Irrigation

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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 9, 2022 Ensuring irrigation through farm ponds in tribal Chhattisgarh
Many tribal farmers opted for individual farm ponds under MGNREGA ensuring protective irrigation. (Image: Meenakshi Singh)
April 8, 2022 Lack of governance and six toothless irrigation acts have done very little to change the water situation on the ground in Maharashtra, argues water expert Pradeep Purandare.
Peanut irrigation in India (Image Source: Seratobikiba via Wikimedia Commons)
March 11, 2022 Subsidies enable tribal farmers to adopt micro-irrigation systems providing them assured irrigation
A key mitigation strategy to deal with water scarcity due to climate change is on-farm management of water using techniques like micro-irrigation (Image: India Water Portal Flickr)
September 17, 2021 Benefits of well-managed commons on livelihoods
Collective efforts revived the canal structure of Bichhiya dam bringing water to the village (Image: Foundation for Ecological Security)
August 29, 2021 Experience of Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (India) in revitalizing the traditional phad irrigation system in hilly tribal villages of Western Madhya Pradesh
Community members contribute voluntary labour required for laying the pipeline network and tank construction (Image: Anjali Aggarwal)
Rejuvenating traditional water system in Maharashtra
Caught between Malguzaars and the state government, the Malguzari tanks were left to die many years ago. A lone man spearheaded their revival in 2008. Posted on 02 Aug, 2016 09:44 AM

Malguzari tanks were ponds made for water harvesting by the Malguzaars, who were zamindars or tenants in eastern Vidarbha, Maharashtra two centuries ago.These tanks provided water for irrigation and also increased the availability of fish for local consumption.

Janbhora Malguzari tank in Bhandara
Riverbed off limits, farmers fume
With the sewage-fed vegetable cultivation on Yamuna riverbed banned, the farmers are worried about their livelihood. Posted on 01 Aug, 2016 08:23 PM

Champa Devi has been working as a sharecropper on a two-acre farm at Nilothi village in west Delhi. Until a few years ago, the water she used for irrigation came from the Najafgarh drain that empties into the Yamuna river. This form of cultivation using waste water was a norm in the area till sometime ago.

Thousands of farmers like Champa Devi (in pic) who were growing edible crops or doing fodder cultivation on the riverbed and its floodplains took the brunt of the court’s decision.
Living in fear of water
The proposed Mohar reservoir project is expected to submerge two villages and adversely affect 10 other villages when completed. Needless to say, the villagers are anxious. Posted on 31 Jul, 2016 11:41 AM

Farmer Ravikant Deshmukh (40) is a much worried man. He lives in Kudari Dalli in Balod district in Chhattisgarh, a village that would get affected adversely if Mohar reservoir project takes off. The project, once realised, is estimated to submerge the agricultural land and houses of 1200 villagers in Kudari Dalli.

Punam Kumar Deshmukh at the proposed Mohar reservoir site near Banjaridihi village.
Groundwater revival comes a cropper
An NGO’s effort to recharge the groundwater in an area finds little success with water-guzzling crops that rule the market. Posted on 24 Jul, 2016 09:05 PM

Water crisis is a reality in most of India. After the summer of droughts come the monsoon floods. Take Maharashtra, for instance. If at one time it is desperately searching for drinking water, at another time, its capital, Mumbai is wading through knee-high water. How do we overcome these annual crises?

A villager shows the rainwater harvesting structure in Aravalli hills.
Kerala's lake islands sinking
News this week Posted on 24 Jul, 2016 03:17 PM

Small islands in southern Kerala lakes sinking

A lake in Kerala (Source: IWP Flickr Photos)
Rice and shine
How paddy grew in popularity in Punjab and continues to steal the show, thanks to lack of alternatives for farmers. Posted on 22 Jul, 2016 10:08 PM

Take the roads of Punjab during the monsoon and you will find most fields turned into pools of water. It’s mainly the water pulled out from the underground vault to support the kharif crop of paddy.

Whatever be the water situation, it doesn’t look like paddy’s popularity as a crop is going to diminish anytime soon. Source: Akshay Mahajan/Flickr
Floods wreak havoc in many parts of the country
News this week Posted on 17 Jul, 2016 04:27 PM

Floods grip many parts of the country

Flooded Simen river in Brahmaputra basin (Source: IWP Flickr Photos)
Rural India walks more than 500m for drinking water
News this week Posted on 25 Jun, 2016 09:13 AM

Rural India walks too far to quench their thirst

Rural India walks far to get water (Source: IWP Flickr Photos)
Farm ponds save village from drought
Tonk Khurd’s innovative farm ponds prove that when it comes to solving water crisis, one size does not fit all. Posted on 21 Jun, 2016 09:09 AM

Vikram Patel, a 71-year-old farmer in Chidavad village of Dewas district in Madhya Pradesh is one of the first farmers to have embraced the idea of farm ponds to increase the groundwater level in his farm.

Vikram Patel near his farm pond in Chidavad.
Delhi water tanker scam: Sheila Dixit to be probed
Policy matters this week Posted on 18 Jun, 2016 10:19 AM

Former Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit to be probed in water tanker scam

Water tankers fill in water (Source: IWP Flickr Photos)
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