Citizens' Rights and Duties

Featured Articles
July 7, 2022 PMAY needs policy commitment to rehabilitate slums in small and medium cities of Gujarat
Need for legal framework for land rights in small and medium cities of Gujarat under PMAY (Image: Homes in the City)
December 6, 2019 A report by the India Rivers Forum highlights the need to focus further than the main stem of the Ganga river.
Distant snow clad mountains, the smaller hills and the Ganga river (Image: Srimoyee Banerjee, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0)
November 21, 2019 A report by NIUA brings to light the chinks in Jaipur's sewage system and suggests some solutions.
Routine check done by the sewage treatment plant staff in Delawas, Jaipur. The plant is part of the ADB best practices projects list. (Image: Asian Development Bank, Flickr Commons)
November 18, 2019 Bangalore's water utility is understaffed, under financed and unable to service the city's water needs.
Image credit: Citizen Matters
November 15, 2019 On World Toilet Day, we bring to light the labour of India’s sewer workers - those who do the unclean work that a Clean India relies on.
Photo credit: Sharada Prasad
Alwar homes, farms and factories fight for water
Water conflict in Rajasthan’s Alwar district is not just between upstream and downstream users; it is also between users with domestic, agricultural and industrial needs. Posted on 07 Jun, 2018 11:46 AM

Lewari, a village located around 17 km from Alwar in Rajasthan, is the site of a water conflict these days. “The production of Jayanti jaljeera, haazme ka lalantop drink (a digestive drink) has left our village parched,” says Nanak Singh, a resident.

Operation of sluice outlet of Siliserh lake is marked by chaos and conflict among various interest groups.
Not enough water, villagers look for solution
Chhattisgarh’s Bemetara district has been facing severe water shortage for a while now. Rainwater harvesting could be a solution to this. Posted on 25 May, 2018 06:03 PM

There seems to be no end to the drinking water crisis in the Bemetara district in Chhattisgarh. It is only becoming worse with every passing day. More than 40 percent of all the hand pumps installed in the district have run dry due to the depletion of groundwater level.  

Women of Bagledi struggle to get a pot of drinking water from one of the four stand posts.(Pics: India Water Portal)
Palwal puts Game Theory to practice
How 'super village challenge' in Palwal district set the benchmark for the speedy development of villages. Posted on 21 May, 2018 09:27 PM

At just 24 years of age, Abhinav Vats has learnt a lot as the chief minister’s Good Governance Associate (CMGGA) posted in Palwal district of Haryana. An economics graduate from Delhi University, he worked as a research analyst with McKinsey and Company at Gurgaon for two-and-a-half years before deciding to be a CMGGA.

Women participate enthusiastically in the ‘Palwal super village challenge’ for last mile delivery of rural development schemes. (Pic courtesy: Abhinav Vats)
Village swims in desperation
Livelihood and education affected, villagers of a marooned land look for solutions. Posted on 18 May, 2018 10:45 AM

“Our village is also called the swimmers’ village because almost all of us including small children know how to swim. To learn swimming is not a luxury but a necessity for us.

A girl oars a boat to go to college. (Pic courtesy: Gurvinder Singh)
Sewage to blame, Dal turns dull
Years of indiscriminate dumping of sewage turns Kashmir’s beautiful Dal Lake into an eyesore. Posted on 17 May, 2018 01:09 PM

Srinagar's prime tourist attraction, Dal Lake, is no more the scenic beauty it used to be. It's turning into an eyesore, thanks to sewage discharge and weed growth.

A Kashmiri boy on a boat among lotus leaves on Dal Lake. (Pic courtesy: Safeena Wani/101Reporters)
Where the mind is without fear
Phoolbasan Yadav’s journey towards empowering women in Chhattisgarh is an inspiring one. Posted on 09 May, 2018 08:49 PM

Phoolbasan Yadav from the remote Sukaldaihan village in the Rajnandgaon district in Chhattisgarh shot to fame for her untiring effort in empowering the women of her village. "Since my childhood, I had experienced extreme poverty and hunger, and I feel that similar is the plight of lakhs of women in the country.

Phoolbasan Yadav (right) receives Padmshree from President Pratibha Patil in 2012.
Call for Admissions for Graduate Program of Water Science and Policy 2018 at Shiv Nadar University
A first of its kind academic program offering a multi-disciplinary perspective on water with a special focus on policy and practical solutions.
Posted on 08 May, 2018 03:59 PM

Entering its second year, the Graduate Program of Water Science and Policy 2018 at Shiv Nadar University envisages a multi-disciplinary classroom, engagement and content delivered by some of the best minds globally – experts on water who have worked on ground realities, made policies and initiated change.

Anicuts affect Mahanadi's flow
While the three anicuts on the Mahanadi are hampering its free flow, another one is being planned by the government. Posted on 26 Apr, 2018 01:02 PM

Gopal Nishad, a fisherman in his early 40s, is frustrated that there is hardly any fish left in the Mahanadi’s basin at Pitaibandh due to the lack of water in the basin. This basin is located near Rajim-Nawapara in Chhattisgarh, the proposed site for the fourth anicut on the Mahanadi.

Anicut on the Mahanadi basin at Rajim-Nawapara (Source: India Water Portal)
Locks down, barrage scares Durgapur
Ruined lock gates of Durgapur barrage call for immediate attention and repair to avert another water leak. Posted on 18 Apr, 2018 11:41 AM

The industrial township of Durgapur, situated 150 km from Kolkata, faced a severe water crisis for two days in November last year when the Durgapur barrage became dry following a leak at one of the lock gates of the barrage.

Durgapur barrage. (Pic courtesy: Gurvinder Singh)
Treating sewage with plants
Neknampur lake serves as a fitting example of how low cost but effective natural techniques can be used to clean city lakes that are choking with pollutants. Posted on 17 Apr, 2018 04:56 PM

A radical new method is fast emerging as an effective and sustainable solution to increasing pollution in urban lakes. Called floating treatment wetlands (FTW), they are artificial islands with plants that stay afloat on the lake. The plants clean the lake through hydroponics system, resulting in a cleaner, beautiful lake and an improved habitat for creatures that depend on it.

Floating treatment wetland at Neknampur lake. (Pic courtesy: 101Reporters)
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