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September 1, 2021 Best practices for holistic urban water management in Chennai Metropolitan Area
These bright plastic jugs are ubiquitous in Chennai and Tamil Nadu. (Image: McKay Savage, Flickr Commons; CC BY 2.0)
December 26, 2019 Policy matters this week
The Mandovi river disputed between Karnataka and Goa (Source: IWP Flickr Photos)
December 6, 2019 A report by the India Rivers Forum highlights the need to focus further than the main stem of the Ganga river.
Distant snow clad mountains, the smaller hills and the Ganga river (Image: Srimoyee Banerjee, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0)
December 4, 2019 To adapt well & build resilience, climate change strategies need to factor in efforts towards water security, writes Vanita Suneja, Regional Advocacy Manager (South Asia), WaterAid.
Image credit: WaterAid/Prashanth Vishwanathan
December 2, 2019 A study highlights the barriers to harnessing India's potential for wind energy.
Windmills in Karnataka, India. Picture credit: India Water Portal
Water storage depletes in major river basins: CWC
News this week Posted on 09 Apr, 2019 09:08 PM

CWC data shows water storage in major river basins depleting

Narmada river in Madhya Pradesh (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
Safai karmacharis release manifesto
Manual scavengers release manifesto to ensure right to a dignified life. Posted on 08 Apr, 2019 10:36 AM

Hundreds gathered to release the Safai Karmachari Manifesto ahead of Lok Sabha elections 2019 at the Indian Social Institute, Delhi on April 4, 2019.

The toilet cleaners of Lucknow (Image source: CS Sharada Prasad)
How mining ruined lives and livelihoods
Illegal stone quarries have changed the face of Birbhum district where villagers are finding it difficult to survive due to contaminated water and pollution. Posted on 03 Apr, 2019 10:13 AM

Koley Kisku, a primary school student at Ranipur village at Rampurhat block in Birbhum district of West Bengal suffers from a thyroid gland related ailment that has partially affected his ability to speak. His school mates say that the 11-year-old could speak normally till a few years ago but he began to lose his voice.

Labourers crush stones at illegal stone quarries. (Pic: Gurvinder Singh)
Technology helps provide access to safe drinking water
Piramal Sarvajal's water ATMs are a good example of community-level decentralised drinking water solutions that are sustainable. Posted on 22 Mar, 2019 12:37 PM

According to WASH watch report (2017), over 150 million people in India live without access to safe drinking water. A majority of these people reside in underserved or unserved sections of the society that lives beyond the pipe. As a result, they are dependent on water sources that are not safe for drinking, leading to waterborne diseases.

Piramal Sarvajal’s water ATM.
An integrated approach to water quality management
Chemical contamination of drinking water is a significant health concern in India, one we haven’t realised the magnitude of. Practitioners across sectors must come together to tackle this issue. Posted on 18 Mar, 2019 03:58 PM

Fluoride, arsenic, nitrate, and other chemicals in drinking water pose significant health risks (such as fluorosis and arsenicosis) to o

Photo courtesy: Arjun Swaminathan
Dumping waste effectively
Three environment-friendly ways of disposing of human waste have proven effective in various districts of Chhattisgarh. Posted on 16 Mar, 2019 03:51 PM

According to the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) website, access to toilets has improved in India and 28 out of 36 states and Union Territories are now open defecation free (ODF). While that’s good news, managing faecal sludge in ODF states in an eco-friendly way continues to be a big challenge. 

Evapotranspiration community toilet at Shankarnagar, Kumhari (Source: India Water Portal)
Mumbai-Ahmedabad train corridor gets wildlife clearance
Policy matters this week Posted on 13 Feb, 2019 12:53 PM

Wildlife clearance granted to Mumbai-Ahmedabad high speed train corridor

Flamingos at Sewri wetland in Mumbai (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
Income support: Budget 2019 showstopper
Will direct income support boost agriculture and shift focus from country’s food security to farmers’ income security? Posted on 11 Feb, 2019 07:04 PM

The decline in public, as well as private investment, has led to a slowdown in the growth of agriculture and allied sectors in the last five years. The crisis in the agrarian sector had intensified over the last few years. It is now the political talking point with many farmers' rallies, marches and protests being held all over the country.

For doubling farmers’ incomes by 2022, the slew of measures proposed under the budget is inadequate. (Image: Azhar Feder, Wikimedia Commons-CC-BY-SA-3.0)
Leading a movement to revive a river
The work of river conservationist Mustaquim Mallah with help from local people to revive the Katha river is a good example that river conservation is possible through local participation. Posted on 30 Jan, 2019 04:21 PM

People of Ramra, a village in the Kairana block of Shamli district of Uttar Pradesh have warm recollections of river Katha that joins the Yamuna below Ramra. Mustaquim Mallah, a 30-year old river conservationist recalls how his grandfather held many pleasant childhood memories of the river. "My great grandfather fished in this river.

A “one house, one pot” symbolic water donation movement was conducted over the years for river Katha. (Image: Mustaquim Mallah)
Time to enact groundwater bill
News this week Posted on 30 Jan, 2019 11:26 AM

Country's groundwater crisis showcases need to enact model groundwater bill

A well in Rajasthan (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
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