IWP Fellows 2025

Wahid Bhat is a journalist from Jammu and Kashmir who covers environmental issues, including climate change, water, mining, forests, pollution, and wildlife. He has also worked on media projects that use creative ways to engage audiences and counter misinformation on climate and the environment. His interest in water grew after witnessing how droughts, floods, and falling groundwater levels impact people’s lives. As an India Water Portal fellow, he hopes to better understand how communities navigate water challenges and to share their stories. Wahid’s work has appeared in Earth Journalism, Scroll.in, IndiaSpend, and Groundreport.in, and he has received awards and reporting grants for his journalism.

Vanshika Singh is a researcher and writer exploring how young people in low-income neighbourhoods of Hyderabad navigate risk, repair, and aspiration. Her engagement with water began while documenting the labour of the city’s water linemen and has since expanded to examine the physical toll of climate change on the body—spikes in illness during erratic monsoons or the strain of water repair work. Though rooted in the urban, Vanshika’s understanding of water deepened when her parents took up organic farming after retirement, revealing the moodiness of groundwater. She holds these scattered water worlds together through pauses—humming, curating playlists, and writing in free verse.

Thomas is a writer, storyteller, and PhD scholar whose work explores the intersections of water, ecology, and Indigenous tribal communities in North-east India. He has researched and published on the socio-ecological impacts of hydropower dams in Tripura, traditional water management practices, and flood narratives—centring voices often excluded from mainstream discourse. Through the India Water Portal fellowship, he aims to deepen this work by combining ground reporting with creative storytelling to highlight water as not just a resource, but a cultural, ecological, and political lifeline.

Neetu Singh is an independent journalist with a specialisation in rural reporting. Her work focuses on women’s empowerment, gender-based violence, and the lives of marginalised communities, rooted in the values of equality and justice. She has received multiple awards, including the Laadli Media Awards, the Chameli Devi Jain Award, the Priyanka Dahele Award, and the Journalism for Peace Award. She is the driving force behind Shades of Rural India, a grassroots media platform that amplifies rural voices across several Indian states. Through the India Water Portal fellowship, Neetu hopes to bring a sharper water lens to her stories, unravelling how water issues shape the everyday lives of rural women and marginalised communities.

Brijendra Dubey is a journalist from Madihan Tehsil, a tribal region in Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh, with seven years of experience covering rural issues, politics, the environment, and water. He has worked with platforms like Gaon Connection and News Track. Through the India Water Portal fellowship, he aims to report on water issues from his region and other parts of the Hindi-speaking belt, highlighting stories that often go unheard.