To burst or not to burst?’ is a question many young humans might be asking as the patakha (firecracker) season begins. Teachers and doctors tend to advice against firecrackers but there’s always a paan-chewing uncle or a macho friend who’ll bully you kids into becoming enthusiastic arsonists. It’s usually a tough choice to make. Some additional information is always a good help in firming up ones’ resolutions. Therefore, let's throw some light on the history, chemistry, and eco-friendliness of patakhas.

Salem is one of the largest cities in Tamil Nadu, India. More than 1 million people live here. Piyush Manush is the convener of the Salem Citizen's Forum (SCF). SCF is an informal group, involved in protecting Salem's environment. The lake was built by the British for irrigating nearby farmlands. The lake is spread across 58 acres and used to be a major water body of the city. But gradually it became a dumpsite for Salem's municipal solid waste. In 2010 SCF took over the work of cleaning the lake. But first, they had to get rid of the garbage and then desilt the waterbody.

Rivers are an essential part of our lives and the ecology. But we turn them into drains. Here is how we can help save our rivers.

The Han meets the Yamuna river and tells her how even she can flow and flourish in peace. Han smiled and hugged Yamuna. For a moment, Yamuna forgot the toxic filled surrounding she lived in. Yamuna lowered her eyes and began opening up to Han. “Look where I live Han. I cannot breathe; move my arms or even my feet. Every day, the drains add more filth into the river and the people of the city for whom I travel from so far, do not even throw a glance at me. For them, I am a stinky black drain.”

Wetlands purify water through natural processes where aquatic plants act as bio-filters. Plants absorb phosphates and nitrates from the water and roots help to put back oxygen into the water. Constructed wetlands are a cost-effective method of treating wastewater and polluted water bodies. These are low cost solutions and can be easily made or replicated.

Water is the essence of life, and we need to adopt practices to save and reuse it

Can we control the ongoing water crisis all by ourselves? It's not about whose responsibility it is, but what we are doing about it. “When water became a commodity, I lost my freedom. More importantly, it put a financial burden on those who couldn’t afford to buy it. Today, water companies sell drinking water and advertise it being rich in minerals and full of vitamins. Big corporates such as soda companies have been buying rivers for industrial purpose and farmers have no water to irrigate their fields. As the rivers dry up, animals also start wandering and enter villages in search of water, with a threat of …

A group of students have come together to address their water worries The aqueducts connecting the roof to the ground have been aesthetically designed as a part of the building through tiled wall depressions rather than pipes. The rainwater collected from the roof directly recharges the percolation pits. Even inside the building, there are open courtyards with steps for the water to move down and recharge the groundwater. Our sole aim as of now is to recharge the groundwater aquifer, which is a problem in a city like Gurugram, which suffers from alarming drop in groundwater levels. It is due to this, that we are privileged to …

A Kolkata man has taken it upon himself to document life and livelihoods along the river Ganga[The Ganga] is dying. Pollution from the factories and farms of the fastest-growing large economy in the world . . .  has turned its waters toxic—BBC The Ganges, India’s holy river, is also one of the most polluted in the world . . . There are many causes of Ganges river pollution—English Online