The story of how a village got its first toilet.
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G Nandakumar is a young farmer in Diguvapalem, a remote hamlet and a chronically drought-prone area in southern Andhra. In 2019, I met him on a school hiking trip, as part of our Geography classes. 'Nandu,' fondly addressed as so, was keen to upgrade his village by pursing some sustainable environmental practices, like organic farming. However, he lacked the resources to execute his vision. So, as a young student, I was very inspired by his ideas and wanted to help...
In summers this year, some European rivers had dried substantially, causing drought in many parts of the region. It revealed to their surface, some ancient stones with intricate engravings on them. Their markings used to indicate the water-level of these rivers, which served as a common forecasting tool for famines. Such stones were called hunger stones. One such is disclosed at the banks of the Elbe River. Dated to 1616 AD, its rock is etched with a warning in German...
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 support well developed green spaces without consuming the city water supply.
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
