-The New Indian Express The proposed 2,000 MW Sharavathi Pumped Storage Hydroelectric project falls in the middle of the Sharavathi River valley. BENGALURU: The proposed 2,000 MW Sharavathi Pumped Storage Hydroelectric project falls in the middle of the Sharavathi River valley. The project, first floated by the Siddaramaiah government, is now being pushed by the Yediyurappa government, overriding concerns of locals, environmentalists and forest officials. Presently, the state government is seeking the Centre’s...

-Down to Earth blog Overburdened drainage, frenzied and unregulated construction, no regard to the natural topography and hydro-geomorphology all make urban floods a man-made disaster The recent floods in Bihar and Eastern Uttar Pradesh have taken by surprise both governments and people. In Patna, severe water logging has brought the city to a halt, with hospitals and residential areas filled with waist-deep water. Transport services have been disrupted, with many trains cancelled. There is...

-Down to Earth According to high-level government sources, the survey results contradict the government’s open-defecation free status claim A copy of the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO)’s latest survey on the state of toilet coverage and use at the household level in India was doing the rounds among officials. The ‘draft’ report, accessed by Down To Earth, pegged toilet coverage in India at only 75 per cent. Close to 80 per cent of...

-The Hindu Fibreglass avatar used to cut pollution GUWAHATI: Goddess Durga has a fibreglass ‘avatar’ in Mizoram and it has much to do with slaying the demon of ecological degradation. There are very few temples in Mizoram, where 87% of the population is Christian. Of the 13 that are managed by the Central Gorkha Mandir Committee, five are in Aizawl. Until about a decade ago, the Durga Puja celebration in these temples was similar...

-The Hindu The Narmada has flowed into 178 villages since late August, after the dam blocked its path downstream in Gujarat Chikalda disappeared last week. And with it, the houses of at least 1,366 families. As the water crept in, the village in Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh emptied out in mid-September. What would you take with you with the water lapping at your waist? Chikalda’s men and women grabbed children, documents,...