News and Articles

1 dam, 2 projects, many fools?
Two different hydroelectric projects on a single dam built on the Nethravathi hide under the guise of a mini-hydel project and blatantly flout green norms. Is this another scam? Posted on 22 Dec, 2013 05:49 PM

I was looking for Greenko’s 24.75 MW Perla Mini Hydel Project at Perla village near Bantwal, Mangalore. One would think that you wouldn't really have to search for a hydel project site given its size and scale but the villagers at Perla were puzzled when I asked them to take me there as the Project Design Document had noted the project location as Perla village.

AMR dam across Netravathi (Source: Jerry Pinto)
Batting for the environment
Jaideep Hardikar, recipient of 2013 Prem Bhatia Award for excellence in environmental reporting, talks about his journey and how failure pushed him to take the road less traveled. Posted on 22 Dec, 2013 04:46 PM

By his own account, Jaideep Hardikar, is simply a chronicler of the times around him. His foray into writing and reporting was neither easy nor his first choice. Like many children of his time, he dreamt of being a cricketer but stumbled into journalism and in it, found his true calling. 

Jaideep Hardikar, 2013 Prem Bhatia Award recipient
Digital tools as a catalyst for change
The Manthan Award 2013, commemorated NGOs who used Information & Communications Technology (ICT) tools to deliver their stories to a wider audience. Posted on 22 Dec, 2013 04:39 PM

Can a mobile or an internet connection improve the visibility and prospects of an organization? Will it help create exposure and result in further outreach?

Digital Tools (Source: Tech Transformation)
Where are the toilets?
Policy matters this week: Ministry sets up committee to investigate discrepancy in toilet data and India and Asian Development Bank fund embankments in Nepal and Assam. Posted on 15 Dec, 2013 09:23 PM

Committee to investigate discrepancy in data on toilets

Open defecation due to lack of toilets
Climate change hits Northeast bamboo crop
News this week: Climate change hits bamboo crop in the Northeast, people in Himachal reject EIA report on dams on the Satluj and marine pollution results in economic losses. Posted on 15 Dec, 2013 09:18 PM

Climate change affects bamboo production in the Northeast

Bamboo hit by climate change Source: Wikimedia
South Delhi gets 'smoked'
The Timarpur Okhla Waste to Energy (WtE) power plant, lauded as the most successful in India, brazenly pollutes the environment. Residents' plea to the Government and NGT falls on deaf ears. Posted on 15 Dec, 2013 09:17 PM

Blue facades line the Sukhdev Vihar colony in South Delhi, considered plush by Delhi standards. They are in place to shield houses from layers of soot that would otherwise settle on their walls and grills. Soot from a power plant that began operations almost two years ago.

Facades protect houses from soot
All is 'well'
By reviving abandoned wells, a community in Ballia, Uttar Pradesh, solves the problem of arsenic contamination in its drinking water. Posted on 15 Dec, 2013 09:15 PM

Dilip from Ballia, Uttar Pradesh, has finally rid himself of the itchy, black spots on his skin that bothered him for many years. How did he do it? He cleaned a dug well in his village! Seems a little disconnected, doesn't it? Dilip also failed to see this connection and did not realize that the water he drank was silently causing his own body to turn against him.

Reviving wells in Ballia,UP (Credit:Saurabh Singh)
Troubled waters of the Northeast
Modern development models for the remote hills of the Northeast are replacing age-old conventions thereby creating inequity in the distribution of water. Posted on 15 Dec, 2013 09:12 PM

On a train journey from Nagaland, a friend and I began talking on the subject of water. He said to me, "You have so much water in the Brahmaputra Valley and your lands are always flooded but we have to struggle for a drop of water in the hills".

Hills of Northeast India Source: Wikipedia
Indian troops polluting Siachen glacier: Pakistan
Policy matters this week: Pakistan says its main source of water supply is affected by Indian troops polluting the Siachen glacier, and Karnataka to increase the height of Almatti dam. Posted on 09 Dec, 2013 08:24 AM

Remove troops from Siachen: Pakistan

Indian Army, Siachen Source: defenceforumindia.com
Migratory birds return to Sultanpur lake
News this week: migratory birds return to Sultanpur lake (Gurgaon district), groundwater level dips in Maharashtra and Kerala grows saline-resistant rice after 25 years. Posted on 09 Dec, 2013 07:00 AM

At Sultanpur, migratory birds visit an artificial lake

Sultanpur bird sanctuary Source: Wikipedia
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