Political

The San-kranti Student Challenge concerns all of us. India’s rapid urbanisation has resulted in significant challenges as well as a set of valuable opportunities – there are few certain answers before any of us. Our urban growth could help us alleviate poverty and move towards a more sustainable and equitable future. It could also overwhelm our cities and exacerbate inequality. We stand at the cross-roads.

Organizer: United Way Bengaluru

Venue: Kaikondanahalli Lake, Sarjapura Road, Bangalore

Description:

To spread awareness about lakes in Bangalore and to mobilize support for lake rejuvenation campaign from companies, residents living around the lakes, community leaders and general public a Lake-a-Thon are taking place.

Forwarded to the portal by: Graduates Welfare Association, Fazilka

Together, India, Brazil and South Africa have about 20 per cent of the world’s population. Although the three countries have demonstrated the potential for transformative development in the South, their experience has been marked by key challenges such as relatively high levels of poverty, inequality and food insecurity, problems that persist for significant numbers of people.

There is a potential to build a network of academics and experts from Brazil, India and South Africa, and food security is among the themes of great interest. This paper seeks to contribute to this process by examining pertinent elements of policy dialogue. As regards food security, each of these countries has developed conceptions and orientations that guide their policy agendas. They include distinctive treatments of several multi-dimensional strategies, multi-stakeholder arrangements and rights-based approaches.

Organizer: National Alliance of People’s Movements

Venue: Jantar Mantar, New Delhi

Description:

National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM) invites to resist forced displacement and land acquisitions across the country and demand for a comprehensive legislation on development planning. From 2000 onwards people's movements have successfully resisted land grab in Kalinganagar, Niyamgiri, Singur, Nandigram, Sompeta, Chandrapur, Raigadh, Karla, Narmada Valley, Jagatsinghpur, Mumbai and thousands of other places. Farmers, peasants, landless labourers and everyone together have fought to protect their land rights. In the same vein communities dwelling in forests have fought to claim their rights over the land they have been residing for generations and eking their livelihood from. Many lives have been lost in this process too.

Article and Image courtesy: YaleGlobal Online
Author: Rohini Nilekani

India and China account for one third of the world’s population; each consumes more freshwater than other nations. Per inhabitant per year, though, India uses less than half what’s used in the US, China uses less than one third. This YaleGlobal series examines India and China’s water use, their expectations for rising demand and recognition that shortages will disrupt economic progress.

The Planning Commission of India repeatedly warns that water will become a more serious issue than land or energy for India in years to come, points out Rohini Nilekani, in the second article of the series. India’s transition from an economy based on agriculture to a mixed one, with water use controlled by states rather than the federal constitution, already leads to conflicts. She urges planning for a low-water economy. Good governance and regulatory frameworks can prevent pollution and waste, while encouraging efficiency, reliable and fair allocation, and wise consumer choices.

Thirsty earth: Indian villagers in Gujarat gather to draw water from a well

This paper in Journal of Earth System Science attempts to estimate the possible rate of land subsidence of Kolkata City including Salt Lake City and the adjoining East Kolkata Wetlands located at the lower part of the deltaic alluvial plain of South Bengal basin. Land subsidence is an environmental hazard which is caused by overdraft of groundwater or oil extraction and results in gradual settling or sudden sinking of the earth’s surface owing to subsurface movement of the materials of the earth. 

Article courtesy: Press Information Bureau

 It was earlier scheduled to be held in Pune on 18th July. The day long workshop is aimed at sharing roadmap for implementation of the audit of rules under MGNREGA by the states and seek clarifications from the ministry.

 Woods builds a case against the growing privatization of the world's dwindling fresh water supply with an unflinching focus on the disturbing picture of the battle for its ownership and the commoditization of the resource. The film raises the question of whether water should be a human right or a tradable commodity.

The occurrence of exceptionally heavy rainfall events and associated flash floods in many areas during recent years prompted the researchers to study long-term changes in extreme rainfall over India.