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December 11, 2019 Dry toilets have long been hailed as a sustainable solution to the sanitation and waste management crisis facing India today, but have been overshadowed by more modern toilet designs.
A traditional dry toilet. Image: India Science Wire
October 11, 2019 Mumbai’s citizens came out in droves to save trees from being felled in Aarey to make way for the metro. Collective action is crucial to save the green lungs of India's rapidly urbanising cities.
Aarey, the green lungs of Mumbai (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons)
September 30, 2019 The recently concluded 4 day conference in Bangalore looked at the current state of global water resource challenges & future pathways to achieve the SDGs, while ensuring equity in access to all.
Charles Vorosmarty, Chair, COMPASS Initiative, Water Future at the opening plenary on advanced water system assessments to address water security challenges of the 21st century.
August 21, 2019 During the monsoon, temple tanks in Chennai fill to the brim with water, helping in groundwater recharge.
Parthasarathy temple in Triplicane has the biggest tank. Recently, volunteers belonging to the Central Industrial Security Force cleaned the tank. Pic: Laasya Shekhar
August 7, 2019 A million recharge wells for Bangalore
Ramakrishna Bovi is a traditional well-digger in Bengaluru. Image credit: Citizen Matters
July 2, 2019 Decentralised communitarian technology can mitigate the water crises facing us today.
Digging an open well that had some water at lesser depths ranging from 5-10 m using local technology in which a motor run winch draws up the dug up mud from the well bottom. (Image: Rahul Banerjee)
Urban inequalities and heat risks in Delhi
Delhi, the largest urban agglomeration in the country is predicted to experience episodes of extreme heat in the years to come. What are its implications for vulnerable populations in the city? Posted on 18 Aug, 2021 02:58 PM

The sixth assessment report by the United Nation's Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change released this week has issued dire warnings that have major implications for India.

An aerial view of Delhi, August 2016. (Image Source: Sumita Roy Dutta via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0)
Facing up to the water crisis
Conservation measures such as rainwater harvesting and recharging of groundwater need to be generally well established in both rural and urban areas. Posted on 24 Apr, 2020 11:58 AM

The conventional freshwater sources available in India are being currently overexploited, leading to widespread environmental degradation and depletion of freshwater resources especially groundwater. To sustain the needs of an increasing population and ecology, our consumption of water far exceeds the rate at which we are recharging water sources.

Water conservation measures invariably have a positive effect on water quality and the environment (Image: Joel Bassuk / Oxfam; Flickr Commons, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Scientists intervene to save dry toilets
Dry toilets have long been hailed as a sustainable solution to the sanitation and waste management crisis facing India today, but have been overshadowed by more modern toilet designs. Posted on 11 Dec, 2019 11:16 AM

New Delhi, December 10 (India Science Wire): Even as efforts are underway to replace dry latrines with modern septic toilets, a group of scientists at Council of Scientific and Industrial Research’s Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology (CSIR-IHBT) have worked to save one type of traditional dry toilet. 

A traditional dry toilet. Image: India Science Wire
Saving Aarey, the last lungs of Bombay
Mumbai’s citizens came out in droves to save trees from being felled in Aarey to make way for the metro. Collective action is crucial to save the green lungs of India's rapidly urbanising cities. Posted on 11 Oct, 2019 06:30 PM

Last week saw protests of a different kind in Mumbai. Activists and citizens from all walks of life came together to protest the cutting of trees in Aarey Milk Colony, one of the few surviving green lungs of the fast growing and polluted city of Mumbai.

Aarey, the green lungs of Mumbai (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons)
The Water Future Conference in Bangalore: Towards a Sustainable Water Future
The recently concluded 4 day conference in Bangalore looked at the current state of global water resource challenges & future pathways to achieve the SDGs, while ensuring equity in access to all. Posted on 30 Sep, 2019 12:38 PM

The Water Future Conference in Bangalore last week, saw many from the scientific community, academia, research, civil society and the media come together to discuss the state of water resources across the world and in India, as well as future pathways and scenarios, and different technological a

Charles Vorosmarty, Chair, COMPASS Initiative, Water Future at the opening plenary on advanced water system assessments to address water security challenges of the 21st century.
In photos: How temple tanks are helping Chennai conserve rain water
During the monsoon, temple tanks in Chennai fill to the brim with water, helping in groundwater recharge. Posted on 21 Aug, 2019 03:05 PM

Besides showcasing the architectural expertise and aesthetics of their time, temple tanks also play an extremely important role as water storage systems in Chennai.

Parthasarathy temple in Triplicane has the biggest tank. Recently, volunteers belonging to the Central Industrial Security Force cleaned the tank. Pic: Laasya Shekhar
"Digging recharge wells is the only way Bengaluru won’t run out of water"
A million recharge wells for Bangalore Posted on 07 Aug, 2019 02:29 PM

Vishwanath Srikantaiah, popularly known as the 'Rainman', has been in the news recently for his ambitious project to build one million recharge wells in Bengaluru. Given the dire situation we find ourselves in vis-à-vis water, the initiative could not have come at a better time.

Ramakrishna Bovi is a traditional well-digger in Bengaluru. Image credit: Citizen Matters
The need for survival edge technology
Decentralised communitarian technology can mitigate the water crises facing us today. Posted on 02 Jul, 2019 08:58 PM

Decentralised and communitarian efforts in soil and water conservation, sustainable agriculture, afforestation and renewable energy need extensive investment, if the human race is to survive the deepening water, food, energy and climate crises.

Digging an open well that had some water at lesser depths ranging from 5-10 m using local technology in which a motor run winch draws up the dug up mud from the well bottom. (Image: Rahul Banerjee)
Pink city turns heat island
A new phenomenon, urban heat islands in Jaipur indicates that the city has begun to witness the worst of climate change. Posted on 18 Jun, 2018 09:37 AM

This summer, Jaipur’s temperatures are soaring upwards of 40 degree Celsius. Jaipur witnessed its hottest day on April 26 when a temperature of 43.2 degree Celsius was recorded.

A man sits under the scorching heat of the sun in front of Amer fort in Jaipur. The city landscape is now dominated by heat trapping materials that prevent its cooling through evapotranspiration. (Picture courtesy: Prabhu B Doss, Flickr Commons: CC-By-NC-ND-2.0)
Harvesting rainwater effectively
An innovative project makes rainwater harvesting easier and more effective in certain areas of Mewat village with increased groundwater salinity. Posted on 15 Feb, 2018 01:25 PM

One of the major causes of deterioration of water quality is the increase in overall salinity. Total hardness and the presence of materials like fluoride, nitrate, iron, arsenic, and toxic metal ions determine salinity levels in groundwater. With the demand for groundwater growing rapidly, its exploitation is also accelerating which causes depletion.

The innovation was introduced in a government school building in Untka village located in Mewat district of Haryana.
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