Biological Pollution

Featured Articles
August 11, 2022
India’s rivers in trouble due to high fertilizer load and heavy monsoons
This could lead to water quality crisis reinforcing the need for basin-specific management strategies
Around the world, more than a fifth of nitrogen released by human activity ends up in aquatic ecosystems (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
July 14, 2022
Ichamati: River of poetry is dying a slow death
The river is faced with the dual problem of flood plain encroachment and growing levels of water pollution
Illegal transverse check dams (Badhals) built on Ichamati near a village in Basirhat (Image: Prithviraj Nath @ TheWaterChronicles)
May 25, 2022
Transparent urban river pollution monitoring
A study develops a decision support tool to identify polluted river stretches
Ulhas river near Khandpe village (Image: Ganesh Dhamodkar, Wikimedia Commons)
November 12, 2021
Water can kill!
Mass fish deaths can pose a challenge to the environment, biodiversity and fisherfolk who depend on them for their livelihoods. Why do they happen?
Algal blooms in a pond in Tamil Nadu (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons)
August 4, 2021
Biodiversity - crucial for survival of freshwater ecosystems!
Detritivores, scavenger organisms inhabiting freshwater bodies such as streams are crucial for the survival of water bodies. However, anthropogenic changes are killing them!
View of a s stream in Kerala (Image Source: Firos AK via Wikimedia Commons)
June 24, 2021
East Kolkata Wetlands – fast turning death traps for aquatic ecosystems?
Freshwater ecosystems in India are known to harbour rich biodiversity, but their health is being increasingly challenged in recent years. And the East Kolkata Wetlands are no exception!
Fishermen use wastewater from Kolkata to rear fish (Image Source: India Water Portal)
Problems of mine: When coal threatens Raigarh
From increasing health issues among residents to declining forest produce, coal mining in Chhattisgarh has devastating outcomes.
Makarand Purohit
Posted on 30 Mar, 2017 05:50 PM

It was in the late 90s that Raigarh emerged as the hub for power, coal mining and sponge iron in Chhattisgarh. The coalfield in Mand Raigarh is spread over an area of more than 1,12,000 hectares with an estimated 21,117 metric tonnes of coal. 
A villager looks at the changing landscape due to coal mines at Kosampalli village in Raigarh.
Can Sewri get back in the pink?
Sewri wetland is known for many winged visitors including flamingos that come for blue green algae annually. It is under threat, thanks to rapid urbanisation.
Aarti Kelkar-Khambete
Posted on 24 Mar, 2017 09:59 AM

Mangroves form an integral part of the landscape of Mumbai and are essential in maintaining the stability of the coastline.
The pink guests of Sewri. (Source: India Water Portal)
Act to clean up the system
In our quest to feature unsung heroes who go about their good work silently, we met Pushpa RTI, an enthusiastic right to information activist, who fights for transparency in governance.
Amita Bhaduri
Posted on 27 Feb, 2017 01:53 PM

With the Right to Information (RTI) Act coming into force in the year 2005, the country saw many RTI activists making the most of it to demand the rights and entitlements of the people from the government. Pushpa, warmly known as Pushpa RTI, is one of them.
Women at Jan Jagriti Sanvad organised by Lok Shakti Manch. (Source: Lok Shakti Manch)
State of rivers goes south
Rivers turn muck in many stretches in south India calling for action before they dry up completely.
Amita Bhaduri
Posted on 14 Jan, 2017 05:40 PM

At a time when the government’s attention is steered towards the concerns of the northern rivers like the Ganga and the Yamuna, it is seldom that the polluted rivers of the south India come up for discussion.
Water-borne litter in Salem, Tamil Nadu. (Source: Parvathisri, Wikimedia Commons)
Stunting in India: The sanitation connect
India has the highest number of stunted children worldwide. Not just toilet numbers, but poor toilet use and hygiene behaviour too need urgent redressal at the policy level to reduce stunting.
Aarti Kelkar-Khambete
Makarand Purohit
Posted on 22 Dec, 2016 11:57 AM

On Children’s Day on November 14 this year, two organisations in Odisha--Shramajeebee Sangathan (SJS), Malkangiri and Jeebika Suraksha Mancha, Kandhamal--organised a massive padayatra (street walk) in villages as an awareness drive and to mobilise communities to curb m
Rally on nutrition awareness by Jeebika Suraksha Manch, Odisha (Source: Amir Khan)
A notification to ensure ecological flow of rivers
Environment lawyer Ritwick Dutta talks about the highs and lows of the new river Ganga notification and how environmentalists can use it to make an impact.
Ritwick Dutta
Posted on 12 Dec, 2016 11:27 PM

I have objected so many times to the change in the name of Ministry of Water Resources to the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation. It shows where the priority of the government lies. It says that all the rivers need to be developed except the Ganga which needs to be rejuvenated.
Boys wait to collect coins thrown into the Ganga at Kanchla, Uttar Pradesh.
Twin lakes of Bhoj
The lakes of Bhoj wetland that are home to many bird species and provide water to the local residents are now polluted and need urgent attention from the government.
Makarand Purohit
Posted on 21 Nov, 2016 10:10 PM

The Bhoj wetland is situated in the heart of Bhopal district in Madhya Pradesh. The wetland consists of two man-made lakes--the upper lake and the lower lake.
Raja Bhoj statue at the upper lake.
Understanding Groundwater: A course by ACWADAM, January 2-17, 2017
How does the groundwater form? How does it move, flow and store? A course designed for professionals from civil society organisations or NGOs
Posted on 19 Nov, 2016 09:36 AM

About: Advanced Center for Water Resources Development and Management (ACWADAM) is conducting a fifteen-day training programme on basic hydrogeology or groundwater science, for professionals from civil society organisations or NGOs.
WASH away Ujjain woes
The holy city of Ujjain is dealing with severe water and sanitation issues. A study reveals serious anomalies in the WASH situation in the city.
Rahul Banerjee
Posted on 07 Nov, 2016 10:31 PM

Despite all the hype around Swachh Bharat Mission, the situation on the ground remains dismal. The city of Ujjain is located on the western part of Madhya Pradesh on the Malwa Plateau and is primarily a religious tourism centre due to the Mahakal temple.
Open well in Hira mill ki chaal slum situated next to an open drain resulting in its water getting polluted.
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.
Arjita Dutta
Gitanjali Hajra
Shyama V Ramani
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)
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