News and Articles

Solar water pumps for efficient irrigation
Solar pumps are cost-effective, environment-friendly and have good potential in places with high water table. Sehgal Foundation, that piloted 14 solar pumps in two districts of Bihar, shows how. Posted on 18 Feb, 2017 09:19 PM

Irrigation system in India is often about big dams and hundreds of kilometres of canals that incur huge capital expenditure. Hence, policies at the central and the state level are mostly tilted in favour of big projects and often neglect micro-level solutions.

Zero tillage machine mounted on a tractor.
‘We have more hardy, nutritious grains than GM can offer’
Debal Deb has conserved 1,200 climate resilient rice varieties. He speaks on the need to conserve traditional seeds and why we don’t need genetically modified ones. Posted on 16 Feb, 2017 05:59 PM

Farming can’t be sustainable without the seeds which are best suited to the location, water availability, soil type and weather. According to records, there were 1.10 lakh varieties of rice in India till 1965. After that, the Green Revolution happened, which pushed for hybrid varieties.

At his farm in Odisha, Deb conserves 1,200 traditional varieties of rice.
A watered-down scheme
The new urban water supply scheme in Madhya Pradesh that encourages private sector participation is replete with lacunae, according to an NGO that studied the scheme. Posted on 16 Feb, 2017 12:25 PM

In November 2011, the government of Madhya Pradesh sanctioned Rs 493 crore to 37 Urban Local Bodies (ULB) for drinking water supply projects under the Chief Minister’s Urban Drinking Water Supply Scheme (CMUWSS) along the lines of the Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme for Small and Medium Towns (UIDSSMT).

Source:India Water Portal
Telangana’s groundwater crisis
A study from Telangana finds faulty power subsidy policies of the state and the resultant increase in tube wells with electric pumps as reasons for depleting groundwater levels. Posted on 15 Feb, 2017 06:50 PM

According to the data released by the Food and Agricultural Organisation’s AQUASTAT in 2010, at 250 billion m³ per year, India is one of the countries that uses groundwater the most. As high as 80 percent of its water is used for irrigation of which 65 percent is groundwater.

Declining groundwater levels and the impending crisis. (Source: India Water Portal)
Public money wasted in the name of Ganga revival: NGT
Policy matters this week Posted on 13 Feb, 2017 09:47 PM

NGT blames Centre for wasting public money in the name of Ganga clean-up

Polythene bags and solid waste left behind the Ganga river in Allahabad. (Source: IWP Flickr Photos)
Over 66 thousand habitations arsenic hit: Centre
News this week Posted on 13 Feb, 2017 09:08 PM

Arsenic present in drinking water at many habitations: Centre

People fight for their rights to clean and safe drinking water. (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
Election update: Rivers can wait in Uttarakhand
Though natural disasters and destruction of rivers are major concerns of the people of Uttarakhand, they fail to move the contesting parties. Posted on 12 Feb, 2017 09:22 AM

The people of Uttarakhand, like other Himalayan states, follow many unique and traditional practices to live in sync with nature.

A woman with her grandchildren in her Munsyari home.
What WatSan got from the budget
Budget 2017-18: Which social sector schemes and ministries got major shares of the pie? An analysis. Posted on 09 Feb, 2017 12:26 PM

The much-anticipated budget this year treads largely on the path set last year with the rural sector receiving more allocation than its urban counterpart.

Water pots lined up for filling. (Source: McKay Savage, Wikimedia Commons)
Cleanliness broom: A village keeps its water clean
Sangrun village near Pune sets an example to all upstream villages by keeping its rivers pollution free. Posted on 07 Feb, 2017 10:36 PM

Located about 27 km from the city of Pune, Sangrun in Haveli taluka is a unique village. Situated in the rocky terrains of the Sahaydri hills, the village is at the confluence of three rivers--Mose, Ambi and Mutha--often referred to by the villagers as the Triveni Sangam or a place where three rivers unite.

Women get together for the cleaning drive at Sangrun. (Source: India Water Portal)
Beyond drought: Tamil Nadu's chain of misfortunes
Tamil Nadu continues to witness cycles of flood and drought annually. Mismanagement of traditional water management systems is one of the main reasons. Posted on 07 Feb, 2017 10:40 AM

That Tamil Nadu qualifies to be dubbed as a land of climate paradoxes is beyond debate. The massive flood of 2015 was quickly followed by a punishing drought in 2016. Though the state benefited marginally from the south-west monsoon, as is usually the case, the biggest let down was the manner in which the more dominant north-east monsoon had panned out.

Parched land (Image courtesy: Ink Freezer)
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