[Commentary] The invisible bond: Wastewater management and water for all
In 2014, India launched the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) – one of the world’s largest drives for sanitation – which aimed to make the country open defecation free by 2019.…
Ready to lose life but not land for the bullet train, say Maharashtra’s farmers and tribals
In Palghar and Bhiwandi, two distinct urban districts close to the financial capital Mumbai in the western state of Maharastra, politicians have skipped the customary pre-election visits, in advance of…
Western Maharashtra floods: A man-made disaster?
Chandrabhaga Varote, a sculptor from Arey village in Karvir Taluka of Kolhapur district in Maharashtra, used to make idols of deities for a living, till the first week of August…
Badly designed highways splinter Goa’s waterways, disrupting local hydrology
Milagres Costa of Nuvem village stared in dismay at his paddy fields flooded with stagnant water from the monsoon rains in July, spelling doom for the crop. An under-construction highway…
Can humans and elephants cohabit in Kodagu?
Part 1: Humans and elephants tussle for space in Kodagu It’s 6 a.m. at the Maldare elephant crossing in the Kodagu district of Karnataka. The Rapid Response Team (RRT) is…
How a community radio gives voice to the climate-vulnerable in Tamil Nadu
“What preparations should one make for children before a cyclone strikes?” asked Durga, a volunteer at a community radio station in the coastal village of Vizhuthamavadi, roughly 320 kilometres (km)…
Dirty air from Indo-Gangetic plains, central India messing up neighbourhood ozone
Dirty air from the Indo-Gangetic plain and central India is messing with ozone levels in the Indian subcontinent, a study has found. The authors emphasise the need for pan-India co-ordination…
Sikkim rail project: Is it development or disaster waiting to happen?
Bishnu Rai gets emotional every time he tries to speak about his home. Especially since he’s on the verge of losing it. Thirty-one-year old Rai lives on a hilltop in…
Kilns add to Jammu and Kashmir’s air and land pollution, brick by brick
Haji Abdul Gaffar, 74, recalls the time when his village (Batpora-Budgam) and all the adjacent villages used to be lush green and free of pollution. It was around 40 years…
As floods repeat this year in Kerala, experts point to climate change
In Kerala, it looks like climate-change-induced floods are becoming an annual affair. Following heavy rains over the last one week, the state which once boasted consistent rains during the monsoon…
