Society, Culture, Religion and History

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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
Mines radiate disaster
Villagers of Jadugoda say radiation from uranium mines is impairing their children. It’s high time the government took measures against it so a generation is not left crippled.
Amita Bhaduri
Posted on 04 Aug, 2016 09:43 AM

The body of Guria Das looked like that of a three-year-old when she passed away at the age of 13. Guria was born in 1999 with a condition that constrained her growth. Her father, Chhatua Das recounts how Guria, unable to speak or move, communicated with him and his wife through gestures; a language that only the three of them could comprehend.
Guria was born deformed. Her father Chhatua blames the radiation from indiscriminate uranium mining and the tailings ponds for her death.
Rejuvenating traditional water system in Maharashtra
Caught between Malguzaars and the state government, the Malguzari tanks were left to die many years ago. A lone man spearheaded their revival in 2008.
Makarand Purohit
Posted on 02 Aug, 2016 09:44 AM

Malguzari tanks were ponds made for water harvesting by the Malguzaars, who were zamindars or tenants in eastern Vidarbha, Maharashtra two centuries ago.These tanks provided water for irrigation and also increased the availability of fish for local consumption.
Janbhora Malguzari tank in Bhandara
Riverbed off limits, farmers fume
With the sewage-fed vegetable cultivation on Yamuna riverbed banned, the farmers are worried about their livelihood.
Amita Bhaduri
Posted on 01 Aug, 2016 08:23 PM

Champa Devi has been working as a sharecropper on a two-acre farm at Nilothi village in west Delhi. Until a few years ago, the water she used for irrigation came from the Najafgarh drain that empties into the Yamuna river. This form of cultivation using waste water was a norm in the area till sometime ago.
Thousands of farmers like Champa Devi (in pic) who were growing edible crops or doing fodder cultivation on the riverbed and its floodplains took the brunt of the court’s decision.
Where the holy rivers meet
Millions of devotees travel to the Mahamaham tank every 12 years to wash away their sins in the holy rivers believed to converge in the tank.
Sabita Kaushal
Posted on 01 Aug, 2016 07:53 PM

Temples in India have always had a water body near its premises. Whether it is a natural pond, a free-flowing river or a man-made tank, the water inside them seem to imbibe the sacredness associated with the temples, thereby becoming an integral part of the cultural, social and religious landscape of that area. 
Once every 12 years, pilgrims take a dip in the sacred tank where the holy rivers are believed to converge during the Mahamaham festival.
NGT gets strict over notification of wetlands
Policy matters this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 30 Jul, 2016 11:53 PM

NGT orders CWRA to meet every month for identification of wetlands
A wetland in Assam. (Source: IWP Flickr Photos)
Manipulating water bodies: A recipe for disaster
The flagship scheme of Maharashtra’s water conservation department, Jalyukt Shivar, is worrying for its myopic vision and faulty implementation, say experts
Aarti Kelkar-Khambete
Posted on 26 Jul, 2016 04:22 PM

Deepening work in progress on the Manjara river in Latur (Source: Ravindra Pomane)
Kerala's lake islands sinking
News this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 24 Jul, 2016 03:17 PM

Small islands in southern Kerala lakes sinking
A lake in Kerala (Source: IWP Flickr Photos)
Floods wreak havoc in many parts of the country
News this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 17 Jul, 2016 04:27 PM

Floods grip many parts of the country
Flooded Simen river in Brahmaputra basin (Source: IWP Flickr Photos)
Call for paper for compendium on groundwater conflicts
ACWADAM and the Forum for Policy Dialogue on Water Conflicts in India (Forum) invite abstracts for an edited volume on ‘Groundwater Competition and Conflicts in India’.
Posted on 12 Jul, 2016 02:58 PM

About the opportunity:
Safe sanitation for women
Toilet security for women in India is less about the availability of toilets and more about addressing gender disparity.
Kathleen O’Reilly
Posted on 05 Jul, 2016 10:08 PM

According to the recent figures by the World Health Organisation and UNICEF [
Women and toilets (Source: India Water Portal)
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