Rajput King. Acceded to India post-Independence, the town is now located in Mahoba, Uttar Pradesh. The place was home to intricate water management systems in the past.

A talab in the fort city of Charkhari
Farm like the rishis!
Raju and Shalini Titus have been engaged in no-till farming for over 23 years. Contrary to pop wisdom, their net income has gone up because of increased yields and a reduction in input costs.
Posted on 09 Feb, 2014 08:20 PM

It all started in the eighties when Friends Rural Centre, a group of Gandhian Quakers in Rasuliya village, near Hoshanagabad, Madhya Pradesh came in contact with Masanobu Fukuoka.

Results of no till farming; Image: Titus
Mapping land and water resources in India
With rare maps of India including 'Annual Rainfall' map, 'Water Balance' map and 'Land Use' map, the land and the water resource development atlases are excellent sources of information.
Posted on 27 Jan, 2014 01:18 PM

India’s mapping activity dates back to the Indus Valley Civilization (c. 2500–1900 BCE) as per the famous geographer, Joseph E. Schwartzberg. His work is based on a couple of surveying instruments and measuring rods that were excavated from the Indus valley sites. Our mapping traditions were influenced by Vedic, Tibetan, Islamic and more recently, British cartography.

Water resources development in Gujarat (NATMO)
Pesticide 'thali'
A 2010 study by Consumer Voice found that Delhi's fruits and vegetables contain high levels of pesticide residue. Despite the high court getting involved, not much has changed since.
Posted on 20 Jan, 2014 09:39 AM

One doesn't have to look far to find pesticide contamination in food and water in India.

Toxins are used as ripening agents in vegetables
Are there greener pastures for pastoralists?
With grazing lands being utilised for development projects, more and more livestock-dependent communities are being impacted and the huge diversity of grazing practices is disappearing.
Posted on 01 Dec, 2013 08:34 PM

Pastoralist communities are those that depend primarily on livestock (domesticated animals in an agricultural setting) for their living. India has the world’s highest livestock population with 440 million livestock heads distributed over 100 million households (1) but in recent years, pastoralists have been facing threats to their way of life.

Goat rearing in Udaipur
Small MP village inspires neighbours
Once water-deficient, Didakhedi in Madhya Pradesh is now a village with year-round water supply and a sense of community and belonging.
Posted on 01 Dec, 2013 08:31 PM

The 200 odd residents of Didakhedi, a sleepy village just 13 kms from Sehore town in Madhya Pradesh, never had adequate water. Two decades ago, most of the farming in the village was done during the monsoons. The village had no electricity and a lone diesel pump operated the shallow dug wells to irrigate some lands during the winter.

Athirapilly falls under threat
Another proposed power project blurs the lines between cost to environment and need for development. Will it ever cease to be a dichotomy and become a win-win situation for both?
Posted on 23 Nov, 2013 07:54 AM

Athirappilly falls is situated 70 km from Kochi city in Kerala's Thrissur district. The 80 ft high falls is a part of the Chalakudy River and originates in the upper reaches of the Sholayar ranges in the Western Ghats. Lush greenery and little streams that cover the winding route up and down to the falls exhilarate and intimidate all at once.

Athirapilly waterfalls Source:Sangfroid, Wikimedia
More children stunted in India than in sub-Saharan Africa
Studies show a link between open defecation and stunted development, but merely building toilets may not be the answer.
Posted on 11 Sep, 2013 12:02 PM

Children in India are shorter when compared to those in sub-Saharan Africa even though Indians have higher income levels.

Children in India; Source: MOSPI
Coping with floods and erosion in the Brahmaputra plains
Floods are a way of life in this region. Over the years, people and ecosystems have developed methods to deal with this including raised hand pumps and houses on stilts among others. Posted on 11 Sep, 2013 11:15 AM

I began my latest journey in the land of the red river and the blue hills, Assam from Dibrugarh. The first time I saw the Brahmaputra at Guwahati many years ago, I was fascinated on looking at the mighty stream of water in its full glory after the monsoons.

Floods in Assam
The missing water bodies of Western Uttar Pradesh
Over 3000 water bodies which once existed in Meerut district alone are now in a pitiable state. Will returning to a community-based water management system help revive these?
Posted on 01 Sep, 2013 11:54 AM

Traditional water bodies such as bawdis and talabs have long since been an integral part of rural life in India providing water, fish and sometimes even just a venue for people to chit chat. The flat plains in Western Uttar Pradesh, where the Ganga and Yamuna rivers meet, is no exception.

Suraj kund at Meerut; Source: www.meerut-live.com
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