Rivers & Water Bodies | Water supply, consumption and pollution in cities

‘Rivers have emotions, like human beings. Their waters rise’

As the plan to develop the Mula-Mutha riverfront in Pune gathers momentum, many residents and environmental activists believe it’s a death knell for the river. Architect Sarang Yadwadkar, among those in the forefront resisting the project, thinks that Pune may…

Giving rivers room to move: Rethinking flood management for nature and people

The idea of allowing rivers to reclaim space on their floodplains is not new. There have been programmes such as the ‘Room…

From St. Inez Creek to Goa’s stories of water systems

The short film, Avnati, tells the story of the degradation of the St. Inez Creek that flows through Panaji through the lives…

Jal Satyagraha: From water conversations to water conservation and justice

Drawn from the ‘swaraj through satyagraha’ concept of India’s independence movement, the struggle for water access and equity has spread across rural…

Watching over the water of our lakes and wetlands

Thane and Navi Mumbai, old and new cities respectively which are often overshadowed by Mumbai, have seen their ecological abundance of rivers,…

‘Urban planning tends to be driven by money, not natural ecosystem’

Once known as a salubrious city with abundant green, Pune has transformed into a crowded and chaotic city grappling with rapid urbanisation,…

Blue green infrastructure: The commodification of nature

As climate change-related extreme events such as heat waves and unprecedented flooding become common, the concept of blue green infrastructure is catching…

How Bengaluru, once the land of a thousand lakes, can rework its water plan

The warning bells have sounded for the aspirational tech-city as residents struggle with water scarcity yet again and tankers move about supplying water. Its rapid expansion into peripheral areas and staggering concretisation damaged the intricate network of lakes and other…

Bengaluru’s water math is badly failing as ‘zero water days’ loom large

This year’s summer is a trailer for a bigger water crisis in a city which once boasted of great weather and good…

Mumbai’s unquenchable thirst: Overestimating water demand to justify dams

Water to the city has been supplied from seven dams, constructed in the neighbouring rural and forested areas, at great socio-economic and…