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March 3, 2021
Study detects high levels of arsenic in cooked rice in Bihar
Need to remove arsenic from the food chain and not just drinking water in endemic areas
Median excess lifetime cancer risk of 2 per 10,000 from food arsenic exposure in Bihar. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
December 28, 2020
Sanitation workers amid the pandemic
The pandemic has exacerbated the issues of exclusion and vulnerability of sanitation workers.
Despite the risks and the dire conditions of their work, sanitation workers continued to do their job (Image: C S Sharada Prasad, India Water Portal)
December 26, 2020
Responsible consumption and production key to fighting climate change
What are the lessons learnt from COVID-19 pandemic on effective waste and resource management?
The management of waste is vital to minimize long-term risks to human and environmental health. (Image: Pasi Mäenpää, Pixabay)
December 22, 2020
Air pollution: Filling the gaps
Controlling air pollution needs long-term holistic solutions such as a reduction in the usage of biomass, coal and lignite, and agricultural residues.
All Indian cities like Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Hyderabad surpass the air quality standards by a significant margin (Image: United Nations; CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
November 21, 2019
The poisoned landscapes of Punjab
Excessive and unregulated pesticide use has not only poisoned the soil, water and environment in villages in Punjab’s Malwa region – it has also increased health risks for the people.
Farmer spraying pesticide (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
November 15, 2019
When the sewers get blocked: sanitation labour in urban India
On World Toilet Day, we bring to light the labour of India’s sewer workers - those who do the unclean work that a Clean India relies on.
Photo credit: Sharada Prasad
Study detects high levels of arsenic in cooked rice in Bihar
Need to remove arsenic from the food chain and not just drinking water in endemic areas Amita Bhaduri posted 5 days 4 hours ago

Extensive evidence of elevated arsenic in the food chain, mainly rice, wheat and vegetables exists.
Median excess lifetime cancer risk of 2 per 10,000 from food arsenic exposure in Bihar. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
Budget 2021: Policy measures in the nutrition sector
Nutrition interventions need to be strengthened to protect people already at the margin of subsistence. Amita Bhaduri posted 1 month 1 week ago

India's food security policy framework includes many proven nutrition interventions. In 2015, India committed to achieving the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of zero hunger.
Children eating their mid-day meal at a worksite school in Andhra Pradesh (Image: ILO Asia Pacific, Flickr Commons, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Sanitation workers amid the pandemic
The pandemic has exacerbated the issues of exclusion and vulnerability of sanitation workers. Amita Bhaduri posted 2 months 1 week ago

Sanitation workers are out in full force tasked with disinfecting the public spaces as COVID-19 crisis continues to impact the country on top of other serious challenges faced by our WASH sector.
Despite the risks and the dire conditions of their work, sanitation workers continued to do their job (Image: C S Sharada Prasad, India Water Portal)
Responsible consumption and production key to fighting climate change
What are the lessons learnt from COVID-19 pandemic on effective waste and resource management? Amita Bhaduri posted 2 months 1 week ago

The twelfth Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) goal which calls for ensuring responsible consumption and production patterns, recognizes that consumption and production despite being drivers of the economy have destructive impacts on natural resources.
The management of waste is vital to minimize long-term risks to human and environmental health. (Image: Pasi Mäenpää, Pixabay)
Getting communities engaged in faecal sludge management
Community engagement structures, espe­cially at the slum and ward level, can take on roles with adequate capacity building and training inputs. Amita Bhaduri posted 2 months 2 weeks ago

Gyanchand Mishra, Councillor of Ward 3, is the President of the Ward Sanitation Committee (WSC) and is also a member of the City Sanitation Task Force (CSTF).
Community engagement structures at the slum level have ensured that the most mar­ginalized and vulnerable sections of a city, that is, the slum communities now have a voice. (Image: SCI-FI, CPR)
Air pollution: Filling the gaps
Controlling air pollution needs long-term holistic solutions such as a reduction in the usage of biomass, coal and lignite, and agricultural residues. Amita Bhaduri posted 2 months 2 weeks ago

Air pollution killed 16.7 lakh Indians and led to an economic loss of Rs. 
All Indian cities like Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Hyderabad surpass the air quality standards by a significant margin (Image: United Nations; CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Lost to fluorosis
Fluoride contamination is leaving villagers in Barhet block of Jharkhand crippled, while authorities struggle to find solutions. Amita Bhaduri posted 2 months 2 weeks ago

“What should I do? I have been bedridden for two years now. My hands and feet do not work.
The state needs to play a key role in identifying fluorosis as well as in developing and executing an action plan to control it. (Image: Rab Nawaz Alam)
New packaged drinking water rules to apply from January 1, 2021
Policy matters this week Swati Bansal posted 2 months 4 weeks ago

Revised standards for packaged drinking water to apply from January 1st, 2021
Filtration plants in a packaging water units (Image source: Tushar Trivedi)
What India needs for effective waste management in times of the pandemic
The pandemic has exposed the flaws in our waste management system. Amita Bhaduri posted 4 months ago

 
Image: Roksana Helscher, Pixabay
Generating demand for sanitation infrastructure
How to steer conversations and processes that help boost the motivation of community leaders to encourage better sanitation behaviour? Amita Bhaduri posted 4 months 2 weeks ago

Radharamanpada is an unauthorised slum in Angul with 300 houses. The president of the slum sanitation committee Janaki Sahu, a 28-year-old mother of four, runs a street food stall on the main road. There are seven women in the committee of eleven, working on sanitation solution for populations that remain underserved.
Project Nirmal uses appropriate communication inputs that help generate awareness about the impact of poor containment, collection, transportation and treatment systems on the environment among all stakeholders. (Image: SCI-FI, CPR)
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