Rivers and Lakes Conservation in India - India Water Portal

Rivers and Lakes

The Turtle Sanctuary, located on the banks of the Ganges River in Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh, is a biodiversity hotspot. It is the country's only freshwater turtle sanctuary, relocated from Varanasi, and serves as a breeding ground for rare turtles.

Unchecked sand mining activity in Mirzapur, puts rare turtle habitat at risk along the Ganga river

Brijendra Dubey

20 Feb 2026

9 min read

Kharun river at Mahadev Ghat, Raipur

Kharun River Basin: Machine learning warns of rising floods and falling water security

18 Feb 2026

6 min read

Ghoramara Island’s 50-year erosion crisis

Ghoramara island is disappearing and exposing India’s coastal policy gaps

18 Feb 2026

6 min read

Riverbed sand mining on the Damodar near Nabagram village in West Bengal, showing an influx of JCBs and trucks on the riverbed. The various anthropogeomorphic landforms induced by sand mining are also visible such as, sand mounds, excavated sand pools, and levelled sand tracks created by mining activity.

Rivers and Lakes

How sand mining is reshaping riverbeds and water quality in India

Priyank Pravin Patel

12 Feb 2026

8 min read

Fishermen sitting together in their boats on the calm waters of Wular lake, resting after a long day's work

Rivers and Lakes

“We are beautifying the wound”: Wular Lake, restoration, and the people of Kashmir

10 Feb 2026

10 min read

The future of this micro-economy is intimately tied to the ecological health and cultural centrality of the river itself. Efforts to clean the Godavari, regulate effluent, and maintain safe, accessible ghats are not just environmental or heritage projects – they are, in a very real sense, livelihood protection measures.

How the Godavari at Panchavati sustains Nashik’s sacred economy of priests, pilgrims, and vendors

07 Jan 2026

12 min read

The Thajiwas glacier in Sonamarg shows bare rock and shrinking ice, where once snow spread thickly across the valley floor.

How Thajiwas glacier tells a larger story of Kashmir’s climate

28 Dec 2025

11 min read

The mighty Ganga, India’s lifeline

Ganga River Basin shows growing drought stress amid changing monsoon

Aarti Kelkar Khambete

19 Dec 2025

6 min read

Farooq Ahmad Dar sits in his boat on Anchar Lake, where he once fished for his family. The lake's pollution has now taken away his livelihood.

How toxic landfill waste is affecting livelihoods around Kashmir’s Anchar lake

17 Dec 2025

9 min read

Hokersar wetland in Kashmir

Rivers and Lakes

Urban pressure is changing soil health in Kashmir’s wetlands

Aarti Kelkar Khambete

17 Dec 2025

8 min read

FAQ: Everything you need to know about the blue economy

FAQ: Everything you need to know about the blue economy

07 Dec 2025

14 min read

Farming on the riverbanks of Betwa River

Where sand shifts and rivers flow, life adapts across India’s changing lands

08 Nov 2025

7 min read

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