Lakes, Ponds and Wetlands

A recent report by Shailendra Yashwant for Oxfam India looks at India’s ingenious ways of harvesting, storing and distributing water from the Kuhls in Himachal Pradesh that channel water from Himalayan glaciers, and the Dongs of Assam to the Aghers in Arunachal Pradesh, the Pynes of Bihar.

Supreme Court question authorities on why manual scavenging still prevails

New Delhi, September 17 (India Science Wire): A new technology developed by Indian scientists for ecological restoration is helping in revival of mangroves degraded due to rising sea levels, climate change and human intrusion in the Sunderbans in West Bengal. 

Choked by sewage and effluent discharge, lakes in and around Indore are in a terrible state and in need of restoration. A bustling city in central India, Indore was declared the cleanest city in India three years in a row. After cleaning the streets and its garbage landfill area, it has now turned its attention towards cleaning as well as restoring its lakes and ponds.

While enhanced irrigation coverage has been hailed as an important way to improve agricultural productivity, it continues to lag behind in India and agriculture continues to be rainfed, subject to the vagaries of the monsoon. High groundwater dependence for irrigation has not only led to its depletion and quality deterioration, but has also raised questions about its sustainability in the long run.

Government identifies 100 wetlands for restoration in next five years

At the 14th session of the Conference of Parties (COP 14) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), the Environment Ministry identified more than 100 wetlands for restoration in the next five years to combat land degradation.

While most parts of the country are facing a water crisis, here’s a case from the arid state of Rajasthan, where decentralized initiatives are solving water issues. Dungarpur in southern Rajasthan has exemplified how community participation with local level planning processes are working towards improving rainwater harvesting and recharge of groundwater.

Centre to provide 43-55 litre/day water per person to rural households by 2024

Since the 25th of July, there have been four consecutive weeks of surplus rainfall which have compensated for the delayed onset of monsoon and the deficient rains recorded in June and early July.  July had ended with a countrywide deficit of 9%, but vigorous Monsoon conditions took the rains to a surplus of 1% as on August 25.

A study published in the Journal of Remote Sensing and Space Sciences, analyzing the cooling effect of the city of Ahmedabad’s water bodies, has thrown up some interesting findings. The east bank of the Sabarmati river, which flows through Ahmedabad, was found to be significantly cooler than the west bank, witnessing a greater drop in temperature even during summer. The study provides direct evidence of how water bodies affect temperature variations.