Madhya Pradesh

NGT orders states to designate nodal agencies for restoring water bodies
Policy matters this week Swati Bansal posted 3 months ago

Designate nodal agencies for restoration of water bodies: NGT to states
Gharisar lake in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
How forest-dwelling communities are braving the pandemic
Local communities and gram sabhas better understand the local complexities than the local administrations while dealing with a crisis situation. Amita Bhaduri posted 5 months ago

The pandemic and lockdown measures have had a drastic impact on a large population of poor and marginalised communities, causing loss of livelihoods and employment, food insecurity and socio-economic distress. While vulnerabilities, atrocities and injustices faced by forest communities due to forest, conservation and economic policies have increased d
The non timber forest products collection season, which is mainly in the months of April to June coincided exactly with the lockdown (Image: CIFOR, Flickr Commons)
Holy waters, unholy outcomes!
A study found that mass bathing events in the Kshipra river not only led to high pollution, but also to the presence of multidrug resistant pathogenic bacteria in its waters, posing a risk to health. aartikelkar posted 6 months 1 week ago

Rivers are revered and considered holy since times immemorial in India and mass bathing in some rivers is an age-old ritual. A holy dip and a holy sip of the river waters are considered to be a highly purifying. But is the dip really cleansing at all when almost all the rivers in India are known to be highly polluted?
A priest offers water to the sun at Ramghat on the Kshipra river at Simhastha (Image Source: Makarand Purohit)
Swachh Survekshan 2020: Indore tops in cleanest city category
News this week Swati Bansal posted 6 months 1 week ago

Indore once again tops the Swachh Survekshan 2020 in the cleanest city category
Clean road near Pardesipura, Indore. (Source: India Water Portal)
Bringing springs to life: Ensuring water security for Baigas in Madhya Pradesh
To ensure year-round availability of drinking water for the Baigas, an initiative bring back springs to life in the region through community participation. Swati Bansal posted 7 months 3 weeks ago

Nested amongst the Satprura hills lies Kapoti, a village in the Dindori district of Madhya Pradesh. This region is known as Baiga Chak and is inhabited by Baigas, a vulnerable tribal group.
Children wash hands at a stand post installed in a Primary school at Kapoti Village in Karanjiya, Dhindori, Madhya Pradesh, India (Source: WaterAid India)
A reflection on multi-faceted droughts in Bundelkhand region
Alternatives have to be re-adapted to the understanding of droughts in the wake of climate change. Amita Bhaduri posted 8 months ago

Drought conditions are not new to Bundelkhand. The acute situation now is a convergence of three types of droughts – meteorological, agricultural and hydrological - cumulatively coinciding as witnessed in Nunagar village in Panna district, Madhya Pradesh. We saw hundreds of vessels queuing up at the panchayat well.
Child walks through the parched field for kilometers to fetch water in peak summer in village Banjari (Image: Reshma Sahoo)
Need to protect the unique geological features in the Upper Ken basin
An attempt to document the geological features, water potential, and traditional wisdom around them in the Upper Ken basin. Amita Bhaduri posted 9 months ago

Kathayi, a scheduled tribe (ST) dominated village in the midst of the forested stretches of Shahnagar block in Panna district faces acute water scarcity during the 3-4 summer months. Through the government schemes, three wells and two hand pumps were installed in this 75 household village in the last 10-15 years, but most of them are dysfunctional now.
Panghata Kund in village Aloni, Panna (June 2014, after initial monsoon) (Image: Seema Ravandale)
Building resilience of communities during and beyond Covid-19
Interventions that increase dependencies and use of local resources to resolve challenges locally can help increase resilience of farmers. Amita Bhaduri posted 9 months 3 weeks ago

Covid-19 pandemic has unleashed multiple challenges in different geographies, especially for the vulnerable groups living in areas that already have existing issues of water and food security.
People were following social distancing in villages while collecting water (Image: INREM)
Village institutions take a lead in Covid-19 response
Institutions are a key arsenal in rural India's pandemic fight. Amita Bhaduri posted 10 months ago

Covid-19 will have major implications in rural areas where the Foundation for Ecological Security (FES), a non-profit organisation has been working towards conservation of natural resources through collective action of local communities. Experience indicates that the complete lockdown to contain the spread of the disease has resulted in loss of rural incomes.
In the light of disrupted food supply systems, especially for fresh produce, the village institution arranged for harvesting and sale of produce. (Image: FES)
Mahadayi river water dispute receives final award
Policy matters this week Swati Bansal posted 1 year ago

Karnataka allowed to implement Kalasa-Banduri project
The Mandovi river disputed between Karnataka and Goa (Source: IWP Flickr Photos)
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