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
Water and sanitation sector needs a budget push
Better regulation and transparency is needed in the WASH sector to ensure that India meets its Swachh Bharat Mission targets, as well as the Sustainable Development Goals.
WaterAid India
Posted on 30 Jan, 2016 12:56 PM

While the WatSan sector has been prioritised in the country’s policy agenda through the launch of the Swachh Bharat Mission, last year’s budgetary outlay was way below desired levels.
Handwashing at a Karnataka school
Manual scavengers' deaths raise questions about the accuracy of Tamil Nadu government's data
Posted on 25 Jan, 2016 11:21 PM
Four manual scavengers die after inhaling poisonous gases in Chennai
Despite the 2014 Supreme Court ban on manual scavenging, the practice still continues in many pockets.
Alarm bells ring for Delhi’s groundwater
The city's old wells and baodis are running dry, and the Yamuna is getting more polluted by the day. Where is Delhi's water going to come from when groundwater levels are also dropping?
Amita Bhaduri
Bhim Singh Rawat
Posted on 25 Jan, 2016 01:19 PM

Delhi, home to 16.75 million people, is in the grip of a major water crisis. Statistics by the Delhi Jal Board for the year 2011 suggest that the water deficit stands at about 250 million gallons per day with the supply being 830 million gallons per day.
Residents say they are forced to flout the groundwater extraction norms with illegal groundwater pumps in Narela in North-west Delhi due to insufficient and poor quality of water supplied.
Can recurring droughts in Maharashtra be offset by participatory groundwater management (PGWM)?
Three different methods using PGWM that resulted in better water management demonstrate that hydrogeology can become a catalyst for villages to come together to plan and achieve water security.
Aarti Kelkar-Khambete
Harshavardhan Dhawan
Posted on 20 Jan, 2016 09:02 AM

Maharashtra is the fourth state following Karnataka, Chattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh to seek out relief from the Union government thanks to more than 15,000 of its villages across Marathwada and parts of Western Maharashtra reeling under drought in 2015 [1].
The role of PGWM to deal with droughts in Maharashtra (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
Chennai residents can now avail a subsidy of Rs. 8000 to construct toilets
Posted on 18 Jan, 2016 09:50 PM
Chennai Corporation to extend an assistance of Rs. 8000 for constructing household toilets
Corporation of Chennai has decided to extend a subsidy of Rs. 8000 to help residents construct a toilet at home.
Lessons on ecology from the Apatani tribe in Ziro Valley
The Apatani tribe in Arunachal Pradesh is known for its paddy cum fish agriculture. They practice this as well as other sustainable water management techniques that allow them to coexist and thrive.
Usha Dewani Das
Posted on 17 Jan, 2016 03:42 PM

Ziro Valley, which figures in the tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites as a unique cultural landscape, sits at a height of 5600 feet in Arunachal Pradesh. It is inhabited by the Apatani tribe who are completely confined to the valley.
Rice fields at Ziro valley with sacred groves in the backdrop
National seminar on affordable and acceptable sanitation for rural India, 2016
Posted on 14 Jan, 2016 08:25 AM
When - January 29 and 30, 2016
Where - Senate Hall, Swami Ramanand Teerth Marathwada University, Nanded
 
Lack of adequate sanitation is a pressing chanllenge, especially in rural India.
Right information and collective strength of people triumph!
The film titled 'A Hand Pump' tells the story of the villagers of Padapadar, Odisha and their struggle to finally get their right to safe drinking water.
Makarand Purohit
Posted on 04 Jan, 2016 08:25 PM

"More than eight villagers in Padapadar have died due to water-borne diseases such as typhoid, diarrhoea, jaundice, etc.
A hand-pump installed at Padapadar village
Defunct Delhi power plant could soon turn into a waste-to-energy unit
Posted on 04 Jan, 2016 09:48 AM
Delhi government mulls converting the defunct Rajghat power unit into a waste-to-energy plant
The Delhi government is looking for ways to utilize the machinery that lies unused in the now defunct Rajghat Thermal Power Plant and is seriously consid
The Last Builder of Naulas in Chatola, Nainital
Constructing naulas, the small structures that house springs in Uttarakhand, requires an intimate knowledge of many sciences. One of the last practitioners of this dying craft tells his story.
Usha Dewani
Chicu Lokgariwar
Posted on 03 Jan, 2016 05:57 PM

No temple is as venerated in Uttarakhand as the little unassuming naulas. These small hut-like structures dot the mountains and hold within them a great treasure--water. Usually made of stone masonry with pyramid-like slate roofs, every naula respresents within it a residing spirit which can range from a simple stone piece to an ornately carved statue.
Ratan Singh Bisht is one of the few people today who constructs naulas
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