Categories for Eco-Watch
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Manipur’s floating lake at risk
Loktak, the largest freshwater lake in North East India is also known as the ‘floating lake’ for the numerous phumdis or masses of vegetation it supports. The phumdis float around on the lake’s surface due to decay from the bottom.... View Article
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Farm ponds change farmers’ fortunes
While enhanced irrigation coverage has been hailed as an important way to improve agricultural productivity, it continues to lag behind in India and agriculture continues to be rainfed, subject to the vagaries of the monsoon. High groundwater dependence for irrigation... View Article
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Hydropower in the Himalayas: Potential and risks
Worldwide, the demand for energy has risen significantly and quickly, leading to serious impacts on environmental sustainability and hindering global efforts to mitigate climate change. Hydropower, a leading renewable option has the additional benefits of water storage for agriculture and... View Article
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Sabuja Bahini of Dhansar Village transforming barren hilly terrain into lush green territory
A group of resolute village students and youths felt the inevitability of safeguarding their neighboring environment and thus formed ‘Sabuja Bahini'(Green Regiment). Emerging as crusaders in reviving green cover all along the barren hills and terrains, they have triggered penchant... View Article
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Rajasthan’s ancient yet ever-evolving water heritage
The state of Rajasthan has an immense range of ancient and ingenious water harvesting systems, like the famous johads or step wells managed by communities in the arid Thar desert, which receives very low rainfall. A recent book ‘Wise water... View Article
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Saving kunds of Vrindavan
Vrindavan, the small dusty twin town of Mathura in Uttar Pradesh, has a special place in the Hindu mythology. This is where Lord Krishna is believed to have spent most of his childhood and adolescence. The river Yamuna straddles through... View Article
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Understanding the Yamuna and life around it
Sarla Yadav, a resident of Yamuna Ghat 24 is a treasure trove of stories on the river Yamuna. She runs a boat business with her son Shyam who provides a nuanced personal account of living by the river and of... View Article
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What happens when you throw away pencil cells?
Indian market is still dominated by non-rechargeable batteries, mainly because they are cheaper and are preferred over the expensive ones. Of the dry cell batteries, zinc-carbon cells account for 97 percent of the market share. These batteries contain a variety... View Article
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Water management: Still a neglected electoral issue?
India is on the brink of a major water crisis. With drought looming over the southern and western parts of the country, the existing water resources are in peril. Rivers are getting more polluted, their catchments, water-holding and water-harvesting mechanisms... View Article
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River conservation efforts need to be prioritized
Odisha is home to 11 major rivers of which many are interstate rivers such as the Mahanadi. As climate change makes extreme rainfall events more frequent in the state, there is an urgent need to better manage the rivers and... View Article
