Heatwave takes a toll on north India’s wheat yield
Hardeep Kaur, 36, and her husband Chamkaur Singh, 39, owned two acres of agricultural land in the Bathinda district of Punjab, a northern Indian state. With a fierce heatwave in…
Articles by Kapil Kajal
I am a freelance journalist based out of India. I cover grassroots stories that have an impact on society as a whole. When it comes to news, I try to bring out unexplored angles. I always aspired to be a part of the intellectual and creative team. I am particularly better at searching for new story ideas or following up ideas, researching for new stories, covering them including video shooting and writing. My strength is long-form journalism. Apart from this, making documentary films interests me. In my free time, I pursue it as a hobby.
As Lohari village is submerged for a dam, homes, farms and memories are drowned
Sukhpal Singh Tomar, 53, a resident of Lohari village in Uttarakhand and a teacher by profession, narrates the incident that led to the the loss of his home. “It will…
A twin-state hydropower project could drown livelihoods and biodiversity
Straddling the border districts of Dehradun in Uttarakhand and Sirmour in Himachal Pradesh, the Kishau hydropower project, a multipurpose project with 660 MW power generation capacity, has been planned on…
Hydropower project nudges a tribal community out of their land in Himachal Pradesh
Almost eight years ago, on March 25, 2014, at least 31 women from Jharauta village in Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh were arrested for protesting against the commencement of the…
The ignorance of the Haryana government has cost the Aravallis dearly
In January 2022, five people were killed in a landslide at Tosham’s Dadam mining zone in the Bhiwani district of Haryana, a northern Indian state. The incident put the spotlight…
Glacier loss pushing India’s mountain region towards water insecurity
Himachal Pradesh, a state that has five important perennial rivers fed particularly by glaciers, has witnessed a decline in snowfall over the past year. The area under snow cover in…
In a Himachal village, people accuse a waste management plant for contaminating water
Around 20 years ago, Karmo Devi, a resident of Majra village in Himachal Pradesh’s largest industrial area, Nalagarh, dug a well for drinking water. For 20 consecutive years, she and…
Himachal Pradesh and its recurring face-off with disasters
Himachal Pradesh, a state known for its natural beauty, snow-capped Himalayas and exquisite landscapes, attracts millions of national and international tourists every year. The hill state, however, is now caught…
Rajasthan’s phosphate mines deprive villagers of land, livelihood, health
“Yeh toh bhagwan ki marzi hai, sahab. Pichhle janam ke kuch paap honge jo iss janam main saamne aa rahe hain (It’s all god’s will. Maybe we had sinned in…
Kolar Gold fields: From fields of gold to a dust bowl
“The government has taken 40 precious years of my life, used me and left me to die when their work was completed,” rued 79-year-old K. Esavel, a resident of Karnataka's…
Rainfall in parts of Karnataka has reduced over decades
Changes in key climatic factors — especially rainfall — have been observed over Karnataka, according to an assessment by the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC). Some experts attribute…
Low fish catch along India’s western coast hints at impacts of climate change
Fish catch from the western coast of India has declined, according to the Marine Fish Landings Report 2019 by the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI). Climate scientists attribute this…
How a Karnataka district is rapidly losing lush forest cover
Over the last four decades, the forest cover in the Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka has declined due to the rising number of unplanned infrastructure and agricultural activities. Studies have…
Karnataka government okays rail line in the Western Ghats
On March 20, the controversial Hubballi-Ankola railway line project was cleared at the Karnataka State Wildlife Board (KSWB) meeting in Bengaluru amid protests from members. The proposed 164.44 km Hubballi-Ankola…
Special series
Wetland Champions
- [Commentary] India establishes the largest network of Ramsar Sites in South Asia
- [Commentary] Wetland champions: Promise from the grassroots
- The story of Jakkur lake sets an example for inclusive rejuvenation projects
- Welcome to Tsomgo lake: Please don’t litter
Environment And Health
- Stubble burning is back, smothering north India with concerns for the upcoming winter
- Humans are contaminating Earth’s waterways with medicines, pharmaceutical ingredients
- Inhaling particulate matter is increasing the prevalence of anaemia among women of reproductive age
- Health effects of heat stress will intensify disproportionately without ambitious efforts
Almost Famous Species
- India garners international support to save two endangered freshwater turtles
- What protecting the slender loris could mean for forest communities in Tamil Nadu
- [Video] Hangul, the shy Kashmiri deer, is facing the threat of extinction as its habitat shrinks
- Identifying individual mugger crocodiles using drone technology to minimise conflicts
Eco Hope
- Hosur forest division runs campaign to collect illegal guns in a move to protect elephants
- How an equitable model of irrigation is changing this drought-prone Maharashtra region
- To increase fish production, Odisha turns to cage aquaculture
- Nations adopt Global Biodiversity Framework amid concerns over watered-down targets
India's Iconic Landscapes
- Nourishing soils of Kashmir’s karewas crumble under infrastructure
- Shielding hijol, a floodplain tree, from climate impacts
- [Explainer] Mass flowering and why some plants bloom and die together
- Uttar Pradesh reports an increase in rhino population since reintroduction over three decades ago
Beyond Protected Areas
- Assam loco pilots on the need for effective communication to prevent elephant-rail collision
- [Podcast] Imprints: Digging up bones with Advait Jukar
- Helping wildlife navigate road and railway infrastructure
- What’s for lunch? Elephants are picky eaters finds study in northern West Bengal
Conserving Agro-biodiversity
- Nations adopt Global Biodiversity Framework amid concerns over watered-down targets
- [Commentary] A renewed CGIAR can better support South Asia to determine its food future
- Equitable benefit sharing of digitised genetic information to span across discussions at COP15
- Making sense of rainfall changes in Karnataka’s coffee estates through old records
Just Transitions
- Helping wildlife navigate road and railway infrastructure
- Energy transition offers a ray of hope to farmers struggling in chilly winter
- With a new policy, Odisha aims at 10 GW of renewable energy by 2030
- [Commentary] The missing caste from commons: A reflection from a Telangana village
