Rivers

Featured Articles
November 25, 2022
Categorising watersheds for freshwater ecosystem conservation in India
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
Slow disaster: Political ecology of hazards and everyday life in the Brahmaputra valley, Assam
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
Visualizing the Vrishabhavathi river to keep it alive
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
Deteriorating landscapes and threatened ecosystems of Jammu and Kashmir
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
Rivers of Bengaluru: A map-infographic reflects the rivers’ state
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
India’s rivers in trouble due to high fertilizer load and heavy monsoons
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)
NGT pushes to ban RO purifiers for water with TDS below 500 mg/l
Policy matters this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 13 Nov, 2019 10:45 AM

NGT pushes MoEF to issue notification to ban unnecessary use of RO purifiers

A domestic RO water purifier
Cyclone Bulbul devastates West Bengal and Odisha
News this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 13 Nov, 2019 10:45 AM

Cyclone Bulbul causes devastation in West Bengal and Odisha
A cyclonic storm that hit India in 2016. (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
Climate shocks and gender vulnerabilities in the Upper Ganga basin
Study points to vulnerabilities faced by women in the mountains and plains of Uttarakhand, which is likely to only increase with climate change.
Neha Khandekar
Ganesh Gorti
Suruchi Bhadwal
Vani Rijhwani
Posted on 11 Nov, 2019 10:40 AM

Socially constructed notions of the different roles and responsibilities of men and women have a huge bearing on access to and control over resources, and subsequently on their vulnerabilities. More often than not, this leads to vulnerabilities that are skewed towards women, more than men.
Ganga's riverflow at Rishikesh in Uttarakhand (Image courtesy: Ankit Singh; Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0)
MoRD asks states to focus on water conservation and harvesting in MGNREGA to help achieve Jal Jeevan Mission targets
Policy matters this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 05 Nov, 2019 12:08 PM

Focus on water conservation in MGNREGA: Rural Development ministry to states
Image source: The Indian Express
India’s rivers carry deadly pathogens
A global study on pathogens in rivers finds that Indian rivers harbour dangerous levels of diarrhoeal disease-causing pathogens.
Lucie C.Vermeulen et al
Posted on 30 Oct, 2019 01:02 PM

Diarrhoea is one of the leading killers of children under the age of five in developing countries. Diarrhoea is rampant in India, with diarrhoeal diseases being the most prevalent of all waterborne diseases in the country.
The river Mutha in Pune (Image Source: India Water Portal)
Mapping Pune’s aquifers
Groundwater use has doubled in Pune. Comprehensive mapping of groundwater resources and better management and governance is the need of the hour.
Himanshu Kulkarni
Manoj Bhagwat
Posted on 25 Oct, 2019 01:13 PM

Pune continues to face a water crisis every summer despite having sufficient water, thanks to its geographical location and plentiful natural water assets. While enough of its water needs are taken care of by water supply from the Khadakwasla dam, the use of groundwater to meet the needs of the population continues to increase.
Groundwater, an exploited resource (Image Source: India Water Portal)
Ice stupas, the contested water towers of Ladakh
While ice stupas have been hailed as sustainable solutions to the water problems of Ladakh’s villages, the locals think otherwise.
Arjun Sharma
Posted on 24 Oct, 2019 04:38 PM

Ladakh, the arid Himalayan desert, is a high elevation borderland located close to the Union Territory (UT) of Jammu and Kashmir, in India. Water here originates from glaciers in the high altitude mountains that tower over Ladakh’s villages. Simple earthwork irrigation channels tap meltwater from streams that originate from these glaciers.
Ice Stupas near Phyang monastery (Image Courtsey: Sumita Roy Dutta, Wikimedia Commons)
Arrival of northeast monsoon & retreat of southwest monsoon coincides this year; Salt lake and several metro cities shrinking at alarming pace
News this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 23 Oct, 2019 01:36 PM

Soon a national framework for e-flows in all major rivers
Yamuna river in Delhi (Source: Sudhanshu Malhotra via IWP Flickr Photos)
Jal Jeevan Mission: States to bear half the cost, local bodies to decide water charges
Policy matters this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 16 Oct, 2019 02:12 PM

Under Jal Jeevan Mission, state to bear half the cost and local bodies to decide water charges
Women filling water from a tap (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
SC stops further cutting of trees at Aarey; Idol immersion in Ganges to attract fine of Rs. 50,000; Household appliances to be rated on water consumption efficiency
Policy matters this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 10 Oct, 2019 12:05 PM

SC comes to the rescue of Aarey trees in Mumbai
Ganesh Visarjan (Source: Wikimedia Commons via Chetan Gole)
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