People and Organisations

Lessons on ecology from the Apatani tribe in Ziro Valley
The Apatani tribe in Arunachal Pradesh is known for its paddy cum fish agriculture. They practice this as well as other sustainable water management techniques that allow them to coexist and thrive. Posted on 17 Jan, 2016 03:42 PM

Ziro Valley, which figures in the tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites as a unique cultural landscape, sits at a height of 5600 feet in Arunachal Pradesh. It is inhabited by the Apatani tribe who are completely confined to the valley.

Rice fields at Ziro valley with sacred groves in the backdrop
Rice-fish culture transforms the lives of cyclone-hit farmers in Odisha
Rice-fish systems allow for the production of fish and other aquatic animals as well as rice from the same rice field area, and generally without causing reductions in rice yields. Posted on 06 Jan, 2016 11:24 PM

Coastal regions of Kendrapara and Jagatsinghpur districts of Odisha have been hit by cyclonic storms for more than two decades.

Integrated Rice Fish Culture Unit Rajnagar (Source: RCDC, Odisha)
Right information and collective strength of people triumph!
The film titled 'A Hand Pump' tells the story of the villagers of Padapadar, Odisha and their struggle to finally get their right to safe drinking water. Posted on 04 Jan, 2016 08:25 PM

"More than eight villagers in Padapadar have died due to water-borne diseases such as typhoid, diarrhoea, jaundice, etc.

A hand-pump installed at Padapadar village
Reminiscence by the riverside
The river Muthai, once the pride of Pune city, is in a diseased state. The Muthai River Walk hopes to reconnect people to the forgotten river and understand her importance for their own existence. Posted on 20 Dec, 2015 03:02 PM

The river Mutha, lovingly called 'Muthai'--meaning 'mother Mutha' in Marathi--is dying a slow death thanks to rapidly urbanising Pune which is depositing huge amounts of untreated sewage and dirt in its waters. However, the situation was different earlier. The river was revered and was a part of the everyday lives of the people in the city.

A view of the river Mutha, as she flows through Pune (Source: India Water Portal)
Choppy waters and a calm river voyager
Emmanuel Theophilus was awarded the ' Bhagirath Prayas Samman' at the India Rivers Day 2015 for his valiant and untiring effort to safeguard the integrity of the Mahakali River. Posted on 06 Dec, 2015 12:31 PM

The epic voyage--Nadisutra--along the Ganga may have been the high point of Emmanuel Theophilus’s recent work, but there have been many more peaks and valleys for this fervent mountaineer cum ecologist. Theo lives in a remote village near Munsiyari in Uttarakhand.

Theophilus being awarded the ' Bhagirath Prayas Samman' (Source: Kush Sethi)
Tea trouble brewing in Assam
Decreasing rainfall in Assam is causing a decline in tea yield, but the crop itself is somewhat adapting to the impacts of climate change, as are tea growers. Posted on 05 Dec, 2015 10:31 PM

Assam, which lies on either side of the Brahmaputra River and borders Bangladesh and Myanmar, is the world's largest tea-growing region (Wikipedia). According to estimates by the Tea Board of India in 2007, the state has 3.11 lakh hectares of area u

Women plucking tea leaves at a garden in Golaghat
Water vending machines: How equitable are they?
Water ATMs have been in use in India for a decade but who are they helping and are they fulfilling their objective, which is to provide safe and clean drinking water to the poor at a low cost? Posted on 05 Dec, 2015 02:34 PM

A water ATM, as the name implies, is a sort of a water vending machine similar to bank ATMs except that in a water ATM, money goes in to the machine in return for water. These machines, which run on a cash as well as a prepaid card or smart card system are built, owned and operated by private companies that have rights over public resources such as land and water.

Water vending machines at work (Source:Sarvajal)
WASH Educators Training (WET 2016) by VIKSAT
The training is directed towards creating and nurturing a cadre of young educators for better understanding of water and WASH issues.
Posted on 03 Dec, 2015 02:51 PM

About WET 2016

www.viksat.org
Springs are more than just a source of water for humans
Springs exist in the most biodiverse regions of the country and anchor entire ecosystems. That fact must be respected while undertaking springs conservation work. Posted on 02 Dec, 2015 09:04 PM

"If you do good work on the ground, policy will happen", says Himanshu Kulkarni of ACWADAM. This has proven to be in true at least in the case of springs.

Springs not only provide humans with water but anchor entire ecosystems.
More people should use this zero sewage discharge toilet
The three-decade old 'Gramkranti Eco-Bio Toilet' doesn't pollute or need a septic tank or a sewage network. In fact, its output is a nutrient-rich liquid that can be used as a pesticide! Posted on 13 Nov, 2015 08:46 PM

Toilets need a septic tank or a connection to a sewage network, enough water to clean and flush, and regular maintenance to ensure proper functioning--except if it's the '

The team: Sanjay Joshi (left) and Ravindra Ganorkar (Source: Nivedita Khandekar)
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