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September 1, 2021
Study calls for securing water sustainability in Chennai
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
Centre holds green signal to Kalasa-Banduri project
Policy matters this week
The Mandovi river disputed between Karnataka and Goa (Source: IWP Flickr Photos)
December 11, 2019
Locals reject social impact assessment report of Luhri II hydropower project
News this week
Sutlej river in Kinnaur, Himachal Pradesh (Image source: Sanyam Bahga, Wikipedia)
December 6, 2019
Holistic approach needed to clean the Ganga
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
In wake of climate change, prioritise and invest in water security and clean drinking water
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
Wind energy development and policy in India
A study highlights the barriers to harnessing India's potential for wind energy.
Windmills in Karnataka, India. Picture credit: India Water Portal
Climate change and water sources: Strengthening community preparedness and water use regulations hold the key
Climate change is one of the most serious threats to the environment, health and economy of our nation as well as the whole world. Recent scientific studies show that global warming is already causing environmental changes that will have significant global economic and social impacts. As the world's 4th largest emitter of greenhouse gases, India has to juggle the imperative demand for economic development with pressures for greater efficiency in the use of energy.
Neelima Garg
Posted on 10 Apr, 2012 10:34 AM

Author : Neelima Garg
Water law in a globalised world - Philippe Cullet discusses the need for creating a new framework
Water issues are rapidly acquiring a global dimension, while water laws remain rooted in specific regions. In this paper published in the Journal of Environmental Law, Philippe Cullet examines the need for a new framework for water law that allows for linkages with the global water cycle as well as human rights and environmental law.
Philippe Cullet
Posted on 09 Apr, 2012 11:09 PM

1. Introduction
कठपुतली बोलेगी कल की बात
बाड़मेर।भारतीय संस्कृति का प्रतिबिंब लोककलाओं में झलकता है। इन्हीं लोककलाओं में कठपुतली कला भी शामिल है। यह देश की सांस्कृतिक धरोहर होने के साथसाथ प्रचारप्रसार का सशक्त माध्यम भी है, लेकिन आधुनिक सभ्यता के चलते मनोरंजन के नित नए साधन आने से सदियों पुरानी यह कला अब लुप्त होने के कगार पर है।
Ashok Rajpurohit
Posted on 09 Apr, 2012 03:10 PM

Puppets
People of Nuapada district in Odisha build a stop dam themselves - Roundup of audio updates from CGNet Swara (Sep 2011 to Feb 2012)
Article courtesy: CGNet Swara
CGNet Swara
Posted on 03 Apr, 2012 02:57 PM

People get together to build a stop dam themselves

The people of Khariar road town in Odisha have long requested a check dam across the river Jonk. Khuturam Sunani describes how they have now begun constructing it through shramadaan.

Supreme Court order in February 27, 2012 on the interlinking of rivers project A statement and an appeal by concerned citizens to think of all the implications
A number of citizens have made a public statement, expressing serious concern about the Supreme Court’s Order of Feb 27, 2012 on the Interlinking of Rivers Project. The statement endorsed by more than sixty eminent persons has urged the Supreme Court to put this order on hold and reconsider the matter. The statement first states the concerns relating to the propriety of the apex court making this specific order, and then proceeds to state the concerns relating to the Project itself.
Ramaswamy R Iyer
Posted on 29 Mar, 2012 06:37 PM

The full statement is as follows -

We, the signatories to this statement, wish to record our utmost concern at the Hon’ble Supreme Court’s judgment of 27 February 2012 on the Inter-Linking of Rivers Project (ILR), on the following grounds:
Corporatising water: India's draft National Water Policy - A document published by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy
This document published by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) warns of the growing perception of water as an economic good and argues that a new consortium of business and international finance is systematically trying to influence how the world’s water will be allocated in future. This consortium seeks to promote policies that will treat water primarily as an economic good to be bought and sold, rather than a fundamental right. Because the consortium works directly with governments, or its office-holders, its initiatives are proceeding without much public awareness or attention.
Shiney Varghese
Posted on 21 Mar, 2012 12:17 PM

The document argues that the latest example of this is India’s Draft National Water Policy (NWP) circulated by the Ministry of Water Resources. At first glance, it appears as if the policy has been taking a holistic approach to water resources management, with a clear recognition of India’s water woes.
Maps, lakes and citizens: The use of surveys in lake conservation - An article in the Seminar magazine
Settlements in the area that is now Bangalore have a recorded history that dates back to the 5th century CE. Water for these settlements was made available through multiple series of tanks, which numbered 19,800 around the year 1830.
Harini Nagendra
Posted on 19 Mar, 2012 11:44 AM

This lake system is now decaying with lakes either taken over for urban uses, or choking due to neglect. ATREE and the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) have been engaged in attempting to understand how to restore these lakes for urban use, while maintaining their ecological importance. This article in Seminar describes this attempt.

Puttenahalli: one of Bengaluru's urban lakes

Basin-level impact assessment study of the Lohit river - A study by WAPCOS & Ministry of Environment and Forests (2011)
In view of the number of hydro-electricity projects being commissioned on the free-flowing Lohit river and its tributaries, the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MOEF) recommended the development of a basin-level impact assessment. This work was awarded to M/s Wapcos Limited, and the cost shared by the various project developers.
Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF)
WAPCOS
Posted on 19 Mar, 2012 11:29 AM


Area map of the Lohit Basin

Best meal of the day': Akshaya Patra's kitchen in Nathwara, Rajasthan is the newest of its high-technology ones across India
In a country of 1.2 billion people, fast moving towards economic superpower hood, it is a reality check, and a hard one too, that the mover and shaker of things here remains nothing but food. Indeed it is food alone that spawns a giant ripple effect – starting from the levels of education and health to eventually how development in the country finally shapes up. For, you cannot build a country on empty stomachs.
Madhusmita Hazarika
Posted on 19 Mar, 2012 10:23 AM

Article and Image Courtesy : One World South Asia

Author : Madhusmita Hazarika
Improving farmers’ access to agricultural insurance in India - A World Bank working paper
This working paper by the World Bank provides a detailed overview of The National Agriculture Insurance Scheme (NAIS) and the entire policy process involved in the change over from the NAIS to the modified NAIS and beyond. India’s crop insurance program is the world’s largest with 25 million farmers insured. However, issues in design, particularly related to delays in claims settlement, have led to 95 million farmer households not being covered, despite significant government subsidy.
Niraj Verma
Olivier Mahul
Posted on 12 Mar, 2012 11:08 PM

To address this and other problems, the Government of India is piloting a modified National Agricultural Insurance Scheme, a market-based scheme with involvement from the private sector.
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