A watershed plan
Recurrent droughts and floods coupled with mass poverty, chronic unemployment and pervasive malnutrition are the major challenges before India. …
Anytime is ad time
Companies rely on advertising to convince people to buy things they don't need. They also use advertising to salve their easily hurt egos. Four …
Is the joyride over ?
There was fear in the 1960s. Would India continue to wait for food imports to feed itself? The scientific community came up with an answer that …
‘Watershed conservation can benefit 700 million people in 100 big cities’
Indian cities are struggling to fight water stress. Cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Jodhpur are going to areas located far away to source …
Murder mystery in Bihar
The killing of two social activists has left behind a series of unanswered questions. On the evening of January 24 social activists Sarita and …
"Water harvesting here is nota technique, but a culture"
ANUPAM MISHRA'S association with the Gandhi Peace Foundation (GPF) dates back to 1969. After working with the late Jai Prakash Narayan and the …
Will the Aral Sea ever come back?
"Forgive us, Aral. Please come back." These words written in chalk, on a ship sftKk in a sandy wasteland, which was once the bustling shore of …
Stagnation as a culture
WATER is for flowing. When made to stagnate, it buzzes deafeningly of a culture of deliberate ignorance. Look at the misfortune of the people of …
Large promises
Prime Minister Vajpayee is terribly interested in rural development these days. On his birthday he inaugurated Swajaldhara, a nation-wide water …
A belief in tradition
It was a unique ceremony for a unique award given to a unique rural community of India. In what is perhaps the first ceremony of its kind, …
WSSD: dialogue of the deaf
The needs of many were once again compromised to accommodate the demands of a powerful few. Given the alarming tilt towards self-interest and …
River restoration is not just an ecological act
Despite decades of restoration efforts by a rich ensemble of state-development actors, cultural heritage votaries and rights activists, the …
A lost name, a vanishing ecosystem
In the Kannada language, the word kere means a man-made or natural water tank, and the word for the numeral nine is ombhatthu , pronounced …
The past and present of rivers
Author(s): Karuna Futane We are a generation that has turned flowing fresh water rivers to rivers of sewage and garbage. We have lost rivers. …
Lava-ka-Baas: The blame game
When one contests the dominant, it is of utmost importance that all actions and their outcome be above doubt. There isn't the faintest margin of …
Urban India's deprived lot
India is becoming dominantly urban, and the urban poor, who are increasing in numbers, face exclusion from basic amenities like safe drinking …
Hiware Bazar - A village with 54 millionaires
Hiware Bazar, a village in Maharashtra's drought-prone Ahmednagar district, was sliding into an abyss after degrading its environment. But in …
Real estate on water
Lakes were critical for Indian cities. They prevented floods and recharged groundwater. Today, these holes in the ground are either lucrative …
Cutting out waste
The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has recently initiated ecofriendly pilot projects at its Bangalore aircraft division, which will not only …
The blind Court
This is a story of justice denied. On February 13, 1996, the Supreme Court, the highest seat of justice in the country, ruled that five units …
United Colours of Industry
Of all dyes produced across the world, 11 per cent goes out as effluents. 2 per cent from manufacturing and as much as 9 per cent from colouring. …
Locating the State
In September 2004, Down To Earth carried a two-part editorial on the failure of the State to deliver basic services. In the September 15, 2004 …
Towards wetland conservation
The Union environment ministry has been working for the past four years to create a regulatory framework to protect the country’s wetlands. …
Where are the panchayats?
Of the three farm water conservation programmes currently under way in Karnataka, the Jal Samvardhene Yojana (jsy) has completed a year of …
Saga of two villages
Sukhomajri was a dirt-poor village in Haryana. It started pulling itself out of its hole in the late 1970s, making a dizzying ascent to …