New plan, old problem
The proposed Sewerage Master Plan 2031 that promises to end Delhi's drainage troubles underestimates the wastewater volume of the city
India’s sanitation campaign has not improved health of people: study
Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan did not help reduce exposure to faecal germs and diseases. Will Swachh Bharat Abhiyan fare any better?
Can we save Ganga?
The Ganga is getting political attention. What does it take to clean the river? Down To Earth team travels to the most polluted stretch of the …
COVID-19: How distant laws, uneven measures afflict sanitation workers
The pandemic has further aggravated the dichotomy of livelihood and safety of sanitation workers
Manual scavengers: Existing in the shade
Several government departments continue to maintain silence on plight of manual scavengers, despite an array of schemes for them
Development handcuffed
Confidential audit exposes financial, planning lapses in Andhra’s urban renewal mission
'Let's put our cards on the table'
Veteran UN negotiator and head of the UNEP during the Rio summit, Mostafa Tolba, reasons why developing countries always suffer at the hands of …
It rained hard in Delhi; what if all that water did not go waste
The volume of rainwater generated in the past week was almost 13 per cent of the demand for water in Delhi, estimated at 2,765 million litres per …
An every monsoon affair: How to tackle urban flooding
Urbanisation is inevitable as is climate change; the need is for a multi-pronged approach
PMO orders huge cuts in social sector spending for 2015-16
Employment guarantee, rural road and sanitation schemes among those likely to be affected
MDG Report 2014: India among worst performers in poverty reduction, maternal death and sanitation
Report shows good progress in areas like poverty alleviation and access to clean water and controlling diseases like TB, Malaria
Dharavi's real estate threat
The Maharashtra government wants to redevelop Dharavi, Mumbai's sprawling slum. But its plan has not taken into account the fact that people not …
Around 818 mln children lack basic hand-washing facilities in schools: Report
Two in every five schools in the world do not provide children with soap and water, say the WHO and UNICEF
Rare takes on the year just passing by
Being a Down To Earth reporter entails merging the personal with the professional. The magazine you so dearly own has a fascinating world hidden …
Stench in my backyard
As Kerala cities dump their waste in the countryside, people in the villages hit back. An unresolved civic problem of decades compounded by …
What COVID-19 can mean for SDG-11, sustainable cities and communities in India
As urban vulnerabilities are amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic, the idea of sustainable cities in Sustainable Development Goals needs to be …
Bhutan’s experiments with happiness
The idyllic Buddhist kingdom believes that peace and happiness should take preference over material growth. In a world beset by inequities and …
Govt shifts focus to sustaining sanitation coverage
The Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation prepares a rural sanitation strategy to maintain open-defecation free status and clear up waste issues
Punjab closer to ODF sustainability with community toilet guidelines
Recommendations not clear on how to treat waste, reuse groundwater
Ecologically mindless
The flush toilet system and the sewage system, which goes with modern day personal hygiene and cleanliness, are part of the environmental problem …
Why India remains malnourished
Despite a fast-growing economy and the largest anti-malnutrition programme, India has the world’s worst level of child malnutrition. The …
Can faith heal?
Billed as the largest gathering of humanity in recorded history, Maha Kumbh has commenced in Allahabad. Over the next few weeks, pilgrims will …
In a corner of Bangladesh, manual scavenging is impacting a treatment plant’s sustainability
Manual scavenging is still the mainstay of faecal sludge management in Lalmonirhat near the Indian border; the town’s FSTP is not able to …
Worthy alternative
A new field experiment shows that fertiliser derived from faecal sludge can improve crop yields
Reservation in toilets?