Governance

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November 6, 2022 In 2020, 559 million children were affected by four to five heatwaves a year; numbers could increase four-fold by 2050, as per a report by UNICEF
Heat-related mortality is four times higher among children under 1 year of age than in persons aged 1–44 years (Image: Taqver, Wikimedia Commons)
October 22, 2022 Role of MGNREGA in the year after the 2020 lockdown: Survey findings from Bihar, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh
MGNREGA provided income support or security to vulnerable households during the pandemic (Image: UN Women)
October 14, 2022 Arthan organizes a fireside chat to highlight the need for more data talent for social impact
There is a need to integrate data science into the existing education system (Image: Mohamed Mahmoud Hassan, Public Domain Pictures)
September 9, 2022 Highlights from a new report released by iFOREST
An old coal-fired power plant has been dumping vast quantities of ash out in the open for many years. (Image: Lundrim Aliu/ World Bank; CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
July 14, 2022 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)
July 10, 2022 People in India fleeing disasters like drought more likely to have experienced trafficking or modern slavery than those fleeing floods or cyclones
The country's climate change assessment suggests things are only going to get worse (Image: Saurav Karmakar, India Water Portal Flickr)
Saving Jhabua’s children from fluorosis
INREM Foundation’s work helped develop protocols on designing proactive action on safe water and nutrition to help mitigate fluorosis in Jhabua. Posted on 13 Apr, 2018 09:03 PM

In 2010, nine-year-old Kailash from Miyati village, Jhabua developed symptoms of skeletal fluorosis. Fluorosis, which affects millions of people in India, is a health issue caused due to high fluoride content in drinking water. Skeletal fluorosis is marked by deformed bones.

Nutrition garden developed in Jhabua for sustainable nutrition and resistance from fluorosis among villagers.
Power play chokes Korba
The video tells the story of residents of Korba and nearby villages who are affected by the fly ash from power plants which makes Korba the fifth critically polluted area in the country. Posted on 11 Apr, 2018 02:05 PM

Korba in Chhattisgarh is an industrial area which has a significant number of coal mines and thermal power plants. Fly ash is a byproduct of the thermal power plants and has become a significant problem for the residents of Korba now.

Fly-ash dust at CSEB thermal power plant in Korba.
There’s no better gift, Daan Toilet!
Assam’s Jorhat district inches closer to being open defecation-free, thanks to a novel initiative by the administration. Posted on 11 Apr, 2018 11:49 AM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pet project, Swachh Bharat that envisages an open defecation-free India by the year 2019 has witnessed many local administrations take drastic measures to get people to b

Baghmoria resident Bitul Gogoi poses in front of a newly constructed ‘Daan' toilet donated by Dr Richa Agarwala of Jorhat.
Down in the dumps: Delhi’s waste pickers’ saga
A study by Action India provides insight into Delhi’s recycling nightmare and its unacknowledged waste pickers. Posted on 10 Apr, 2018 04:05 PM

Eight-year-old Meera (name changed) got ill after eating filthy food remains from a dump at Mansarovar park in Delhi. Children like her work in filthy environments, rummaging through hazardous waste with bare hands and feet. They play in these dumping ground strewn with syringes, scrap iron, rotting waste, solid and liquid household waste.  

Waste pickers face harrowing occupational hazards and are exposed to toxins in the absence of protective gear. (Image: Ted Mathys, 2009)
SC slams Centre on Cauvery water sharing
Policy matters this week Posted on 10 Apr, 2018 10:08 AM

Apex court seeks draft on Cauvery management scheme by May 3

Supreme Court seeks report from Centre on Cauvery issue. (Picture courtesy: NDTV)
Seven reasons why Bengaluru can still run out of water
Citizen Matters looks at what the city should do to manage its water better. Posted on 05 Apr, 2018 03:20 PM

A recent BBC report projected that Bengaluru will run out of water soon.

Image courtesy bwssb.org
New technique to monitor coastal landforms
Better surveillance systems will help to keep a check on the excessive exploitation of coastal resources. Posted on 05 Apr, 2018 01:43 PM

Indian scientists have developed a remote sensing technique that uses satellite data to delineate between various coastal landforms like beaches, mangroves and marshes. This method can help monitor and understand impacts of natural disasters as well as human activities on coastal ecosystem.

The new system will help monitor and understand impacts of natural disasters as well as human activities on coastal ecosystem. (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
Filthy fountains spread dengue fear
Water fountains installed in Kolkata for beautification and left abandoned are becoming a health hazard with mosquitoes breeding in the filthy water. Posted on 03 Apr, 2018 03:23 PM

West Bengal’s tryst with dengue in 2017 could not have been more deadly. Around 13000 people were affected and nearly 100 people lost their lives to the disease.

A fountain at Central Park in Salt Lake. Visitors fear that the stagnant water is becoming a breeding ground for mosquitoes. (Pic courtesy: Gurvinder Singh)
Mangar Bani: NCR's green patch calls for help
With the threat of urbanisation looming large, the sacred grove of Mangar Bani begs for attention. Posted on 27 Mar, 2018 02:39 PM

According to the local legend, Mangar Bani, a green patch between Faridabad and Gurgaon, was home to a Baba (a holy man), Gudariya Das Maharaj around 500 years ago. Popular among the local Gujjar herdsmen, the dominant community of the area, the Baba asked them to treat this forest as a sacred grove, the forested abode of a local deity.

Mangar Bani, with its trees, plants, birds and animals, is an ecological hotspot but it is finding it hard to keep builders and land grabbers at bay. (Image: Pradip Krishen, Facebook)
Is your bottled water safe to drink?
A study finds that lack of coordination, poor stakeholder involvement, inadequate training and poor infrastructure hinder the enforcement of bottled water quality standards in India. Posted on 27 Mar, 2018 01:50 PM

It is a fairly common practice among people to buy bottled drinking water while travelling in India with the hope that it will minimise the risk of getting ill due to contaminated water. But is this water safe to drink?

Many illegal bottled water manufacturers exist in the market. (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons)
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