Industrial and other Manmade Disasters

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October 26, 2021
Uttarakhand floods, a marker of climate change
Flash flood fury in Uttarakhand, a classic example of extended stay of monsoon
Floods in Uttarkashi, India. June 2013 (Image: Oxfam International)
May 6, 2021
Migrant workers stranded yet again
81% of the workers reported that work has stopped due to locally declared lockdowns: SWAN study
Jeevan Rath 2.0 helped people get back home in June 2020. Migrants from Chhattisgarh were stuck in Pune when CYDA came in contact with them and arranged their transportation and food through support of Jeevan Rath and SwissAid. (Image: Maha C19 PECONet Collaborative/IWP Flickr)
May 6, 2021
Responding to the second wave of COVID-19 in rural India
A coalition of nonprofits highlights the unique challenges that confront rural India and provides suggestions on how to respond to the second wave of COVID-19.
As healthcare systems in urban cities across India grapple with the second wave of COVID-19, smaller towns and villages too are facing devastating consequences. (Image: ©Gates Archive/Saumya Khandelwa)
February 10, 2021
The Uttarakhand disaster: A warning to be better prepared!
The Uttarakhand disaster reaffirms earlier warnings on the fragility of the Himalayan region calling for more careful planning and preparedness in the future!
A view of the Himalayas. (Source: IWP Flickr photos--photo for representation purpose only)
December 19, 2019
Parliamentary committee expresses disappointment over slow pace of Namami Gange
Policy matters this week
The Ganga at Varanasi (Source: India Water Portal Flickr Photos)
December 6, 2019
India’s tryst with climate change
Dr. Aradhana Yaduvanshi, a hydro meteorologist at WOTR, talks to us about what current research on global warming shows, and possible adaptation and coping mechanisms.
Flooding in Mumbai during the monsoons (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons)
Cyclone Roanu: Wanes off India but creates havoc in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh
News this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 24 May, 2016 09:44 PM

India escapes impact of cyclone Roanu while it creates havoc in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh
Tropical cyclone of 2013 (Source: NASA WorldView)
The Dying Springs of Chirimiri'
Blasting and drilling around Chirimiri's coal mines have taken a toll on the area's water resources and environment. The film presents the community's perspective on this issue.
Makarand Purohit
Posted on 01 Apr, 2016 06:04 PM

Chirimiri Coalfield is a part of Central India Coalfields, located in Koriya district, Chhattisgarh.
Coal mining in Chirimiri
Indigenous knowledge helps fisherfolk cope with floods
Observations based on changes in animal behaviour and the position of celestial bodies among others have helped Dhemaji's fisherfolk in the early prediction of rains and floods.
Ranjit Bordoloi and Armaan U Muzaddadi
Posted on 03 Jan, 2016 05:39 PM

Dhemaji is one of the most flood-affected districts in Assam. Although the majority of its population depends on agriculture and sericulture, fishing and driftwood businesses are also practised on a smaller scale. People of Dhemaji are intimately associated with fish culture and capture for their livelihoods.

High frequency of floods and its effect on livelihoods
Fisherfolk, traditional knowledge, and coping with disasters (Source: India Water Portal)
A thousand streams spring back
Sahastradhara near Dehradun is testimony to the fact that nature’s bounty is unlimited if man treads carefully.
Vishal Gupta
Posted on 15 Dec, 2015 12:58 PM

Govind Ram has seen the worst and best that man can do to nature.
A view of Sahastradhara region from the ropeway (Source: Dr Umesh Behari Mathur/ Flickr)
Undisposed toxic waste still haunts Bhopal’s groundwater
A report says that many locals in Bhopal are dealing with “high rates of birth defects, rapidly rising cancer rates, neurological damage, chaotic menstrual cycles and mental illness".
Amita Bhaduri
Posted on 02 Dec, 2015 03:06 PM

“When cool air blows over the city and it rains in Bhopal bringing welcome respite to its people, I fear that toxic waste is spilling into its groundwater”, says Rajesh Kumar who shows me around the 68-acre plant site of Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL).
A poem that describes how the city was left destroyed is written on a wall near a memorial for those killed & disabled by the Bhopal gas tragedy, 1984
Monsoon 2015: Chinks in Chennai's infrastructure exposed
Yet to recover from the torrential lashing, the low-lying city of Chennai is slowly piecing its life back together. How ironic for a state that was a pioneer in rainwater harvesting.
Seetha Gopalakrishnan
Posted on 19 Nov, 2015 09:34 PM

Chennai has historically been a water-starved region, but never rain-starved as it receives much of its annual quota during the northeast or ‘retreating’ monsoon between October and December. But this November was like no other. 
Flooded streets in Chennai
Saaf Mathe Ka Samaaj: A treasure of essays on life and water
In our blind pursuit of progress, has the equation between man and nature been lost? Anupam Mishra talks about people, the environment and the mislaid empathy between the two.
Anupam Mishra
Posted on 19 Nov, 2015 01:04 PM

‘Saaf Mathe Ka Samaaj’ is a compilation of 23 essays on people, land, air and water, on issues and concerns that plague them, and the deep and direct connect between society and the environment they live in. Anupam Mishra is a simple, down to earth man and a true Gandhian.
Saaf mathe ka samaaj': Essays by Anupam Mishra (Source: Anupam Mishra)
Adapting to floods and improving lifestyles could give us some clues to finding an alternative to embankments
Dr David Molden, Director General, ICIMOD, talks to Monoj Gogoi on his visit to flood-affected Lakhimpur and Dhemaji districts of Assam and Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh.
Monoj Gogoi
Posted on 29 Oct, 2015 01:46 PM

Dr Molden, you have visited Dihiri in Dhemaji district and Borsala in Lakhimpur districts. Both these villages are the worst flood affected villages of the region. You also interacted with the communities in these two villages. What was the purpose of this visit? Please share your experiences.
In conversation with Dr Molden (Source: Monoj Gogoi)
Parched lips, barren lands and the scramble for water in Maharashtra
What are the factors that have caused the Marathwada region to be known as the 'suicide capital for farmers'? More importantly, do farmers here have some respite before the monsoon disappears?
Aarti Kelkar - Khambete
Posted on 13 Sep, 2015 07:44 AM

Rainfall map of India (Source: IMD)
Staring at drought (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
Nepal earthquake affected women more than men
Disadvantaged groups suffered greater death, injury and livelihood asset losses. Dr Bimala Rai Paudyal, Hon’ble Member Planning Commission of Nepal says it is possible to reduce this vulnerability.
Amita Bhaduri
Sabita Kaushal
Posted on 05 Sep, 2015 12:32 PM

April 25, 2015 dawned as any other ordinary day in Nepal. Until 11.56. Then, a massive earthquake of magnitude 7.9 rattled the country and shook its very foundation. The tremors travelled outwards from the epicentre at Barpak Gorkha district moving the earth, distorting buildings, causing convulsions on the ground and creating panic and mayhem all around.
A family beside a damaged house near Naglebhare, Nepal (Source :Asian Development Bank)
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