Amita Bhaduri

Amita Bhaduri
Only 37 percent of world’s long rivers free flowing
A study finds out dams and reservoirs diminish diverse benefits offered by healthy rivers.
Posted on 14 May, 2019 05:02 PM

A little over a third of the world's 246 long rivers remain free-flowing, as per a study by a team of 34 international researchers, including those from McGill University in Canada and World Wildlife Fund India.

Pancheshwar dam on Mahakali river is feared to break the natural flow connectivity of river. (Image: Vimal Bhai)
Breaking period taboo
A sanitary pad manufacturing unit in a Rajasthan village brings women together and breaks taboo around menstruation.
Posted on 06 May, 2019 11:18 AM

Leela Patel (19) explains how women at Wali, a tribal gram panchayat in Kurabad block, just 30 km away from Udaipur, manage menstruation by using old scraps of cloth. She’s aware of cases when women have had to use ash, dust and soil to soak up their periods. Buying a pack of sanitary pads is a luxury in this poverty-stricken belt.

Women at a manufacturing unit in Wali village that produces biodegradable sanitary pads at a low cost. (Image: India Water Portal)
Mapping pollution hotspots in Yamuna
A sensor network system is being used for mapping and monitoring the water quality of river Yamuna.
Posted on 01 May, 2019 10:38 AM

The Yamuna was considered a nurturing and life-enhancing goddess in the past. Legend has it that bathing in the sacred waters of the Yamuna, the sister of Yama, the god of death, frees one from the ordeal of death. The 1376-km river is a tributary of the Ganga and originates in the Yamunotri glacier in the lower Himalayas.

A project, conceptualised by a team of researchers from the University of Chicago, US helps demonstrate that scalable water quality mapping systems can detect and predict water contamination (Image:India Water Portal)
Making water available for all
Civil society activists champion alternatives to conventional water management solutions implemented by the government.
Posted on 23 Apr, 2019 06:48 PM

India, the second largest population in the world, is facing a water crisis with over 600 million people facing acute water shortage, as per a report by Niti Aayog, the government think-tank. India’s water crisis is expected to worsen, threatening the country’s food security as over 80 percent of our water is used in agriculture.

The pollution rates of the river Hindon are alarming. Despite work by conservation groups, the efforts on the part of the government to fix the problem remain uncertain. (Image: Hindi Water Portal)
Safai karmacharis release manifesto
Manual scavengers release manifesto to ensure right to a dignified life.
Posted on 08 Apr, 2019 10:36 AM

Hundreds gathered to release the Safai Karmachari Manifesto ahead of Lok Sabha elections 2019 at the Indian Social Institute, Delhi on April 4, 2019.

The toilet cleaners of Lucknow (Image source: CS Sharada Prasad)
Towards sustainable food production
The entire food chain is increasingly becoming the primary source of pesticide and antibiotic contamination putting the health and safety of people at risk.
Posted on 01 Apr, 2019 11:14 AM

The national conclave on food held on March 15, 2019 at New Delhi saw experts urge policy changes to promote sustainable food production especially organic farming as well as regulations to reduce misuse of antibiotics and pesticides.

Apart from pesticides, toxic colours and hormones like oxytocin are also being used indiscriminately to ripen vegetables and fruits. (Image: India Water Portal)
Protecting Surajpur wetland
Surajpur wetland faces the threat of habitat loss because of the proliferating real estate development in the area.
Posted on 13 Mar, 2019 05:29 PM

The migratory bird season is in full swing and avid bird watchers have flocked to Surajpur wetland to sight the charismatic Common Teal, Red-crested Pochard, Ferruginous Pochard, Bar-headed Goose, Greylag Goose, Northern Shoveler and Gadwall.

The forest department and local activists discuss the threats on Surajpur, an urban wetland encroached upon by private real estate as well as the government. (Image: India Water Portal)
Income support: Budget 2019 showstopper
Will direct income support boost agriculture and shift focus from country’s food security to farmers’ income security?
Posted on 11 Feb, 2019 07:04 PM

The decline in public, as well as private investment, has led to a slowdown in the growth of agriculture and allied sectors in the last five years. The crisis in the agrarian sector had intensified over the last few years. It is now the political talking point with many farmers' rallies, marches and protests being held all over the country.

For doubling farmers’ incomes by 2022, the slew of measures proposed under the budget is inadequate. (Image: Azhar Feder, Wikimedia Commons-CC-BY-SA-3.0)
Leading a movement to revive a river
The work of river conservationist Mustaquim Mallah with help from local people to revive the Katha river is a good example that river conservation is possible through local participation.
Posted on 30 Jan, 2019 04:21 PM

People of Ramra, a village in the Kairana block of Shamli district of Uttar Pradesh have warm recollections of river Katha that joins the Yamuna below Ramra. Mustaquim Mallah, a 30-year old river conservationist recalls how his grandfather held many pleasant childhood memories of the river. "My great grandfather fished in this river.

A “one house, one pot” symbolic water donation movement was conducted over the years for river Katha. (Image: Mustaquim Mallah)
FAQ – Sediment management
A river is a body of flowing sediment as much as one of flowing water. Here’s all you want to know about sediment in action in rivers.
Posted on 17 Jan, 2019 10:11 AM

What are sediments? Why do rivers carry sediment? Where does it all go? What happens to the sediment along the way? Have human actions modified the way a river works or carries sediment? How can sediments in rivers and reservoirs be managed? Here is all the information that you need to know about sediment and its management better.

A river becomes a checkerboard of water and silt. (Image: Ashok Boghani, CC BY-NC 2.0, Flickr Commons)
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