The Covid-19 pandemic has reinforced the need to create jobs locally. This intersects with the water sector's need for local management. How do we create meaningful opportunities to address the aspirations of the local talent pool and make them discoverable?

Most community resource persons (CRPs) working on water issues across the country today are engaged either on a contractual or voluntary basis. They are not recognized for their knowledge and skills and have to struggle to get a secure and stable livelihood opportunity and are not compensated adequately. Also, a clear career progression does not exist.

Since most of their aspirations are not met, these first-mile workers are constantly on the lookout for other opportunities to earn a better livelihood, costing the water sector a sustained and dedicated water cadre, which in turn impacts the quality of outcomes of the programmes and interventions they are part of. Juxtapose this against our water situation - 600 million people facing water stress every day and our water supply is expected to meet less than half of demand by 2030 and we have a real problem on our hands.

To solve this conundrum, it is important for the water sector to identify and cater to the aspirations of the CRPs who form the backbone of all water-related interventions across the country.

Insights from programs

Currently, most programs – be it government or donor-supported engage CRPs in their work by selecting them from the communities based on predefined criteria. Some programs provide an honorarium to the CRPs and others engage them as volunteers. Necessary training is imparted to them through resource agencies/experts from CSOs, state and central institutions and other training providers. These efforts are time and resource-intensive and crucial in building capacities of the CRPs and achieving the program outcomes. Every new program invests time and resources to do all of the above, leveraging very little of what already exists leading to inefficient use of the already scarce resources in the sector and eventually delaying program outcomes.

The increasing water stress across the country has brought with it an increased focus on water management from the government, the philanthropic sector, not-for-profit, and for-profit enterprises. This has created an apparent demand for skilled human resources in the water sector. For example, the announcement of the Jal Jeevan Mission has paved the way for engaging CRPs in all villages across the country. However, there is a lack of availability of a trusted supply to cater to this demand creating a skill gap in the sector. 

The issue of a skill gap is not alien in the Indian context and the government has set up a skill development ministry and other independent subsidiary bodies to help bridge such skill gaps across different priority sectors.

There is a need now to bring focus into the water sector and create mechanisms to consolidate demand and make available the requisite supply. This would need multiple stakeholders to be energized and working together for a common goal. 

What needs to be done? 

For the sectoral skill gap to be addressed, programs and other employers in the sector need to come together to quantify the demand across sub-sectors and geographies and collate the skills necessary to perform various functions under them.

There has to be a consensus to address the issue of ensuring a stable income for the first-mile workers and a commitment to mobilize funds necessary for the same.

The regulators for skill development in the sector and the government need to prioritize work on the water sector and create an enabling environment for all stakeholders to contribute. There needs to be a concerted effort to map the skill needs of the sector and create courses and training programmes to address the needs with the help of training providers. 

Training providers need to collaborate to define a common curriculum and create courses to impart the skills that the employers find necessary. They may have to then repurpose existing content or create new content with the focus on learners - first-mile workers in this case. There needs to be a mechanism for training providers to link their trainees to the demand from employers for job opportunities post-training.

Training centres need to be affiliated and accredited by the regulators to conduct the approved courses. The regulators may need to make appropriate policy changes for the sector in order to involve relevant experts and cater to the dynamic capacity building needs of the water sector.

The trainees participating in such courses need to be certified and recognition of existing skills and knowledge for practitioners needs to be enabled. The assessment criteria may have to be defined by the regulators with the help of training providers. 

All this needs to be done keeping the learner’s needs at the core such as making practice-oriented content available in easily consumable formats such as videos in relevant contexts and languages. This has to be done in a way that enables building capacities at scale with increased frequency of interactions between learners and experts/trainers and increased transparency through timely, trusted, and verifiable data.

There has to be a trusted, digitally verifiable mechanism for all employers/programs to discover a trained cadre; for the trained cadre to assert their qualifications and keep track of their skill development, and for training providers/regulators to provide proof of training and certificate of skills acquired to the trainees thereby making them discoverable.

What is the pathway to achieving this?

To achieve this, National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) and the designated Sector Skill Councils (SSCs) for water-related work (ASCI/Green Jobs SCI) need to anchor the work and understand the mapping of job-roles and skills required across the water sector and develop relevant qualification packs (QPs) and National Occupational Standards (NOS) leveraging information already available with government and non-government actors in the sector.

