Droughts and Floods

Featured Articles
December 12, 2022 Study looks at behavioral biases in crop insurance adoption
Adoption rate of crop insurance low in India despite government efforts (Image: PxHere, CC0 Public Domain)
October 30, 2022 This book by Dr. Mitul Baruah presents a fascinating, ethnographic account of the challenges faced by communities living in Majuli, India, one of the largest river islands in the world, which has experienced immense socio-environmental transformations over the years, processes that are emblematic of the Brahmaputra Valley as a whole. This is an excerpt from the book.
Floods are recurrent phenomena in Assam (Image: Mitul Baruah)
September 13, 2022 Heavy rains and floods have battered Bengaluru yet again. Uncontrolled and unregulated development and concretisation of the city that pays no heed to the ecology and hydrology of the region needs to stop!
Urban flooding in Bangalore (Image Source: Thejas via Wikimedia Commons)
August 21, 2022 Floods are not feared, but rather welcomed by the Mishing communities from Majuli island in Assam as they bring bountiful fish- a rich source of food, nutrition and livelihood for the community.
The Majuli island, a haven for fish (Image Source: Usha Dewani, India Water Portal)
August 10, 2022 The irrigation at all costs mindset and narrow policies for drought protection during the colonial rule ignored rainfed agriculture and local practices that sustained agriculture in the Bombay Deccan. This continues even today.
Recurrent droughts and the struggle for survival (Image Source: Gaurav Bhosale via Wikimedia Commons):
August 2, 2022 The frequency and intensity of floods is on the rise in Assam spelling doom for fish biodiversity.
Life during floods in Assam (Image Source: Kausika Bordoloi via Wikimedia Commons)
Under Har Ghar Nal Se Jal, states to open water testing labs
Policy matters this week Posted on 12 Mar, 2020 02:39 PM

DDWS orders states to open up water testing laboratories to the public

Residents of a village testing their water (Source: Arghyam)
Parasite – the film and India’s disaster management
How different populations face different levels of risk and vulnerability during disasters? Posted on 25 Feb, 2020 02:36 PM

Parasite, the South Korean movie released in 2019 has gained attention worldwide especially after its historical win at the Oscars 2020. The film takes on two different worlds co-existing in a country but set apart by class and wealth.

A still from the movie Parasite (Image: Christiano Betta, Flickr Commons: CC BY 2.0)
Unravelling Kuttanad’s drinking water paradox
Floods such as in 2018 could take the situation downhill causing severe drinking water crisis. Posted on 24 Feb, 2020 12:55 PM

Surrounded by vast expanses of water, the Kuttanad region in Alleppey district, Kerala faces severe drinking water scarcity due to infrastructure failure and civic body inaction.

Lack of sufficient quality water, poor pipe connectivity and frequent breakdown of existing pipelines are common in the area (Image: Jayasree Vaidyanathan)
Sixty river stretches found polluted in the northeast: CPCB
News this week Posted on 22 Feb, 2020 09:53 PM

Northeast has 60 polluted river stretches: CPCB

A river in Assam (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
Climatic shocks wreak havoc on the Mahanadi delta
Much of the Mahanadi's deltaic coast is experiencing varying degree of erosion, a situation which is expected to worsen by 2050. Posted on 24 Jan, 2020 05:06 PM

The Mahanadi delta in Odisha is a composite delta fed by water, sediments and nutrients from a network of three major rivers: Mahanadi, Brahmani and Baitarini. The coastline of the delta is approximately 200 km long, extending from the Chilika lagoon in the south to the Dhamara river in the north.

The people living in the Mahanadi delta are forced to cope with frequent disasters, but recent progress in warnings, evacuation and shelters seems to have reduced losses. Urban areas in the delta are expanding and there is rural to urban migration which can be expected to continue. These urban areas will have important implications for the future of the delta. (Image: Helmer, Flickr Commons)
The Karnataka State Water Policy 2019
The Karnataka Jnana Aayoga (KJA) set up a Task Group to draft a new water policy for Karnataka in December 2017 and the report is now in public domain. What are the suggestions that the report makes? Posted on 20 Jan, 2020 11:42 AM

The water crisis in Karnataka has not only led to severe agrarian distress in the eastern plains region but also created an acute shortage of domestic water, in both rural and urban areas. The 21st century has seen significant changes in demography, economy and agriculture, increasing the demand for water in the state.

Groundwater depletion, a growing challenge (Image Source: India Water Portal)
Karnataka farmers cope as wells fail
A study looks at how households adapt to slow-moving environmental changes such as groundwater depletion. Posted on 13 Jan, 2020 07:08 PM

Like in many parts of India, Karnataka’s groundwater is a vital source of irrigation water, but has been depleted by a combination of a prolonged, multi-year drought and intensive extraction. Worsening agro-climatic and environmental conditions are threatening the incomes of smallholder farmers and hampering the continued progress in poverty eradication.

An irrigation well at Randullabad, Maharashtra (Image source: India Water Portal on Flickr; Image used for representational purposes only)
Water policy for rainfed areas
The new national water policy should take up a comprehensive and integrated view of water resources development with a focus on rainfed areas. Posted on 10 Jan, 2020 12:12 PM

A committee has been constituted to draft a new National Water Policy (NWP) and make key changes in the water governance structure and regulatory framework. It is chaired by Mihir Shah, who is a former Planning Commission member and a water expert. The committee is expected to produce a report within six months.

Public investments on water in rainfed areas have much higher social rate of returns (Image: Kannan, Flickr Commons, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
2019 was the seventh warmest year on record since 1901: IMD
News this week Posted on 10 Jan, 2020 10:55 AM

2019 was the seventh warmest year on record in 118 years: IMD

2019 was the seventh warmest year on record in 118 years (Photo: IWP Flickr photos)
Centre approves Atal Bhujal Yojana to improve groundwater management
Policy matters this week Posted on 02 Jan, 2020 11:04 AM

Centre approves Atal Bhujal Yojana, worth Rs 6,000 crore

An irrigation well at Randullabad, Maharashtra. (Image source: India Water Portal on Flickr)
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