-The Hindu There should be space for greater storage of water in reservoirs before the onset of monsoon In the aftermath of any tragedy, people struggle to comprehend what happened and how to cope. Kerala is no different. With the floodwaters finally receding, a number of experts and politicians have stated various possible reasons for the tragedy. Some have cited ill-thought-out development plans that have affected the sustainability of the Western Ghats,...

-TheWire.in The new periodic labour force surveys, while welcome, will create a situation where there would be no data system to compare the present with the past. In a recent interview, Prime Minister Narendra Modi apparently said, “more than a lack of jobs, the issue is a lack of data on jobs”. For those of us who have been using the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) data on employment and unemployment for...

-The Hindu Business Line A new study has suggested that the government must consider changes occurring due to climate change while planning new hydropower projects. The generation of hydropower from top seven hydropower projects in India has suffered due to climate variability in the past six decades. Future projected climate change may also hit reservoir operation for power generation from these projects, says the study done by researchers from the Indian Institute...

-CitizenMatters.in Built in the 13th century, Delhi’s Qutb Minar, a UNESCO world heritage site and one of the tallest minarets in the country, is facing stiff competition − from the height of a garbage dump in the national capital. In a recent report, a panel of India’s Parliament noted their observations on landfill sites in Delhi, writing that the “laissez-faire of the civic bodies of Delhi also gets reflected in the fact...

-The Indian Express An IIT Delhi report offers important pointers on how to ensure a smooth drainage system in the capital using its natural waterways. This is the time of year when Delhiites suffer floods and often do not know what to do and who to blame, because the multiple government authorities are busy pointing fingers at each other. Monsoon used to be the season when my generation, as children, used to...