Relevant courses and standard curriculum and content then need to be created/ collated from what is being used currently. Assessment criteria for certification also need to be defined next and affiliation/accreditation criteria for experts/resource agencies in the sector need to be drafted. Then, the employers/programs in the sector need to be convened to define the skill demand and agree on a framework for providing a sustained income to the first-mile workers. 

The increased focus of the central and state governments on managing springshed areas across the country provides an excellent opportunity to demonstrate the value for engaging with the aspirations of the CRPs and enabling local jobs. Leveraging the work of resource organizations that are part of the Springs Initiative on curriculum and content and the interest of the states in the Indian Himalayan Region can lead to faster outcomes.

Similarly, for groundwater management, large scale programs such as Atal Jal (Atal Bhujal Yojana) or the Jal Jeevan Mission provide the enabling environment and the framework for engaging with CRPs. Building on top of the program guidelines to systematically build skills of the CRPs and provide local jobs will ensure the success of these programs and the ones to come after these.

There is a need to reimagine the landscape of engaging CRPs in the water sector. To put their aspirations at the centre, provide them with local jobs, formalize them and build their capabilities to excel at it leading to better water management at the community level and eventually to water security for all.

The current situation due to Covid-19 has shown us the need for creating local jobs and the impact CRPs can have in responding to disasters as well as in managing community-level interventions. This provides a perfect opportunity for the sector to act and demonstrate how multi-stakeholder collaborations can create sustainable impact.

Gurudutt Ramchandra is Manager Solutions at Arghyam and has over 5+ years of diverse experience across for-profit and for-impact sectors. Prior to Arghyam, he has worked at Mu Sigma helping evangelise data-driven decision making in client organisations; at Samagra helping transform skilling and employment ecosystems in the Indian state of Haryana.  

It is an annual episode that plays itself out. Assam is, once again, reeling under flood – loss of human and animal life, severe damage to agricultural crops, property, millions of people displaced from their homes, absence of flood preparedness or early warning systems, delayed relief action by the government and the silent apathy of the mainstream media.

This time, however, it’s a double whammy for Assam, as the floods wreak havoc against the backdrop of the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak. It is a crisis that calls out for necessities like safe water, sanitation, and physical distancing to be in order.

A flood-like situation definitely compounds the vulnerabilities of the people. For the communities who have lived alongside rivers for decades, the disaster is not merely the rushing waters of the flood, but also the reduced capacity to cope with them.

In this photo feature, Akash Basumatari, a film-maker, and photographer based out of Assam captures this lived reality of the people in Matia and Simlitola areas of the Goalpara district. These photographs tell a story of the indomitable spirit of the people in their struggle for survival against all odds in Northeast India.

This article has appeared in The Water Practitioners Network. View the original here 

Uncertainty - the pervasive feeling that all of us have been living with from the middle of March 2020. It's the same in our partner villages in Odisha and Jharkhand. Communities we work with have been facing and overcoming uncertainties all through their lives. But this time, the crisis has put unusual stress on their abilities to cope.

As a community development organisation, we find ourselves caught in the currents, and our abilities to effectively support our partners are constantly being put to test. However, we quickly adapted to shifting circumstances. This enabled us to remain relevant to their needs.

These past 15 weeks, we worked in solidarity with the marginalised rural poor communities, who took the biggest hit from the pandemic and the lockdown.

We supported them in many different ways - food, entitlements, livelihoods, a crisis helpline, health awareness, and strengthening local government efforts. We also mobilised funds from our resource partners and continue to reach out to new ones to help the communities. But, the struggle does not seem to end.

The words from Maya Angelou, the American poet and civil rights activist are apt for the times. “My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humour, and some style."

As always, we will face the crisis head-on, in solidarity with our community partners, walking hand-in-hand with them.

Every day brings new challenges to our resolve and capabilities.

Little work, little income

While the monsoon farming season is active in most parts of Odisha, cash incomes are hard to come by. MGNREGS or similar wage-earning opportunities are available but at the cost of working in one’s own farms and future food security. The localised lockdowns in different parts of the country due to the continuing spread of the Covid-19 virus and lack of travel options mean that migrant workers wanting to go back to workplaces are unable to do so.

The livelihoods challenge continues to be acute despite the best efforts of the government and civil society organisations.

