Droughts and Floods

Featured Articles
January 4, 2021
Should we bet more on historians than engineers to sort flooding?
How the historian's method is invaluable in developing an understanding of floods.
Need to consider the perspective of the historians who see floods as a naturally occurring event. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
December 26, 2019
Centre holds green signal to Kalasa-Banduri project
Policy matters this week
The Mandovi river disputed between Karnataka and Goa (Source: IWP Flickr Photos)
December 19, 2019
Parliamentary committee expresses disappointment over slow pace of Namami Gange
Policy matters this week
The Ganga at Varanasi (Source: India Water Portal Flickr Photos)
December 11, 2019
NGT orders 100 percent treatment of sewage entering rivers
Policy matters this week
Polythene bags and solid waste left behind as water recedes in the Ganga river. (Source: India Water Portal on Flickr)
December 11, 2019
Replacing rice will improve India’s climate resilience
A study calls for solutions that can benefit farmers and the environment and positively impact India's nutrition indicators.
Rice field in Karnataka (Image: Guldem Ustun, Flickr Commons, CC BY 2.0)
December 6, 2019
Holistic approach needed to clean the Ganga
A report by the India Rivers Forum highlights the need to focus further than the main stem of the Ganga river.
Distant snow clad mountains, the smaller hills and the Ganga river (Image: Srimoyee Banerjee, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0)
Should we bet more on historians than engineers to sort flooding?
How the historian's method is invaluable in developing an understanding of floods. Amita Bhaduri posted 3 weeks ago

Raging floods swarming great expanses have been a common occurrence in the 21st century in South Asia.
Need to consider the perspective of the historians who see floods as a naturally occurring event. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
Over 97 million Indians were currently being exposed to extreme floods: Report
News this week Swati Bansal posted 1 month ago

75 percent districts in India are hotspots of extreme climate events: Report
75 percent districts in India are hotspots of extreme climate events (Source: IWP Flickr photos))
Submit report on the need for clearance of National Waterway-1: NGT to MoEF
Policy matters this week Swati Bansal posted 1 month ago

NGT seeks report on the need for clearance of inland waterway projects in Ganga
Motor-driven ferries at Varanasi (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
Crafts bloom in the parched Thar desert!
Communities from the harshest part of the country, the Thar desert, cope with drought, through their art. aartikelkar posted 1 month ago

The parched land of great Indian Thar desert stands out invariably for its hue and colours. And the communities from one of the harshest regions in the country continue to show their remarkable pliability to calibrate with the demographic difficulties and still bring out the most from the available resources!
Art, to deal with drought (Image Source: Rituja Mitra)
Madhya Pradesh’s recurring droughts: Measuring, responding and reducing the vulnerabilities
Drought vulnerability in agriculture has been recognised as a key development issue in the state. Anonymous (not verified) posted 1 month 3 weeks ago

Climate change has been a popular buzzword for the last two decades in the international policy arena, stimulating multitude of ideas and a few action commitments at different levels of governments.
Rugged, rocky terrain of Bundelkhand, Madhya Pradesh (Image: Shweta Prajapati)
Reviving traditional tanks to control floods in Chennai
A study finds that desilting and reviving traditional tanks in Chennai can greatly help in mitigating the impacts of frequent floods in the city. aartikelkar posted 1 month 3 weeks ago

Climate change is leading to rise in extreme events world over, and developing countries such as India have been experiencing not only higher death rates but also greater economic impacts due to natural hazards.
A small tank near Thalambedu in Kanchipuram (Image Source: India Water Portal)
Embankments in Bihar: The inapt and futile defence against floods
Embankments in Bihar have failed miserably against flood protection. Take a look on these frequently asked questions (FAQs) on why they failed and what are the possible solutions to floods in Bihar? Swati Bansal posted 3 months ago

What is the history of floods in Bihar and why is it prone to floods?
An embankment in Madhubani after a week of repairing (Source: Santosh Yadav via IWP Flickr albums)
Jalyukt Shivar Abhiyan a low impact, high expenditure scheme: CAG
Policy matters this week Swati Bansal posted 4 months ago

Jalyukt Shivar Abhiyan had a low impact in making Maharashtra drought free: CAG
Deepening work in progress under the Jalyukt Shivar Abhiyan (Source: Ravindra Pomane)
Overexploitation of groundwater highest in Punjab: Government
News this week Swati Bansal posted 4 months ago

Punjab no.1 in overexploitation of groundwater 
Overexploitation of groundwater highest in Punjab (Source: IWP Flickr Photos)
MNREGA helps a village in Bihar become flood proof
United action of locals, wisdom of the village head and MNREGA help to deal with waterlogging in a village in Bihar. Swati Bansal posted 4 months ago

Harpur Bochha is a village in Vidyapatinagar block of Samastipur district of Bihar. The village, which has a population of about 11.5 thousand people and  2349 houses, remained inundated with rain and floodwater throughout the year followed by waterlogging.
MNREGA comes to the rescue of Harpur Bochha (Source: Umesh Kumar Ray)
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