Rivers

Featured Articles
November 25, 2022 These maps at the watershed scales have been made to not only ensure inclusion of different freshwater ecosystems, their connectivity and hydrological processes, but can also provide a spatial context for conservation decisions.
A stream at Anini, Arunachal Pradesh (Image Source: Roshni Arora)
October 30, 2022 This book by Dr. Mitul Baruah presents a fascinating, ethnographic account of the challenges faced by communities living in Majuli, India, one of the largest river islands in the world, which has experienced immense socio-environmental transformations over the years, processes that are emblematic of the Brahmaputra Valley as a whole. This is an excerpt from the book.
Floods are recurrent phenomena in Assam (Image: Mitul Baruah)
October 11, 2022 In an effort to inform the general public, especially citizen activists, policymakers, researchers, and students, about the current status of the Vrishabhavathi river, Paani.Earth has created the necessary maps, data, analysis, and information to drive conservation awareness and action around the river.
Vrishabhavathi river (Image Source: Paani.Earth)
October 6, 2022 Rapid urbanisation and faulty land use policies are rapidly destroying forests, grasslands and wetlands in Jammu and Kashmir, India and the ecosystem value services they provide. Can these valuable ecosystems be saved?
Deteriorating ecosystems of Jammu and Kashmir, India (Image Source: tkohli at Flickr via Wikimedia Commons)
September 5, 2022 In an attempt to present a perspective on how rivers are used and abused, a map of the Bengaluru rivers illustrate how waste flows through natural river corridors, polluting the rivers and altering their status.
Vrishabhavathi river flow at Thagachguppe Bridge, Kumbalgodu (Image Source: Paani.Earth)
August 11, 2022 This could lead to water quality crisis reinforcing the need for basin-specific management strategies
Around the world, more than a fifth of nitrogen released by human activity ends up in aquatic ecosystems (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
Livestock rearers and fishers bear the brunt of cyclone Amphan
Ravaged by the severe tropical cyclone that struck the region this summer, the livestock and fishes have taken a hit, impacting people's livelihoods. Posted on 18 Aug, 2020 10:14 AM

The Amphan cyclone that struck the Sundarbans in the month of May this year has wreaked havoc in the area destroying lives and livelihood. A lot of the locals living in the Sundarbans depend on animal husbandry and fishing to earn a living. The cyclone destroyed animal rearing shelters and swept away most of the cattle and domestic animals.

The Amphan swept away the chicken coops and other domestic animals. This is Anup Bhakta standing with one of the few goats left after the storm. (Image: WaterAid, Subhrajit Sen)
Groundwater extraction: NGT gets strict with commercial entities
Policy matters this week Posted on 12 Aug, 2020 08:41 AM

NGT bans granting general permissions for groundwater extraction to commercial entities

NGT gets strict with commercial entities (Source: IWP Flickr album)
Monsoon experiences a countrywide deficit of 10 percent in July
News this week Posted on 12 Aug, 2020 08:27 AM

Monsoon 2020: Countrywide deficit of 10 percent in July; September may have heavy rains

July experiences rain deficit of 10 percent (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
Bihar floods: 'Living on 2.5 Kg flattened rice’
Only 4,18,490 of the 56.53 lakh people have been evacuated from the floods so far, and people are forced to survive on meagre rations provided by the government. Posted on 10 Aug, 2020 03:55 PM

Two weeks ago, the Kanakai River flowing through Kishanganj rendered dozens of families homeless. While the people in the region are staying under plastic sheds, the government has turned a blind eye to their plight.

Mohammadin is also one of them. He tells the India Water Portal,

Locals engaged in repair of broken embankment in Darbhanga (Source: Umesh Kumar Ray)
Interspecies love in a flood-ravaged Assam village
Systems of co-existence can help in mitigating the human-elephant conflict in the region. Posted on 08 Aug, 2020 03:51 PM

Salmora in Majuli river island in Assam is not any ordinary village. Located on the southeastern corner of the island, surrounded by the mighty Brahmaputra on three sides, this village is remarkable in many ways.

Potters' families belonging to Kumar community of the village make earthen pots (Image: Mitul Baruah)
India-UK team tackles antimicrobial resistance spread in waterways
Experts are joining forces to investigate the impact that releasing antibiotics from antibiotic manufacturing into India’s waterways has on the spread of potentially fatal drug-resistant infections. Posted on 07 Aug, 2020 11:30 AM

An estimated 58,000 babies die in India every year from superbug infections passed on from their mothers, whilst drug-resistant pathogens cause between 28,000 to 38,000 extra deaths in the European Union every year.

The Musi river in Hyderabad, which has high concentrations of antibiotics released from production facilities (Image: Newcastle University)
When solving one problem triggers another
Use of guppy fish to control mosquito populations in water bodies has given rise to another problem - that of its negative impact on native freshwater diversity. Posted on 06 Aug, 2020 06:56 PM

Come monsoons and vector borne diseases start making headlines every year in many parts of India, especially mosquito borne diseases like dengue, malaria, chikungunya and Japanese encephalitis.

What are vector borne diseases

Guppies for mosquito control (Image Source: Rchampagne via Wikimedia Commons)
Floods in Bihar: Pregnant woman reaches hospital in a tube boat
Amid the rising floods and absence of government help, locals help a pregnant woman reach the hospital using a makeshift boat. Posted on 03 Aug, 2020 01:23 PM

Flood havoc continues to increase in Bihar. Until recently, the effect of flood was only in eight districts across the state but now it has spread to ten districts.

Pregnant woman goes to hospital in flood in a jugaad boat (Source: Umesh K Ray)
Affected by floods, locals resort to chowkis for safety
"People living inside the Kosi embankment get little or no government help that is why we have been doing this jugaad for years during the flood season". Posted on 29 Jul, 2020 05:35 PM

Flood waters inundated the house of Ramchandra Yadav, a resident of Khoknaha village of Supaul, for three days. During these days he cooked food by setting up a brigade on the outpost and spent nights at the same post.

Children taking water from a submerged handpump (Image source: Prabhat Khabar)
Bihar and northeast India reel under floods, Assam worst hit
News this week Posted on 23 Jul, 2020 09:26 AM

Flood batters three northeast states, Assam worst affected

People take a boat to cross the flood-ravaged Brahmaputra (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
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