-Livemint.com * The pandemic-induced global pause resulted in several visible environmental gains. Will they last? * A controversy is brewing over the government’s efforts to push through radical changes to the country’s environmental laws, which seek to further dilute environmental protections NAGPUR: Teeming wildlife; cities breathing fresh air; and clearer Rivers. Those were all small signs of hope amid a dire, once-in-a-century pandemic. Nature was supposedly healing. At one point in April, an...

-India Water Portal The time for quick fixes is over; a comprehensive policy overhaul is urgently needed to impede the juggernaut of Punjab's groundwater depletion. Punjab, a small state in northwest India, derives its name from the Persian words panj (five) and āb (water), meaning the "land of five Rivers". Ironically, this state is now regularly in the news for its rapidly depleting groundwater levels. The most recent government report on Punjab's...

-The Hindu Release of industrial effluents, dumping of clothes and waste temporarily stops due to lockdown The strict enforcement of 21-day lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic has turned out to be a boon for the Cauvery and other Rivers in the old Mysuru region as the prohibition of industrial and religious activities has helped in reducing pollution level in the Rivers. According to the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB), the Cauvery...

-The Indian Express Siddharth Chandra, Director of Asian Studies Center and Professor in Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Michigan State University speaks to The Indian Express about the parallels between 1918 and current pandemic, and the lessons it holds for India. New Delhi: Siddharth Chandra is the Director of Asian Studies Center and Professor in Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Michigan State University. His work on the intersection of demography,...

-Down to Earth Groundwater level in Katihar, Begusarai at 25 & 24 ft respectively Groundwater levels reportedly have dipped in 11 of Bihar's 38 districts despite a good monsoon in 2019. The state is predominantly dependent on agriculture. In Katihar the level dipped to 25 feet, according to a telemetry report released by the Bihar’s minor water resources department in February, 2020. Several Rivers, including the Ganga, Mahananda, Kosi and Righa, pass through...