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January 13, 2022 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 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 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 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 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 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
The Mahanadi tussle: Why Chhattisgarh and Odisha spar
A video provides an overview of the water conflict between Odisha and Chhattisgarh over the Mahanadi. Posted on 08 Aug, 2018 05:08 PM

The interstate dispute between Odisha and Chhattisgarh over the Mahanadi's water is an ongoing one and it looks like both the state governments have no interest in finding a long-term solution.

The Hirakud dam on the Mahanadi (Source: India Water Portal)
Trash out: People get together to clean the Himalayas
The Himalayan Cleanup where people collected and sorted trash threw up useful information on the main culprits behind trash piles in the Himalayas. Posted on 06 Aug, 2018 10:50 AM

My first trek in the Himalayas was a transcendental experience. Even a decade after, I remember the intense beauty of every vignette I came across. That’s why I was excited about the Himalayan Cleanup, held on May 26 this year.

Volunteers sort plastic trash during the cleanup. (Pic courtesy: Zero Waste Himalaya)
Challenges of being a ‘Prerak’
The job of a Swachh Bharat Mission Prerak is to ensure the mission is completed on time. They have many hurdles to cross before reaching the finishing line. Posted on 27 Jul, 2018 01:35 PM

Most of Etawah, a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in Uttar Pradesh, has plenty of stories to share about their favourite leader Daddaji or Mulayam Singh Yadav, one of the former chief ministers of Uttar Pradesh. The area bordering the ravines near Chambal, on the other hand, resounds with tales of dacoits like Phoolan Devi, Seema Parihar and Nirbhay Gujjar.

Divyanshu Seth and Aishwarya Mishra (second and third from left in the first row) during a menstrual hygiene management session. (Pic courtesy: Divyanshu Seth)
No water security without water quality
A study points out that pit latrines with onsite sanitation systems are a source of groundwater contamination. Posted on 16 Jul, 2018 10:19 AM

Groundwater is a major source of water for a large number of Indians with 66 percent rural households and 27 percent urban households directly depending on it for drinking purposes, as per Census 2011.

Unsanitary conditions lead to groundwater contamination. (Image: SuSanA Secretariat, Attribution [CC BY 2.0])
Setting safe sanitation example
Villager builds twin pit latrine and sets example for others on behaviour change and safe sanitation. Posted on 12 Jul, 2018 11:55 AM

Manohar in Talabpura village of Dhar district in Madhya Pradesh came up with the decision to make a double pit latrine. He is indeed a multi-talented person.

Manohar's twin pit latrine gets constructed. (Pic courtesy: PSI)
“Agriculture alone cannot provide for our teeming millions.”
Watershed management is not just to harvest and store water but also to create democratic processes at the village level and enable inclusive, sustainable development that meets the people's needs. Posted on 06 Jul, 2018 03:15 PM

In India, although we have approximately four months of monsoon (which is basically 45 days of effective rainfall), in drought prone areas, there are only 10-15 days of harvestable rain in the entire season. If you don't get enough rain during those days, it's a cause for worry.

Watershed management. Image source: India Water Portal
Village steps up water revival effort
A temple trust revives an ancient stepwell, comes to the rescue of a water-starved village. Posted on 04 Jul, 2018 02:33 PM

Long before piped water supply became the norm, groundwater got extracted for use and rivers neglected, stepwells served as a major source of water for people.

Stepwell in front of Khedamata temple at Modi village. (Source: India Water Portal)
The politics of groundwater
To make access to water adequate and equitable, the focus must shift from water sources to water resources. Science, community participation and cooperation, are key to addressing our water woes. Posted on 04 Jul, 2018 12:15 PM

A growing demand for water implies the need for an improved understanding of our resources, and the ability to manage that demand in an equitable and sustainable way.

Wells, not dams, have been the temples of modern India

Creating community leaders to tackle disaster
Under UNICEF’s initiative to mitigate disaster risk, community leaders are created to make villages disaster ready. Posted on 25 Jun, 2018 05:01 PM

Tired from the Baidyanath dhamyatra (pilgrimage) in the nearby town of Deoghar, Nunlal Kamath is stealing a quick nap on a charpoy outside his house. His house is right on the western bank of Kosi, north Bihar’s river of sorrow, in a particularly flood-prone area where there are no high grounds or flood platforms nearby.  

Village disaster management committee has built sand and boulder spurs to deflect floods at spots where bank erosion takes place. (Pic courtesy: GEAG)
Teesta: Stuck between conflict and cooperation
The ongoing conflict between India and Bangladesh over the Teesta is political with little to do with the river itself. Is there any hope for the river? Posted on 20 Jun, 2018 10:25 AM

River Teesta originates at Tso Lamo, Sikkim, flows through West Bengal and then enters the Rangpur division in Bangladesh.

The Teesta, upstream of the Gajaldoba barrage in West Bengal. (Image Source: Gauri Noolkar-Oak)
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