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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
November 27, 2019 Policy matters this week
An irrigation well at Randullabad, Maharashtra (Source: India Water Portal on Flickr)
November 11, 2019 Study points to vulnerabilities faced by women in the mountains and plains of Uttarakhand, which is likely to only increase with climate change.
Ganga's riverflow at Rishikesh in Uttarakhand (Image courtesy: Ankit Singh; Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0)
November 6, 2019 The number of people vulnerable to floods triggered by climate change by 2050 is triple that of previous estimates, according to a new study.
Aerial view of Chennai during floods 2015 (Image: Veethika, Wikimedia Commons, CC-SA 4.0 International)
October 22, 2019 A forum discusses the need to stop illegal land transfers and land alienation of the poor.
The maldharis from kutch on their own road trip (Image: Malay Maniar, Flickr Commons, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
October 21, 2019 In this interview, Joy talks about his work as an activist working in rural Maharashtra, and how he came to work on water conflicts in India.
KJ Joy speaks at a felicitation for the late Professor Ramaswamy Iyer.
Maharashtra Groundwater (Development and Management) Bill (2009)
Maharashtra ensured of sustainable and adequate supply of groundwater, maintained prescribed quality and protected public drinking water sources. Posted on 05 Jan, 2011 07:32 PM

The Maharashtra Groundwater (Development and Management) Bill, 2009 aims to facilitate and ensure sustainable and adequate supply of groundwater of prescribed quality, for various category of users, through supply and demand management measures, protecting public drinking water sources and to establish the State Groundwater Authority and District Level Authorities to manage and to regulate, with community participation, the exploitation of groundwater within the State of Maharashtra.

Civil society consultations for the 12th Five Year Plan Approach Paper: Urban & Rural WATSAN sector
At the request of the Planning Commission, Arghyam and WaterAid agreed to co-ordinate and support a process of civil society consultation for inputs on rural and urban domestic water and sanitation for generating recommendations for the Approach Paper to the 12th Five Year Plan of the Government of India. Posted on 30 Dec, 2010 11:20 AM

At the request of the Planning Commission, Arghyam and WaterAid agreed to co-ordinate and support a process of civil society consultation for inputs on rural and urban domestic water and sanitation for generating recommendations for the Approach Paper to the 12th Five Year Plan of the Government of India.

A glimpse of the audience

Influence of Chalukya architecture on Hampi stepwell - Paper presented at the National Seminar on Water and Culture (2007)
The water storage systems indicate the knowledge of geology, soil engineering, construction engineering and structural engineering in ancient times. Posted on 29 Dec, 2010 04:16 PM

Stepwell in Mukhed constructed in the 12th century

This paper discusses the reasons for building tanks in ancient India and mentions ancient texts like 'Samarangan Sutradhar' to indicate how wells and other water bodies were constructed.

These water storage systems indicate the knowledge of geology, soil engineering, construction engineering and structural engineering in ancient times.

Saltscapes - Dholavira, Gujarat - A guest post by Amitangshu Acharya and Ayan Ghosh
Watch the beautiful Kachch unravel itself and its treasures in a video documentary. Posted on 27 Dec, 2010 11:41 PM

Guest Post: Text by Amitangshu Acharya, Photographs by Ayan Ghosh

Kachchh – a brilliant halfway between a turmeric yellow Rajasthan and the emerald green Sahyadris – offers an upside down version of life. It tells you that seeds of life and civilisation are often hidden beneath the sands of time in inhospitable terrains.

Rainfed areas and rice farming Crucial agricultural water issues
Making up-gradation of rainfed areas a priority for food production and poverty alleviation Posted on 25 Dec, 2010 08:30 PM

John Thompson works on power, policy and sustainability issues in food and agriculture, water resource management and rural development. He is a STEPS Centre member, IDS Fellow and joint Co-ordinator of the Future Agricultures Consortium. He presents two crucial agricultural water issues to take priority on World Water Day.

Voelkel Industrie Produkte (VIP) GMBH Exhibiting in EA Water, Mumbai
Posted on 21 Dec, 2010 06:13 PM

Voelkel Industrie Produkte (VIP)Organizer: EA Water Private Limited

The wealth of waste: The economics of wastewater use in agriculture - A report by FAO
It presents an economic framework for the assessment of the use of reclaimed water in agriculture for a more economically efficient and sustainable water utilization. Posted on 17 Dec, 2010 07:36 PM

This report by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) deals with the economics of wastewater use in agriculture. It presents an economic framework for the assessment of the use of reclaimed water in agriculture, as part of a comprehensive planning process in water resource allocation strategies to provide for a more economically efficient and sustainable water utilization. 

Peer Water Exchange (PWX) receives 2010 Intel Environment Award
Persistant efforts win The Peer Water Exchange the 2010 Intel Environment Award Posted on 29 Nov, 2010 04:40 PM


The Peer Water Exchange (PWX) was awarded the 2010 Intel Environment Award today. PWX, a project of Blue Planet Network, is a combination of process, technology platform, and people designed to unlock the global capacity and creativity of individuals, philanthropies, businesses and implementers to solve the global safe drinking water and sanitation crises.

Rajesh Shah

Palak Dil Lake - Mizoram
The beautiful lake of Palak Dil is unique amongst others for it is situated in the depression of a valley, it supportd life and living for many Posted on 26 Nov, 2010 03:00 PM

The Mizoram state has three types of (natural) lakes: valley lakes, tectonic/landslide lakes and artificial reservoirs, but the only lake of significance is Palak Dil, which is a natural lake in a depression in the hills. Palak Dil may possibly be a combination of valley and tectonic lakes. Locally in Mizoram, lakes are called dils. There are many such dils scattered all over the state, but they are tiny pools or marshy depressions such as Rengdil, Tamdil and Mampui Dil (Choudhury 2002). The Palak Lake is situated within the Mara Autonomous district Council, which is a region inhabited by the Mara Tribe. The Maras are distinct from the majority Mizos and in the Mara language the Palak Lake is referred to as Pala Tipa.

Palak Dil Lake

Watershed development in India: Biophysical and societal impacts - Research paper from Environ Dev Sustain journal
Water shed management to be flexible taking into account the flow condition and external realities Posted on 15 Nov, 2010 11:12 PM

The paper argues that watershed management has to be fluid to take into consideration new realities like change in flow conditions, external realities like unintended impacts and the need to maintain minimum downstream flows for environmental and other purposes.