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)
Floods completely cut off North Sikkim, as death toll mounts in the North East - News roundup for the week ending September 23, 2012
The roundup this week includes news on floods in North Sikkim, swine flu in Bhopal and sewerage system upgradation in Trivandrum, Kerala Posted on 24 Sep, 2012 03:09 PM

Floods completely cut off North Sikkim, as death toll mounts in the North East

Caste discrimination in disaster situations in India - Reports by National Dalit Watch
The National Dalit Watch examines the existing policy and disaster response or preparedness regime from the point of view of equity considerations Posted on 21 Sep, 2012 11:00 AM

The National Dalit Watch (NDW), an effort spearheaded by the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights has prepared a number of  reports on rampant caste discrimination and the urgent need for protection of human rights, particularly Dalit human rights during disaster situations. 

Churning still water – Briefing paper by the Centre for Science and Environment on the state of urban water bodies, conservation and management in India
This briefing paper on the state of urban water bodies, conservation and management in India, has tried to bring out the threats to the urban water bodies in India Posted on 10 Sep, 2012 10:58 PM

Urban water bodies are encroached, full of sewage, garbage or just filled up and built over these days.

Report on Indian Mountain Initiative Sustainable Mountain Development Summit 2 held at Gangtok, Sikkim between May 25-26, 2012
The second Sustainable Mountain Development Summit of the Indian Mountain Initiative (IMI) was held on May 25 at Chintan Bhawan, Gangtok Posted on 09 Sep, 2012 03:57 PM

Around 250 delegates from eleven hill states of India along with representatives from Darjeeling hills participated in the two days summit. It was organized by Ecotourism and Conservation Society of Sikkim (ECOSS) jointly with Central Himalayan Environment Association (CHEA).

Machhu dam disaster of 1979 in Gujarat – Discussion on a book by Tom Wooten and Utpal Sandesara
This article by Amita Bhaduri describes the details of the discussion organised on a new book that spectacularly reconstructs the 1979 Machhu dam disaster in Gujarat Posted on 07 Sep, 2012 06:12 PM

A discussion was organised on a new book by Tom Wooten and Utpal Sandesara - "No one had a tongue to speak" that spectacularly reconstructs the 1979 Machhu dam disaster in Gujarat, one of history’s worst disasters. The meeting was organised by SANDRP at India International Centre, New Delhi on 30th July, 2012.

Report on the "National level workshop on appropriate toilet technologies", organised by Gramalaya, Arghyam and UNICEF at Trichy, Tamil Nadu, between 9-11 May 2012
This article by Aarti Kelkar - Khambete describes the proceedings of a workshop organised by Gramalaya, Arghyam and UNICEF that focused on appropriate and low cost toilet technologies Posted on 02 Sep, 2012 07:00 PM

Current evidence has shown that a large population of people in India practice open defecation and do not use toilets even when available.

A report of the flashfloods in Uttarakhand in August 2012
This article by Chicu Lokgariwar examines the frequent monsoonal damage in the state of Uttarakhand, probable reasons, and suggests possible mitigation measures Posted on 31 Aug, 2012 01:13 PM

Horrifying images like the one below, where a two-storey house topples like a child's toy, are commonplace in the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand. This year, the mayhem due to a cloudburst claimed 31 lives and disrupted hundreds more.

"Living with floods" – A film by Sanjay Barnela and Samreen Farooqui, about Nav Jagriti's work with farmers in flood-affected Saran district in North Bihar
This award-winning documentary takes a look at the serious situation created by the North Bihar region's rivers bursting their banks almost every year Posted on 29 Aug, 2012 08:20 PM

"Assam faces worst ever floods in 10 years": A video interview with Dr. Partha J Das, Programme Head, ‘Water, Climate & Hazard (WATCH)’ Programme, Aaranyak
This article by Usha Dewani provides a brief background of the situation of floods in Assam, their impact and possible solutions, through a video interview with Dr. Partha J Das, Posted on 21 Aug, 2012 12:16 AM


"The black tsunami": An article by Green Systems, about the putrefying sewage discharged from our homes, offices and factories, that is accumulating under our oceans
This article draws attention to the huge amounts of sewage generated and discharged into the sea and rivers and warns that we urgently need to change the way we manage water Posted on 18 Aug, 2012 04:27 PM

With horror we saw on television, the Japanese experience of a huge 9.0 scale earthquake, followed by a terrible tsunami. The first images show large amounts of black water entering the country side and passing over the protective wall barriers.

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