Droughts and Floods

Featured Articles
December 12, 2022
Why farmers are not adopting crop insurance in India?
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
Slow disaster: Political ecology of hazards and everyday life in the Brahmaputra valley, Assam
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
Chaos in a concrete jungle
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 – a boon than a bane!
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
Taming water - Irrigation and drought protection in colonial India and the present
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
Floods in Assam - a boon or a bane for fish diversity?
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)
Bellandur lake engulfed in smoke
News this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 20 Feb, 2017 08:06 PM

Yet again, Bengaluru’s lake on fire
Bellandur lake on fire. (Source: NDTV)
Beyond drought: Tamil Nadu's chain of misfortunes
Tamil Nadu continues to witness cycles of flood and drought annually. Mismanagement of traditional water management systems is one of the main reasons.
Seetha Gopalakrishnan
Posted on 07 Feb, 2017 10:40 AM

That Tamil Nadu qualifies to be dubbed as a land of climate paradoxes is beyond debate. The massive flood of 2015 was quickly followed by a punishing drought in 2016. Though the state benefited marginally from the south-west monsoon, as is usually the case, the biggest let down was the manner in which the more dominant north-east monsoon had panned out.
Parched land (Image courtesy: Ink Freezer)
All eyes on agriculture
With the budget 2017-18 round the corner, we look at the needs of the agriculture sector in the country and what the budget can offer to support its growth.
Amita Bhaduri
Posted on 31 Jan, 2017 07:28 PM

The agriculture sector in India’s drought-ravaged regions is in a state of crisis. Millions of farmers are pushed out of their farms and into the cities for jobs.
Farmers thresh paddy during harvest at Sangrur, Punjab. (Source: Neil Palmer, CIAT, 2011, Wikimedia Commons)
Opposition to Teesta Stage IV hydel project
News this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 30 Jan, 2017 04:20 PM

People of Sikkim stand against Teesta hydel project
The people of the northeast India protest against dams. (Source: SANDRP)
Opportunities at the National Institute of Hydrology (NIH), Roorkee
NIH invites applications for RA (Research Associate), JRF/ SRF (Junior Research Fellow/Senior Research Fellow), Resource Person (Junior) and Resource Person (Senior).
Posted on 25 Jan, 2017 07:33 PM

The National Insititute of Hydrology (NIH), Roorkee invites applications for:

  • Research Associate and Junior/Senior Research Fellow for the Neeranchal National Watershed Project

Eligibility:
TN suffers the worst north-east monsoon in 140 years
News this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 16 Jan, 2017 11:50 AM

Tamil Nadu declares drought
TN farmers in the midst of a crisis. (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
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)
Maharashtra gears up for irrigation projects
Policy matters this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 09 Jan, 2017 10:14 AM

Maharashtra approves cost overrun in irrigation projects, set to complete Gosikhurd project
Irrigation canal from the Bhima dam, Maharashtra (Source: Nvvchar on Wikipedia)
States fail to tackle groundwater crisis
News this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 09 Jan, 2017 09:52 AM

A majority of states fail to stop overexploitation of groundwater
A well in Rajasthan (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
Worst drought in 115 years hits Kerala
News this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 02 Jan, 2017 10:33 PM

Kerala hit by worst drought in 115 years
Parched land during drought in India. (Source: IWP Flickr Photos)
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