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)
Living through cyclone Amphan and Covid-19: Climate change and water security
In the face of frequent cyclones and floods in the region, investment and long term planning is needed on making basic services of drinking water resilient. Amita Bhaduri posted 7 months 1 week ago

The nomenclature of cyclones and hurricanes is developed much in advance through multilateral processes in the region. The name Amphan (Sky in Thai and Akash in Bangla) was chosen from a long list of potential disasters long back.
Millions of people in India and Bangladesh lost their means of employment, food, water and homes in one go during the cyclone (Image: Srikanth Kolari/ActionAid India)
Centre approves JJM funds to Odisha and Chhattisgarh for this financial year
Policy matters this week Swati Bansal posted 7 months 1 week ago

Government approves Jal Jeevan Mission funds for Odisha and Chhattisgarh
Child drinks water from a tap (Image: Imal Hashemi/Taimani Films/World Bank, Flickr Commons, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Cyclone Nisarga hits Maharashtra coast, causes intense rains in western districts
News this week Swati Bansal posted 7 months 1 week ago

Making a landfall in Raigad district, cyclone Nisarga wanes but causes heavy rains in western Maharashtra
In a cyclone in 2016, thousands of trees were uprooted (Image source: IWP Flickr photos)
Cyclone Amphan wreaks havoc in West Bengal
News this week Swati Bansal posted 7 months 2 weeks ago

Cyclone Amphan causes widespread destruction in West Bengal
A cyclonic storm that hit India in 2016 (Image Source: IWP Flickr photos)
Webinar series by India-UK Water Centre
IUKWC is hosting a brand new series of webinars, brought to you by members of our Open Network of water scientists. Swati Bansal posted 7 months 3 weeks ago

Each webinar will be approximately 1 hour in length and will focus on a range of topics.

To register, please click here.

Webinar 1:
Covid-19: Managing the disaster in rural India
There is a need to rethink our disaster management policies and the top-down approach that it follows. Amita Bhaduri posted 7 months 4 weeks ago

With an attempt to contain the spread of deadly Covid-19, Indian government had announced a complete nation-wide lockdown from March 25 onwards. For the first time, the provisions of the National Disaster Management Act, 2005, were invoked since the law came into being after the 2004 tsunami.
Drought in Marathwada (Image: Flickr Commons)
Ensuring food security in times of Covid-19
A study conducted in 47 districts indicates that over half of the surveyed households are eating less during lockdown. Amita Bhaduri posted 8 months ago

The study, ‘Covid-19 induced lockdown - How is hinterland coping’, based on a large survey undertaken by a consortium of civil society organisations undertook a rapid assessment of the impact of series of lockdowns on rural poor households.
The prolonged lockdown has increased the dependence of farmers on food supply through the public distribution system as well as the need to grow a good crop in kharif season. (Image: UNESCO)
Horticulture pile-up, yet farmers stare at losses in Kachchh
Robust arid region horticulture in the water-scarce arid region of Kachchh, but without improved value-addition for increased shelf-life, farmers faced with a crisis. Amita Bhaduri posted 8 months ago

Kachchh: A desert oasis under peril
Date palm plantation in Kachchh (Image: Prayaas: The Movement of Grassroot Changes)
Coping with Covid-19: Options before small and marginal farmers of rainfed regions
There is a need to have basic institutional structures such as market, credit, insurance, research, extension service etc., in place in rainfed regions. Amita Bhaduri posted 8 months ago

The global crisis due to Covid-19 has hit India after coursing through western Europe. India’s response to curtail the spread of the disease was quite decisive.
Village institutions take a lead in Covid-19 response
Institutions are a key arsenal in rural India's pandemic fight. Amita Bhaduri posted 8 months 1 week 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.
In the light of disrupted food supply systems, especially for fresh produce, the village institution arranged for harvesting and sale of produce. (Image: FES)
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