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)
The invasion of Kinnaur, Himachal Pradesh
Many locals express feelings of regret for the support they initially showed to the hydropower projects in the hope of getting jobs and contracts, but development still continues. Posted on 28 Jul, 2015 07:02 PM

Hydropower development has been given topmost priority in the resource rich state of Himachal Pradesh.

100 MW Tidong-I project, Kinnaur HP
Water and the Missile Man
What did the late president Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam's think about water conservation, interlinking of rivers and the future of a world without water? Read on. Posted on 28 Jul, 2015 01:32 PM

Dr. Kalam is no more but he lives on in the hearts of many through his quotes, beliefs, speeches and his acclaimed book India 2020: A Vision for the New Millenium among many others. 

The late APJ Abdul Kalam at the International Book Fair, Trivandrum, 2014
Do not rush through with TSR committee's proposals on green laws: Parliamentary Panel
Policy matters this week Posted on 28 Jul, 2015 08:55 AM

Panel suggests that the Govt not rush through with changes in green laws

Ufrenkhal forest that gives water to Gad Ganga
Flawed embankment strategy converts Bihar into a watery grave
The engineering solutions put in place to tackle the issue of floods has created more problems than solutions in Bihar, says Dinesh Mishra in an interview. Posted on 27 Jul, 2015 02:31 PM

Dr. Dinesh Kumar Mishra of Barh Mukti Abhiyaan, an authority on the river network of North Bihar speaks to India Water Portal about the flood problems, the skewed flood control policy of the Government, the Kosi breach of 2008 and the gargantuan interlinking of rivers project.

Floods in Bihar (Source: Usha Dewani, IWP)
90% of malarial deaths happen in rural India
The economic burden of malaria in India is $1940 million -- lost earnings make up 75 percent while treatment costs make up the rest -- despite the GoI spending $51.33 million towards it in 2013. Posted on 24 Jul, 2015 07:07 AM

Stagnant puddles, which are a breeding ground for mosquitoes, follow the rains every year causing an increase in the incidence of water-borne diseases. Malaria is the third most common of these diseases in India after diarrhoea and typhoid. 

An Anopheles stephensi mosquito feasting (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
Hindon clean-up, a prerequisite to cleaning the Ganga
The pollution rates of the river Hindon are alarming. Despite work by conservation groups, the efforts on the part of the government to fix the problem remain uncertain. Posted on 22 Jul, 2015 11:17 AM

Come monsoon and the situation in the Hindon river is truly troubling. Large stretches of the river continue to suffer toxic contamination.

The polluted Hindon (Source: Hindi Water Portal)
Green nod to Dibang hydel project opposed in NGT
Policy matters this week Posted on 20 Jul, 2015 10:25 PM

Petition filed against green nod granted to Dibang hydel project

People protesting Dibang Project (Source: SANDRP)
Maharashtra tops India in farmers' suicide during 2014
News this week Posted on 20 Jul, 2015 10:21 PM

Maharashtra recorded highest number of farmers' suicides during 2014

A farmer working on his field
India, China and the Brahmaputra tangle
India needs to be consistent in its approach towards its downstream neighbours while negotiating with its upstream neighbour China over the Bramhaputra's waters. Posted on 19 Jul, 2015 09:22 PM

Recent news indicates that the Brahmaputra could be a bone of contention between two important countries in South Asia -- India and China. This is because there are unconfirmed but continuing and alarming reports in recent years on China's plans to divert the waters of the Brahmaputra northwards, potentially creating a water crisis in India since it is located downstream to China. 

The Brahmaputra (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
Heavy rains disrupt life in North India
News this week Posted on 14 Jul, 2015 09:49 AM

Monsoons in the North affect people and wildlife

Monsoon affects life in North India
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