Voluntary Citizen or Civil Society Sector

Featured Articles
October 11, 2022
Visualizing the Vrishabhavathi river to keep it alive
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)
October 1, 2021
Community videos: By the community, for the community
Community videos as a tool to influence behaviour change and adoption in rural communities
Community videos are produced by farmers themselves and feature local participants and agents from the rural communities themselves (Image: Digital Green)
September 17, 2021
Villagers’ shramdaan revives canal, enhances area under cultivation
Benefits of well-managed commons on livelihoods
Collective efforts revived the canal structure of Bichhiya dam bringing water to the village (Image: Foundation for Ecological Security)
September 4, 2021
How Paani Foundation harnesses the power of communication for social transformation
Committed to use the power of all forms of communication to bring about behavioral change and transformation at scale
Villagers participating in shramdaan for making watershed structures (Image: Paani Foundation)
September 3, 2021
Learning about safe water practices and solutions
Safe water learning cards being used to train a wide spectrum of stakeholders
Different combinations of safe water learning cards can be customised for a session based on the target audience (Image: INREM)
June 4, 2021
Not all heroes wear capes, some fight amongst us
Meet these real-life heroes, who with their consistent and tireless efforts created an impact and turned their local areas into examples to follow.
Meet the water warriors who made a significant change in their own unique way (Image Source: Environment Club)
Karnataka women to tackle water woes
News this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 16 May, 2017 10:03 AM

Women in drought-hit Karnataka takes on the task to revive lakes
Women on a mission to tackle water woes. (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
The dirty picture
A hard-hitting documentary film ‘Kakkoos’ looks at the politics behind the banned practice of manual scavenging and how the civil society connives to keep it alive.
Amita Bhaduri
Posted on 12 May, 2017 11:27 AM

Kakkoos, a compelling documentary film on manual scavenging in Tamil Nadu is all about showing the practice as it is without any filter.
Manual scavenging is a caste issue. (Image: Divya Bharathi, Facebook)
A look inside your water tanker
While the quality of water supplied by tankers is suspect, having different sources of water for different uses is a luxury that not many can afford.
Anshika John
Sumit Vij
Poulomi Banerjee
Sai Kiran
Posted on 11 May, 2017 01:59 PM

In Hyderabad, water tankers are the dominant source of daily water supply. Research for the project Ensuring Water Security in Hyderabad Municipal Area gave us some insights into the quality of water carried by these tankers. When the water is pumped from borewells in villages, it is not always transferred to tankers immediately.
Water tankers queue up to be filled.(Source:SaciWATERs)
In the name of development
The indigenous community of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands has been systematically alienated from their land by the colonial and post-colonial policies. A new book chronicles the change.
Amita Bhaduri
Posted on 06 May, 2017 08:12 PM

Pankaj Sekhsaria’s recent book Islands in flux--The Andaman and Nicobar Story is a collection of around 20 years of his writings on the environmental and conservation concerns faced by the indigenous tribal communities of the region.
The forests and the tribal communities of the islands are being decimated. (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
Water scarcity amidst plenty
Despite having many water sources nearby, Chavadiyur hamlet in the Attappadi region is facing a drought-like situation, thanks to institutional failure.
Jayashree Vaidyanathan
Posted on 05 May, 2017 08:07 PM

In a tribal settlement called Chavadiyur in the Attappadi region in Kerala, the summer has begun. It is already facing severe water shortage. The scarcity of water in the region has been exacerbated by the significant decrease in rainfall during both the southwest and the northeast monsoons.
Source of water for the community. (Photo by V.JAYASREE)
Groundwater extraction rampant in four states
News this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 18 Apr, 2017 12:04 PM

Delhi, Punjab, Rajasthan and Haryana vulnerable to severe water scarcity
A well in Rajasthan (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
Muck tale: How Cooum lost its holy status
A group of heritage enthusiasts trail the Cooum to come up with astounding details of a holy river that has become a sewage carrier.
Seetha Gopalakrishnan
Posted on 17 Apr, 2017 08:17 PM

One of the shortest rivers to drain into the Bay of Bengal, the Cooum is now a local synonym for an open sewer and is generally considered to be beyond the realms of redemption.
The Cooum as it flows through Chennai today.
When streets get smart
While the states prepare to build their smart cities, we look at the feasibility of the government’s smart city mission.
Amita Bhaduri
Posted on 17 Apr, 2017 05:13 AM

India's urbanisation continues unabated but most of its 53-million plus cities offer an appallingly low quality of life.
Smart city model at Trade Fair, New Delhi (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
Bengaluru water crisis: Gain from rain
Karnataka, especially Bengaluru, is facing severe water crisis this summer. Rainwater harvesting is the way forward, believe experts.
Madhumitha B.
Posted on 16 Apr, 2017 08:29 PM

The next big war is said to be for water and it might happen sooner than we think. If the current water scenario across Karnataka and most parts of India is anything to go by, we might just be the generation to start this war. 
A hand pump in Bangalore
Ryots wronged, take protest to Delhi
As the TN farmers’ protest in Delhi enters its fourth week, all eyes are on the Centre which is not budging.
Amita Bhaduri
Posted on 13 Apr, 2017 05:51 AM

A woman stands with a begging bowl and a placard strung around her neck. An old man shuffles along barefoot in the street at Jantar Mantar, the official site of a farmers’ protest in the heart of New Delhi. He finds his way through a group of farmers gathered at the protest site on a hot summer afternoon.
Tamil Nadu farmers protest for drought relief in Delhi.
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