Surface Water

Featured Articles
October 11, 2022 In an effort to inform the general public, especially citizen activists, policymakers, researchers, and students, about the current status of the Vrishabhavathi river, Paani.Earth has created the necessary maps, data, analysis, and information to drive conservation awareness and action around the river.
Vrishabhavathi river (Image Source: Paani.Earth)
August 9, 2022 Ensuring irrigation through farm ponds in tribal Chhattisgarh
Many tribal farmers opted for individual farm ponds under MGNREGA ensuring protective irrigation. (Image: Meenakshi Singh)
November 8, 2020 The National Hydrology Project has created a national platform for water data and is working to enhance the technical capacities of agencies dealing with water resources management.
Breakthrough cloud computing facilities and remote sensing applications have helped showthe filling pattern of a water body (tank or reservoir) through freely available satellite imagery at an interval of five days.  (Image: Maithan dam, Wikimedia Commons)
December 26, 2019 Policy matters this week
The Mandovi river disputed between Karnataka and Goa (Source: IWP Flickr Photos)
Need for National Legislation on water announced during Jal Manthan
News this week Posted on 01 Mar, 2016 12:47 PM

Large-scale people participation in important schemes concludes Jal Manthan 

Gravity-based pipe irrigation in Uttarakhand (Source: IWP Flickr Photo)
Rs 38,500 crore allocated for MGNREGA in Budget 2016
Policy matters this week Posted on 29 Feb, 2016 09:56 PM

Agriculture, rural development and social sector is the focus of Budget 2016

Labourers building check dams under MGNREGS (Source: IWP Flickr Photos)
5 crore people cleanse themselves at the cost of 5000
Ujjain's own labourers, farmers and the Kshipra river will bear the brunt of the onslaught of pilgrims at the upcoming Ujjain Simhastha (Kumbh Mela). Posted on 24 Feb, 2016 09:38 PM

The Ujjain Simhastha (Kumbh Mela) in Madhya Pradesh will begin on April 22, 2016 and go on for a month. The event, held once every 12 years, holds religious significance to Hindus, and throngs of people--approximately 5 crore over the month--take a holy dip in the Kshipra river during this time.

Early morning at Ramghat, Ujjain
Preparing for the Ujjain Simhastha Kumbh Mela
How is the MP government going to handle the water, sanitation and solid waste issues at the Mela? Diwakar Natu, Chairman of the Mela Authority talks to India Water Portal. Posted on 24 Feb, 2016 09:37 PM

The Ujjain Simhastha Kumbh Mahaparva is one of the four Kumbha Melas, which is held once in 12 years.

Diwakar Natu, Chairman of Simhastha Fair Authority
4 billion global population affected by severe water scarcity: NASA
News this week Posted on 23 Feb, 2016 12:16 PM

Groundwater levels are reducing all over the world: NASA analysis

A tubewell in Rajasthan (Source: IWP Flickr Photos)
Ken-Betwa river link project hits a roadblock
Policy matters this week Posted on 23 Feb, 2016 12:09 PM

No clearance to Ken-Betwa river link project till wildlife issues are addressed

Map showing Ken-Betwa river link (Source: Shannon via Wikipedia)
Art of killing a river
Manoj Misra speaks on the much neglected area of the Yamuna river and its floodplains and why its mere clean-up is not enough--especially as the World Culture Festival approaches. Posted on 22 Feb, 2016 01:19 PM

Recent permission granted to the Art of Living to hold the World Culture Festival in the Yamuna floodplains points fingers yet again at the fact that not much has been done to assure its safety. The rapid encroachment of the Yamuna floodplain has raised a few questions. Can the river sustain the rampant commercialisation of its floodplains?

NGT had in July 2015 slapped a fine on the Akshardham temple management for carrying out expansion without prior environmental clearance and without examining whether the expanded portion fell on the Yamuna’s floodplains (Source: Ramesh N G, Wikimedia Commons)
Floating gardens for the landless
Flood affected areas in coastal Odisha have adopted new ways of farming. Called floating gardens, these have the scope to reduce the food insecurities of the landless poor. Posted on 17 Feb, 2016 09:49 PM

The coastal district of Puri in Odisha is infested with water hyacinth. In 1982, 10 million people and 3 million hectares of agricultural land was affected by floods causing the water hyacinth to increase to such an extent that it has affected the lives and livelihood of communities for almost three decades.

Women working on a floating garden (Source: RCDC)
High on potential, low on execution
Small hydro power projects, which could have a greater potential to deal with energy deficiency, are yet to yield what they promise thanks to procedural hiccups and bad research. Posted on 17 Feb, 2016 09:25 PM

Recently, Prime Minister Modi asked Niti Aayog to submit a report on stalled hydropower projects in the country.

A small hydro power project in Chamba, Himachal Pradesh
Saved by tanks: The story of Puducherry’s Bahour commune
While the monster floods of 2015 mercilessly gobbled up villages along the coast of Tamil Nadu, settlements in neighbouring Puducherry managed to escape the fury. Miracle, you say? Posted on 16 Feb, 2016 10:13 AM

The East Coast of India is very much unlike its western counterpart both in terms of physiography and climatology.

The Manapet tank in Bahour has an ayacut of around 110 acres, most of which is now urbanised (Image: Seetha Gopalakrishnan, IWP)
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