Society, Culture, Religion and History

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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
How do rural India's toilets measure up?
The Total Sanitation Campaign now called the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan is the country's flagship programme for improving rural sanitation, with a spend of Rs. 7000 crore every year. How is it faring? Posted on 28 Dec, 2013 12:21 AM

India's rural sanitation programme- Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC) was started in 1999, with a goal of eradicating open defecation. Renamed to Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan (NBA) in April 2012, the focus and approach of this programme was supposed to undergo a paradigm shift.

Toilets constructed under Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan
Applications invited for 'sandwich' PhD position on 'Climate Policy, Conflicts and Cooperation in Peri-Urban South Asia', SaciWATERs
Applications are for candidates from Bangladesh, India, or Nepal, willing to do field research primarily in their own country.
Posted on 24 Dec, 2013 05:57 PM

For more information on SaciWATERs, please click here

To apply for the same, click here.

You may download the details of the vacancy from below .

 

A peak at the future: Simulating Coonoor’s water situation
Using computer simulation, Keystone Foundation demonstrates the impact of domestic use, tourism, plantation and farming on the water situation in Coonoor in the Nilgiris. Posted on 23 Dec, 2013 03:40 PM

The Nilgiris have undergone an incredible amount of change in the last 10 years. Coonoor, an area well endowed with natural resources, is the second largest tourist destination here. However, over the last year (2012-13), the town has been reeling under a water crisis [1].

Coonoor Land Use Map
Bihar villagers against asbestos plant
News this week: Bihar villagers oppose asbestos plant, J&K government restricts civilian movement near Kishanganga dam site and dams for Mumbai result in tribal displacement. Posted on 22 Dec, 2013 08:40 PM

10,000 Bihar villagers file petition against asbestos plant

Asbestos inflammation (Source: Adam Cohn, Flickr)
Yamuna Nama: a book review
Born out of citizens' concern for the Yamuna, the bi-lingual Yamuna Manifesto presents a lucid and succinct snapshot of the river, it's troubles, and the potential for its resuscitation. Posted on 22 Dec, 2013 05:51 PM

The Yamuna Manifesto -or Yamuna Nama- is a bilingual book with passages in both Hindi and English, published as part of the Yamuna Elbe project. In five deceptively short sections, the book takes us from the birth to the river to its future.

Yamuna river (Source: www.pilgrimageindia.net)
1 dam, 2 projects, many fools?
Two different hydroelectric projects on a single dam built on the Nethravathi hide under the guise of a mini-hydel project and blatantly flout green norms. Is this another scam? Posted on 22 Dec, 2013 05:49 PM

I was looking for Greenko’s 24.75 MW Perla Mini Hydel Project at Perla village near Bantwal, Mangalore. One would think that you wouldn't really have to search for a hydel project site given its size and scale but the villagers at Perla were puzzled when I asked them to take me there as the Project Design Document had noted the project location as Perla village.

AMR dam across Netravathi (Source: Jerry Pinto)
Batting for the environment
Jaideep Hardikar, recipient of 2013 Prem Bhatia Award for excellence in environmental reporting, talks about his journey and how failure pushed him to take the road less traveled. Posted on 22 Dec, 2013 04:46 PM

By his own account, Jaideep Hardikar, is simply a chronicler of the times around him. His foray into writing and reporting was neither easy nor his first choice. Like many children of his time, he dreamt of being a cricketer but stumbled into journalism and in it, found his true calling. 

Jaideep Hardikar, 2013 Prem Bhatia Award recipient
Digital tools as a catalyst for change
The Manthan Award 2013, commemorated NGOs who used Information & Communications Technology (ICT) tools to deliver their stories to a wider audience. Posted on 22 Dec, 2013 04:39 PM

Can a mobile or an internet connection improve the visibility and prospects of an organization? Will it help create exposure and result in further outreach?

Digital Tools (Source: Tech Transformation)
Free online course 'Water in a Thirsty World (WITW)', Open2Study, January 13 - February 11, 2014
A course that will take you on the journey of water - how it began, and its availability today in light of global warming and urbanization.
Posted on 21 Dec, 2013 08:50 AM

To know more about the open platform 'Open2Study', click here.

For more information on this online course, please click here.

To register for the same, click here.

Call for applications for 'Training workshop for journalists in Northeast India', Himalayan Climate Change Adaptation Programme (HICAP), Assam, February 17 - 23, 2014
The objective is to improve creative thinking and effective communication on adaptation to climate change in a local context.
Posted on 17 Dec, 2013 09:51 AM

For more information on the organisers, Himalayan Climate Change Adaptation Programme (HICAP), please click here.

To apply online for the training workshop, click here.

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