Photos, Illustrations and other Images

Kashmir was once known for its pristine mountains, lakes, beautiful landscape and clean environment. In the last few decades, however, things have changed. An increasing amount of untreated garbage produced by humans is becoming a critical problem affecting not only the health of the residents of Kashmir but its environment, too. Even the capital city of Srinagar is not without its share of garbage problem. 

Ambikapur has become a role model for all the urban local bodies (ULBs) in Chhattisgarh for its successful solid liquid resource management (SLRM). Thanks to Ritu Sen, former collector of Ambikapur and her team for taking the initiative to clean the city and for bringing the women's self-help groups (SHGs) together for this noble cause. 

The Makhala village is located in the Amravati district in the southwestern Satpura mountain ranges. Situated at 959 m above mean sea level, this Maharashtra village has 352 households with a population of 1045. Although accessible by road in all seasons, the village is isolated and surrounded by forests. The nearest village is Semadoh at a distance of 12 km. Needless to say, the power supply is still miles away in this village.

Thane Creek is an inlet along the shoreline of the Arabian Sea that isolates the city of Mumbai from the Indian mainland. It is Asia's largest creek with a length of 26 km. The creek is lined up with mangroves on both sides and plays host to a lot of species ranging from iconic flamingos to tiny crabs. 

The Palk Bay is an ecological paradise located between the island nation of Sri Lanka and the South East Peninsula India. The region separates the coastal areas of Tamil Nadu from the northern parts of Sri Lanka. From the coast of Tamil Nadu to that of Sri Lanka, the water rarely run deeper than 15 metres. The bay is one of India's most prominent fishing haunt. 

The Palk Bay is a 15,000 sq km biodiversity conglomeration nestled between the island nation of Sri Lanka and South East Peninsula India with a coastal length of 250 km on the Indian side. 

November 19th is World Toilet Day. Enormous progress has been made in the global effort to provide safe and affordable toilets for the world's poorest citizens since World Toilet Day was first declared in 2001.

In the early hours, the villagers of Khalabari, a tribal-dominated village in the Dumuripadar gram panchayat of Koraput district in Odisha step out of their houses for bringing wood and drinking water. The road to the forest where the water is available is rocky. Both women and men walk a few kilometres on the harsh terrain to bring essential commodities needed for their survival. Khalabari, with a population of 186, has 45 households. 

Women of Podapathar village in Sundargarh district in Odisha have become an inspiration for millions of women in the country now, thanks to their determination to improve the drinking water situation in their village. 

Earlier the women had to fetch water for domestic use at 4 am. The nearest drinking water source was 1 km away. "In 2002, the panchayat installed two hand pumps at Podapathar but the water from the hand pump was not fit for drinking," says Dutiya Kisan, a woman in her 50s.