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
Soon a single tribunal for all inter-state river disputes
Policy matters this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 19 Dec, 2016 12:45 PM

Government decides to create a permanent tribunal for all inter-state river disputes
Cauvery river in Karnataka (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
Zila Swachh Bharat Preraks to take Clean India Mission forward
Posted on 19 Dec, 2016 10:48 AM

Every district in India to have 600 Zila Swachh Bharat Preraks soon to rid the country of open defecation
On a wing and a prayer
Renuka lake is a Ramsar site but also has a temple near it which makes it a battle site of conflicting interests. Is a solution possible?
Chicu Lokgariwar
Posted on 18 Dec, 2016 06:35 AM

Renuka can be forgiven if she were to feel a bit crazy at times. Like many other women, she could be finding it hard to balance her pious and wild sides.
Peaceful on the surface, Renuka lake is a battleground between conservation and religion.
Summer of discontent
A wetland which is one of the Ramsar sites in India, struggles to maintain its character due to lack of water.
Amita Bhaduri
Posted on 14 Dec, 2016 11:35 AM

On a 29 sq km tract of land in Bharatpur, Rajasthan lies the wildlife reserve, Keoladeo national park, locally known as Ghana. Birds enjoy the open water while wildlife roams freely in this montage of wetland, grassland and forest. The wetland, which is man-made, has a diversity of open water, trees and grasses.
An Indian cormorant dries its wings at Keoladeo national park, Bharatpur. (Source: Aastha Singh, Wikimedia Commons)
NGT cancels illegal salt pans in Sambhar Lake
Policy matters this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 13 Dec, 2016 07:19 AM

Good news for Sambhar Salt Lake
Sambhar Lake, India's largest salt lake. (Source: IWP's Flickr photos)
Breathing life into Baitarani
The river basin of Baitarani is facing many challenges in these changing times. Initiatives are on to protect it.
Makarand Purohit
Posted on 12 Dec, 2016 12:13 PM

Pranab Choudhury has been actively engaged with the causes of the poor and the environment for more than a decade.
Pranab Choudhury
Rift over Indus Water Treaty continues
Policy this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 04 Dec, 2016 08:45 PM

Conflict between India and Pakistan over Indus Water Treaty continues
Indus river (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
Traditional ways to water security
Reviving traditional water bodies, and not environmentally-unsustainable mega projects which are expensive, is the most viable solution to deal with water scarcity in parched lands like Bundelkhand.
Brij Gopal
Dinesh K Marothia
Posted on 04 Dec, 2016 08:15 PM

Although droughts are not new in India, we are seeing more of it of late.
A traditional pond in the fort city of Charkhari, Bundelkhand. (Source: India Water Portal)
Wai celebrates Krishnabai Utsav
Celebrated over eight days, a festival pays homage to the Krishna river which is dammed, stagnant and polluted but still holds hope for many.
Aarti Kelkar- Khambete
Posted on 29 Nov, 2016 01:22 PM

The Krishnabai Utsav, a festival celebrating and revering the river Krishna as it flows through Wai, begins tomorrow in the town of

The river Krishna at Wai (Source: Makarand Shende)
Flood risk to Himalayan hydropower projects: Study
News this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 28 Nov, 2016 11:57 AM

Glacial lakes pose flood risk to 441 hydel projects in Himalayan region
A glacier-fed stream in Himachal Pradesh. (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
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