Research Papers

A river on fire
Communication, based on sound scientific information, involving farmers as well as other stakeholders, is the only way to solve the Cauvery dispute. Political mandate, too, is important. Posted on 17 Sep, 2016 05:52 PM

River Cauvery has been in the epicentre of agitation and violence in the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu--both fighting over their share of the Cauvery water. Thanks to the deficit monsoon this year, the Cauvery basin reservoirs in both these neighbouring states are only filled half as much as they should be![1].

Cauvery river at Hogenakal, Karnataka. (Source: IWP Flickr Photos via Claire Arni and Oriole Henri)
WASH away diarrhoea
Swachh Bharat Abhiyan is unlikely to be effective unless it understands the influence of the complementarity of WASH variables on the incidence of diarrhoea in India. Posted on 09 Sep, 2016 05:35 PM

Diarrhoeal diseases are a leading cause for childhood mortality and morbidity worldwide. India registers the third highest proportion of child deaths caused by diarrhoea in South Asia [1]. According to Central Bureau of Health Intelligence, 2012, diarrhoeal diseases are the most prevalent of all water-related diseases in India [2].

WASH infrastructure and diarrhoea. (Source: India Water Portal)
Manuscripts invited for Environmental and Earth Sciences Research Journal
Manuscripts Invited for the special edition of Environmental and Earth Sciences Research Journal
Posted on 30 Aug, 2016 10:19 PM

The journal ENVIRONMENTAL AND EARTH SCIENCES RESEARCH JOURNAL will publish a spe

Damn the dams, say the displaced
Many people have been displaced by major dam projects in the country. A bigger threat, however, lies in the ageing dams waiting to collapse. Posted on 30 Aug, 2016 12:28 PM

"If you are to suffer, you should suffer in the interest of the country.”

- Jawaharlal Nehru, speaking to villagers who were to be displaced by the Hirakud Dam in 1948.

The Hirakud dam
Manual scavenging: The caste connection
The Balmiki caste has been marginalised for their association with manual scavenging. Swacch Bharat Mission needs to put an end to this evil to save a population from discrimination. Posted on 24 Aug, 2016 09:07 PM

Manual scavenging has been glorified since the time of Mahatma Gandhi. It hasn’t changed now with prime minister Narendra Modi describing it as an “experience in spirituality”. Manual scavenging is dehumanising. And despite the laws created to abolish it, the news of manual scavenging and manual scavengers dying in sewers and septic tanks are not unheard of.

A manual scavenger at work. (Source: Flickr Commons)
Water sharing: In China’s defence
Mutual trust and not the fear of an imaginary war is needed to improve the Sino-Indian relation over the sharing of Brahmaputra. Posted on 09 Aug, 2016 11:41 PM

When two powerful and populous countries share a river to quench the thirst of its people, some amount of friction between the countries is bound to happen. The water of Brahmaputra, that flows through India, China, Bangladesh and Bhutan, has been a bone of contention between China and India for long.

The Brahmaputra river (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
When Godavari spews venom
The presence of toxic heavy metal in Godavari calls for immediate action because of the health threat from the contaminated water. Posted on 30 Jul, 2016 04:18 PM

According to a report published by the Central Water Commission in 2015 on the status of trace and toxic metals in Indian rivers in the country, a large number of rivers in India are contaminated by heavy metals.

Godavari river at Jayakwadi dam, Aurangabad (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
Effect of environmental policies on reducing water pollution
A study finds the actions undertaken in the 1987 ruling in Mehta vs Union of India resulted in reduced pollution levels and infant mortality. Posted on 22 Jul, 2016 10:07 PM

There is a severe crisis plaguing the rivers in India.

Sunset at Garmukteshwar on the river Ganga (Source: India Water Portal)
Safe sanitation for women
Toilet security for women in India is less about the availability of toilets and more about addressing gender disparity. Posted on 05 Jul, 2016 10:08 PM

According to the recent figures by the World Health Organisation and UNICEF [

Women and toilets (Source: India Water Portal)
Understanding sanitation
Building toilets alone does not solve India’s sanitation issues. A research paper says what more can be done. Posted on 04 Jul, 2016 09:36 PM

It is a fact that constructing toilets alone cannot ensure total sanitation. The real challenge lies in getting people to use them. While treating fecal sludge and disposing it are largely urban concerns, modifying behaviour and motivating people to abandon open defecation are considered rural sanitation challenges.

The overall strategy of behaviour change must be open to and address barriers influenced by caste, gender and other local variables. (Source: India WASH Forum)
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