Society, Culture, Religion and History

Featured Articles
January 13, 2022
Water management in the times of Gonds of Central India
The water structures constructed during the Gond period continue to survive the test of time and provide evidence of the water wisdom of our ancestors.
Kundeshwar lake, Kundam in Jabalpur (Image Source: K G Vyas)
January 2, 2021
The fast disappearing traditional water harvesting structures of Rajasthan
Lack of community ownership and local governance are spelling doom for the once royal and resilient traditional water harvesting structures of Rajasthan.
Toorji Ka Jhalara, Jodhpur (Image Source: Rituja Mitra)
December 7, 2020
Not in the interest of women farmers!
The new farm related bills will spell doom for women workers who form the bulk of small and marginal sections of Indian agriculture, warns Mahila Kisan Adhikaar Manch (MAKAAM).
Farm women, overworked and underpaid (Image Source: India Water Portal)
December 11, 2019
Scientists intervene to save dry toilets
Dry toilets have long been hailed as a sustainable solution to the sanitation and waste management crisis facing India today, but have been overshadowed by more modern toilet designs.
A traditional dry toilet. Image: India Science Wire
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
Water stewardship approach to minimizing risks for businesses
Water stewardship is an approach predicated on the concept that water is a shared resource and so water risks are also shared risks that everyone in a catchment will face
Picture credit: Romit Sen
Protecting the kidneys of Kolkata – the East Kolkata Wetlands
A real estate boom is tightening its grip on the East Kolkata Wetlands, a unique waste processing ecosystem. Cooperation and coproduction, not conflict are needed to save them.
Gorkhy Chakraborty
Dhruba Das Gupta
Posted on 08 Aug, 2019 05:12 PM

 The East Kolkata Wetlands (EKW) are a truly unique ecosystem, presenting a very different sight from the normal urban landscape in India.
Fishermen use wastewater of Kolkata to rear fish (Image Source: India Water Portal)
Jal Shakti Abhiyan hits ground rolling as India ranks 13th most water-stressed country in the world
News this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 08 Aug, 2019 01:29 AM

 Over 3.5 lakh water conservation measures taken up in a single month as nationwide Jal Shakti Abhiyan hits ground
India ranked 13th in the list of most water-stressed country in the world (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
Lok Sabha passes inter-state river disputes bill
Policy matters this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 06 Aug, 2019 02:45 PM

Lok Sabha passes Inter-State River Water Disputes (Amendment) Bill, 2019  
Cauvery river in Karnataka (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
All work and some play
Collective action games trigger conversations around the nature of the invisible and immeasurable common pool resource - groundwater.
Aditi Sajwan
Water Practitioners Network
Posted on 02 Aug, 2019 12:11 PM

India is, by far, the world’s largest groundwater economy. India’s annual withdrawal of fresh groundwater (253 Billion Cubic Metres in 2013) amounts to one fourth of the global total and is more than that of China and the US combined. Over 80% of water extracted is used in agriculture. The share of tubewells in net irrigated area rose from a mere 1% in 1960-61 to over 40% in 2013-14.
Villagers in Magradeh, Madhya Pradesh watching neighbouring farmers play a game. Image credit: Water Practitioners Network
Is the Jalayukt Shivar Abhiyan just a quick fix to manage droughts?
A research paper argues that quick fix solutions to drought management will not work unless they are backed up by proper planning, implementation, monitoring and regulation of water use.
Neha Bhadbhade
Sarita Bhagat
KJ Joy
Abraham Samuel
Kiran Lohakare
Raju Adagale
Posted on 02 Aug, 2019 10:29 AM

Maharashtra is reeling under drought this year too, with the situation in Marathwada particularly bad.
Quick fix solutions to droughts will not work (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons)
3rd Indian National Groundwater Conference (INGWC-2020), CWRDM, Kozhikode
18-20 February 2020, Kozhikode Kerala
Posted on 02 Aug, 2019 01:26 AM

Centre for Water Resources Development and Management (CWRDM) is organizing the Indian National Groundwater Conference (INGWC-2020) to discuss 'Groundwater Resources Management for Sustaina
CWRDM INGC
Himalayan states call for green bonus and a separate ministry
News this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 31 Jul, 2019 05:35 PM

Himalayan states demand green bonus and separate ministry from Centre
The Himalayas (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
Springing back to life
CHIRAG in Uttarakhand works with communities to revive local springs to achieve water security.
Aditi Sajwan
Water Practitioners Network
Posted on 25 Jul, 2019 12:48 PM

In popular imagination, steeped in consumer culture, the hills are exotic and aesthetically sublime places to find solace away from busy urban life. This kind of imagination conveniently ignores and de-contextualizes the hills and the problems they face today. The Himalayas, often known as the Water Tower of Asia, are revered because many of the world's important rivers originate from them.
Image source: Water Practitioners Network
Gender in hydropower development: A long way to go
A study finds that hydropower organisations in India continue to maintain a culture of hierarchy, follow masculine norms and are insensitive to the needs of women and the marginalised.
Gitta Shreshta
Deepa Joshi
and Florian Clement
Posted on 22 Jul, 2019 04:44 PM

Large dams, back in the game?
Hirakud, India's oldest dam (Image source: India Water Portal on Flickr)
Water Future Conference: Towards a Sustainable Future
At Indian Institute of Science Bangalore, September 24 to 27 2019
Posted on 22 Jul, 2019 11:56 AM

A Future Earth Conference

Opening new frontiers in water system diagnostics and innovative solutions to mitigate the 21st-century global water crisis
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