Rural Sanitation Solutions and Challenges in India - India Water Portal

Rural Sanitation (Health and Sanitation)

A woman ferrying a boat across the Kosi River in Supaul district.

Rivers and Lakes

Life between embankments: How Kosi floods shape women’s lives in Bihar

14 Mar 2026

15 min read

Children climb onto a wooden cart stacked with plastic drums as it rolls forward, pushed and pulled by bodies accustomed to weight. This is not play. The water they carry will decide the day’s cooking, washing, and drinking in their households.

Children’s water journeys on wheels in Shillong, Meghalaya

20 Feb 2026

4 min read

Groundwater in the Dhanbad area has been badly affected and most of the ground water aquifers were destroyed due to intensive mining in the area

Governance and Policy

India’s water policy: Between scarcity, reform, and a sustainable future

28 Aug 2025

6 min read

Children wash hands at a stand post installed in a Primary school at Kapoti Village in Karanjiya, Dhindori, Madhya Pradesh, India (Source: WaterAid India)

Rural Sanitation

Progress in WASH for India's tribal districts: A 2015-2020 analysis

23 Nov 2024

6 min read

Open drains, harbingers of illhealth. Image for representation only (Image Source: SuSanA Secretariat via Wikimedia Commons)

Open drains drain health

15 Aug 2024

4 min read

Child drinking water from handpump in Guna, Madhya Pradesh (Image: Anil Gulati, India Water Portal Flickr)

Tap into the numbers: Budget insights on WASH

Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability (CBGA)

28 Jul 2024

6 min read

A rural toilet (Image Source: IWP Flickr photos)

WASH facilities evade tribals

Prasanna Kumar Mudia

15 Jun 2024

4 min read

Sludge being used as a compost (Image: India Water Portal)

Sludge for food, food for thought

Girija Ramakrishna

06 Jun 2024

9 min read

Terrace cultivation in Nagaland (Image Source: Tewu via Wikimedia Commons)

Factors influencing adaptation decisions among tribal farmers in Nagaland

Lea S. Schroder

19 May 2024

5 min read

Water necessary to maintain the ecological integrity of rivers (Image: pickpik)

Rural Sanitation

Shaping river policies with updated environmental flow methods

01 May 2024

6 min read

Paddy cultivation in India. Image for representation purposes only (Image Source: Pranamika Pathak via Wikimedia Commons)

Role of irrigation in improving farm efficiency in tribal villages of Eastern India

13 Apr 2024

3 min read

Umiam lake, Shillong (Image: Vikramjit Kakati; Wikimedia Commons; CC BY-SA 4.0)

Sustainable solutions: Meghalaya's Water Conclave 2024

27 Mar 2024

4 min read

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India Water Portal

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