Ongoing efforts by the Gram Vikas team and leadership of the village development committees have initiated MGNREGS works in 53 gram panchayats in 23 blocks of nine districts, benefitting 4,951 households. So far, 41,235 days of work, worth INR 85.54 lakh, have been generated.

We continue to engage with migrant workers to build their skill-competency profiles to help them find suitable jobs as soon as possible. The Migrant Resource Centre (MRC) based out of Bhawanipatna in Odisha's Kalahandi district is coordinating this work. The MRC already has a database with experience and aspiration details of more than 2000 workers.

A season of hunger

Working hard through the summer to save cash and food for the monsoons has not been possible this year due to the lockdown. Households, especially in the tribal-dominated, hilly areas, face a looming food crisis.

There is increasing food stress, particularly among the more vulnerable households in our partner villages. While most of them received their public distribution system food grain entitlement, they have not been able to buy other essential foods like cooking oil, pulses, salt, and spices due to the lack of work and incomes.

With the onset of monsoon, there will now be limited access to other sources of nutrition, such as forest produce. At least 15% of the households in tribal-dominated, hilly regions are likely to face a food crisis in the coming days.

No school, no internet, no learning

Schools in Odisha are unlikely to open anytime soon. Many first-generation learners, in Classes 9 and 10, from remote, hilly areas are facing a crisis. Their urban counterparts are having access to education technology platforms aided by seamless internet access. With little or no internet access, their inability to access distance learning puts their education on hold. Lagging behind in education has serious implications for the learning outcomes and the future of these students.

The glaring digital divide continues to leave children in rural Odisha behind; particularly, the school-going children from remote tribal villages that Gram Vikas works with. Poor network connectivity along with frequent power outages makes learning through smartphones, computers, or television impossible.

In the coming days, our work will focus on:

• Ensuring access to adequate food for the most vulnerable households.
• Strengthening dignified income-earning opportunities, locally and for those wanting to migrate.
• Helping children from tribal communities access supplementary learning opportunities.

What we have done till now

• Facilitating mobilisation and awareness generation among rural communities and supporting the local administration for effective handling of the pandemic crisis in 348 villages covering 14,979 households.
• Awareness generation, follow-up, and lobbying with the local governments to ensure that people receive their food and employment entitlements, benefitting 18,012 households in 388 villages.
• Direct support for meeting immediate needs for food, essential items, and personal protection equipment for 4,822 households in 129 villages.
• Reaching out to migrant workers stranded in different locations with physical and emotional support and planning for effective livelihood rehabilitation covering 13,812 households from 853 villages.

Ongoing support to the communities is critical to reassure them and help tide over the crisis with dignity and hope. The best way you can help us now is to donate as much as you can to our Covid-19 Response support. Or be ambassadors for our efforts to help raise money to keep the families hunger-free, children learning, and create opportunities for dignified work. In usual times, in-person, non-financial support would have been equally valuable. But today, your support in raising resources will amplify our abilities to deliver on the ground.

Donate for Covid-19 response

For more information, visit: Gram Vikas COVID-19 Response Updates Reach out to us at c19@gramvikas.org

Facebook | LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram

The update can be accessed below

Every year, incessant rainfall during the monsoon causes floods in the state, with North Bihar being the worst affected. Even this year, with the monsoon peaking up, fear of floods is looming over the state and some areas in the region have started witnessing a rise in river water levels.

The rising floodwaters lead to breach of river embankments which causes severe floods in many villages and thousands of people are left homeless. However, this year, along with constantly monitoring all the flood prone areas in the state, the Water Resources Department (WRD), Government of Bihar, has initiated the effort #HelloWRD, in order to tackle floods owing to the river embankment breach. For this, the department is seeking help from local people who can inform the former of any crack or breach in the embankment of their area so that appropriate actions could be taken for the complaints received.

Launch of the campaign

The initiative was first launched on social media. The department has requested the people in the state to reach out to them on Twitter using the #HelloWRD, if they notice any breach in embankment or there is a need of flood fighting work in their area.

As per Sanjay Kumar Jha, Minister of Water Resources Department, Government of Bihar, “the aim of this initiative is to receive complaints with respect to floods, river embankment breach, cracks in embankments or any other issue/s from the people instantly.”

He further said “People can inform the department regarding any issues related to the embankment in their area by posting at Twitter by tagging @WRD_Biharand #HelloWRD, so that authorities could take immediate and appropriate actions.”

