Archives - Question of Cities

Godavari on the edge: Faith, floods, and the politics
of preparation

The preparations for the Simhastha Kumbh Mela are not merely a logistical exercise but also an act of (re)configuring the Godavari itself reflecting the tensions between religiosity, urban development, and the ecological materialities of a river under stress. Recasting the…

The Godavari walk unravels a river waiting to fight back

Nashik’s ancient mythological, historical and contemporary connection with the Godavari is symbolised in the Panchvati area and, within it, specifically in the Ramkund. This is today a strange confluence of mythology, chemistry and modern construction. The area with 17 kunds…

Groundwater as critical as the Godavari for Nashik’s
water security

Water supply was shut down every Saturday in many parts of Nashik this May, something that has not happened in about 20 years. The lack of respect for the Godavari River and its unmonitored overuse was one reason; the other…

De-concretise to revive the Godavari, its ancient kunds

Natural springs kept the Godavari River in Nashik flowing and many of the 17 kunds (reservoirs or tanks) filled with water even in summer. Ancestral houses in the city’s Panchvati area, near Ramkund, had the natural springs too. However, during…

‘Build the roads and bridges
for the Kumbh, but save
the Godavari’

Maharashtra’s ancient city, Nashik, by the Godavari is on an overdrive to prepare for the Kumbh Mela 2027 where the devout gather every 12 years to take a dip in the sacred water. But the river is struggling to flow.…

Following the Godavari in Nashik: A Fact Sheet

The Godavari is India’s second longest river after the Ganga. The river, which passes through five states – Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Odisha – and parts of Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Puducherry and sustains millions of people, has…

The new challenge: Rising heat and worsening water
access in cities

As the heat hits hard, people can stay hydrated and offer a glass of water to others, but where is the water? Water access and equity, critical underpinnings of a dignified life, hurts the most in summer as vast numbers…

How Mumbai’s slums won the battle for access to water

Around 1,000 of the 1,400 families in Ganpat Patil Nagar in Mumbai’s Borivali received piped water in 2021, some 23 years after struggling without it and paying exorbitantly to access water from non-municipal sources including cycling for kilometres at night.…

The many costs of heat
and water

Extreme heat is emerging as one of India’s most significant climate risks, with impacts that extend beyond just rising temperatures. Heat affects health, in turn affects labour productivity, as well as agriculture, energy systems, and water security, all the while…

The unheard stories of people’s struggle and protest for water

Protests for the simplest of human needs – water – took place in many cities and towns of India this summer, from Jaipur and Indore to Delhi and Palghar, as the harsh summer and depleting water levels led to acute…