Rivers

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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)
Letter to Prime Minister on Narmada Dams
Posted on 12 May, 2010 10:48 AM

Article Courtesy: Association for India's Development

Honorable Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh,

We, the undersigned, are writing this letter to ensure that the farmers and tribals displaced by the Sardar Sarovar and Maheswar dams are satisfactorly resettled and rehabilitated and that there is full compliance with environmental safeguards, before any permission is given for further construction work on these dams.

We deeply appreciate the fact that the Central Government has recently ordered suspension of work on the Maheshwar dam since the oustees are not resettled and rehabilitated, as per the requirements of the environmental clearance dated 01.05.2001. While over 80% of the construction work of the Maheshwar dam has been completed a mere 5% of the 70,000 oustees have been rehabilitated.

On variability of hydrological wet season, seasonal rainfall and rainwater potential of river basins in India (using rainfall data over 1813-2006) - An IITM technical paper
The paper discusses climatological and fluctuation features of important parameters of the Hydrological Wet Season for the eleven major and thirty six minor river basins. Posted on 10 May, 2010 09:12 PM

The paper discuses climatological and fluctuation features of important parameters of the Hydrological Wet Season (HWS), viz. starting and ending dates, duration, seasonal rainfall/rainwater and surplus rainfall/rainwater potential individually for the eleven major and thirty six minor river basins, the West Coast Drainage System (WCDS) and the rest of the country. It is based on reliable monthly rainfall data from a well spread network of three hundred and sixteen rain gauge stations from 1813 upto 2006.

The paper observes that the average period of the HWS is in close conformity with the southwest Monsoonal Rainy Season (MRS) over the basins in the Core Monsoon Rainfall Regime (CMRR). In the Mixed Monsoon Rainfall Regime (MMRR) covering south peninsula, northeast and extreme north, the HWS is of longer duration compared to the MRS due to extra-monsoonal rainfall over there. The mean starting date of the HWS is May 30, ending October 11 and the duration is 135 days for the entire country.

Piped water supply to Greater Bangalore: Putting the cart before the horse – An EPW special article
The paper critically evaluates the GWSAP which aims at extending piped water supply from the Cauvery to over two million residents in peri-urban Bangalore. Posted on 09 May, 2010 06:47 AM

The paper critically evaluates the Greater Bangalore Water and Sanitation Project (GWSAP), implemented by the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB). This project aims to extend piped water supply from the Cauvery to over two million residents in peri-urban Bangalore. This ambitious project has been viewed against the backdrop of the broader trends and debates around market-based reforms in the water sector in Karnataka.

An article on Ganga in Ground Report India by Dr. Amarnath Giri
Independent producer Julian Crandall Hollick searches for the "mysterious X factor" that gives Ganges water its mythical reputation. His quest is answered by Jay Ramachandra. Posted on 03 May, 2010 11:27 AM

The Ground Report India

Credits to: Ground Report India April-2010-Edition

Hindus have always believed that water from India's Ganges River has extraordinary powers. The Indian emperor Akbar called it the "water of immortality" and always traveled with a supply. The British East India Co. used only Ganges water on its ships during the three-month journey back to England, because it stayed "sweet and fresh."
Indians have always claimed it prevents diseases, but are the claims wives' tales or do they have scientific substance?

Water governance in the Narmada basin - A review paper from the Water Governance Project
The paper reviews contentious issues related to water governance in the Narmada river basin rights of States over apportionment of the use of the waters for large dam-centred canal irrigation. Posted on 30 Apr, 2010 06:23 PM

The paper reviews contentious issues related to water governance in the Narmada river basin like the riparian rights of States over apportionment of the use of the waters for large dam-centered canal irrigation and hydro-electric power development and the later disputes around the appropriateness of this model of development given the tremendous environmental and social costs associated with it.

"Issues of Water Governance in the Man Basin - Rahul Banerjee" : Water MOVES, Feb 2010
The February 2010 issue of "Water MOVES" features the issues regarding water governance in Man Basin by Rahul Banerjee Posted on 28 Apr, 2010 02:30 PM

Highlights of the February 2010 issue of "Water MOVES", a quarterly newsletter on Water Governance from the Water Governance Project at Society For Promotion of Wastelands Development (SPWD):

More rain water needed for the east flowing rivers of South India
The article deals with various simple and effective methods to increase water to east flowing rivers of South India which generally, which require more water to irrigate land and serve mankind. Posted on 25 Apr, 2010 01:58 PM

SIMPLE & EFFECTIVE Method to increase WATER to east flowing RIVERS of SOUTH INDIA.

WESTERN GHATS are the mighty walls created by the nature.

South Asia Rivers should be source of uniting people, not dividing them
The article features the workshop organised at the Jawaharlal Nehru University to address the conflict issues over shared rivers in the South Asian region. Posted on 23 Apr, 2010 03:27 PM

Guest Post by Himanshu Thakkar

New Delhi: A workshop organised yesterday on the sidelines of a South Asia civil society gathering under the banner of Assembly of a Union of South Asian Peoples at Jawaharlal Nehru University came up with a set of recommendations to address the question of conflict over shared rivers in the region. The key message from the meeting, which addressed issues pertaining to Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Nepal and India, was that South Asia’s rivers should be a source of uniting peoples, not dividing them. The Assembly is being organised as a civil society counter to the official SAARC meeting to be held in Thimpu from 28-29 April 2010.

State-level utilization of funds and assets created through Ganga Action Plan - Report by Planning Commission for the Supreme Court (2009)
The report was prepared by the Water Resources Division in response to a Supreme Court directive to verify whether the funds allocated to Ganga Action Plan (GAP) had been utilized. Posted on 15 Apr, 2010 03:41 PM

The report was prepared by the Water Resources Division, Planning Commission in response to a Supreme Court directive to verify whether the funds allocated to Ganga Action Plan (GAP) had been duly utilized by the States. The report is based on data obtained from Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) and field visits made to plant sites in Uttarakhand, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.

Optimum water management in a command area - A research report by National Institute of Hydrology
This research report by the National Institute of Hydrology deals with optimum water management in the Lakhaoti command area under Madhya Ganga Canal. Posted on 14 Apr, 2010 02:44 PM

This research report by the National Institute of Hydrology deals with optimum water management in a command area. The dynamics of water within the unsaturated zone of soil is a complex phenomenon dependent on properties of the atmosphere, soil and vegetation. For agriculture water management, it is necessary to have models that accurately predict the behavior of soil moisture.

In this study, a model is developed to stimulate the dynamics of soil moisture within the root zone in an agriculture command. Focus is given to incorporate the spatial variation in crop type, soil type and rainfall in the command area and the dynamics of soil-water-plant interaction is stimulated.

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