Along with posting at Twitter, people can also reach out to the department via Toll Free Helpline Number: 1800-3456-145, which is working 24X7 to take up flood-related complaints from people. An app will also be launched soon through which the complaints can also be made”, he added.

Awadhesh Jha, Public Relations Officer, Disaster Management Department has informed that although the government has taken up several flood-protection works, but, this year, for more participation of people in the efforts to tackle floods, the twitter campaign has been initiated. 

He also said  ”In every zone administration officer, engineers and home guards have been posted. Any embankment-related complaints received on Twitter will be notified to the respective administration officer so that they can look into the matter immediately.” One of the officials from the department has also informed that the appropriate actions would be taken within 4-5 hours of receiving the grievance. 

People's involvement key to success of the campaign

The #HelloWRD was created on June 29 by the WRD Bihar and soon it started receiving updates from the people. Just a day after the campaign was started, a Twitter user informed with an image that the embankment on the Kamla River in Madhubani district could breach which can cause damage in Gopalkha village. He further posted that the breach is an annual event in the area and even this year a leakage can be observed. The same day another user posted that a playground attached to his village, which is part of the Badgaon Panchayat in Saharsa district, has been eroded by the river and the erosion threat looms over a school in the vicinity. This post received an immediate response from the department which assured that an official will soon visit the place and carry out the necessary repair works.  

Another official from the department has also informed that the people who do not have a social media account or are not using a smartphone can use the toll free helpline number which will be working round the clock for registering embankment-related complaints from the people. 

According to India Meteorological Department (IMD), this year Bihar has received 305.9 millimetres rainfall in June which is 82 percent more than normal (167.7 mm). However, the excess rainfall has created flood-like situations in northern districts as some major rivers have started flowing above the danger mark. The rising water level is posing a threat to thousands of people living in low-lying areas. As per Sanjay Kumar, meteorologist at the Patna Meteorological Centre, at least 28 of the 38 districts in the state received large excess rain; seven districts recorded excess rain and three recorded normal rain in June.

Reaching out

To support the Water Resources Department, Government of Bihar and the people of the state, India Water Portal wishes to lend its support by creating awareness about the campaign. Also, if you come across any embankment-related issues in your area, you can inform us via

Email | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Post to us 

We will take your complaints to the department so that necessary actions to combat floods can be taken. While posting your grievance, please do let us know your location to avoid any delays to the repair work.

You can read the article in hindi here. Authored by Umesh Kumar Ray; Translation to English: Swati Bansal

Flood situation in Assam continues to remain grim

A second wave of floods have gripped the state and so far around 16 lakh people have been affected across 22 districts with Barpeta district worst affected. The death toll owing to floods has also climbed up to 34. The floodwaters have submerged nearly 72,717 hectares of croplands and affected 2,053 villages under 60 revenue circles in the flood-hit districts. A total of 12,597 people have taken shelter at 163 relief camps and many others still taking shelter on roads, embankments and other safer places. While the water levels are currently receding, Brahmaputra, Dhansiri, Jia Bharali and Kopili rivers are still flowing above danger level in many parts of the state. (India Today)

Odisha prepares itself to battle floods

As part of its calamity preparedness, the Odisha government has identified 49 vulnerable points in river embankments which could breach in the event of floods during this monsoon. Along with this, the state government has kept in alert 20 OFRAF teams from June 1 to November 30 for any flood in identified vulnerable districts and measures are being taken to set up temporary VHF centres where telecommunication may not be possible during the floods. As the meteorological department has predicted a good monsoon this year, the state has prepared a standard operating procedure if floods take place after July. Also, the state has stored medicines and essential food items at the gram panchayat level and as many as 879 multi-purpose cyclone and flood shelters are being kept in readiness for the possible eventualities. (Outlook India)

Global E-waste Monitor 2020 report informs that the world recycled only 17.4 percent of e-waste

According to the UN-led Global E-waste Monitor 2020 report, the world dumped a record 53.6 million tonnes of e-waste last year and recycled just 17.4 percent of the e-waste. Passing on the message that the way the world produces, consumes and disposes e-waste is unsustainable, the report informed that even countries with a formal e-waste management system in place are confronted with relatively low collection and recycling rates. Further, China, India and the United States together accounted for nearly 38 percent of the world's e-waste last year. China being the biggest contributor to e-waste generated 10.1 million tonnes, followed by the US, with 6.9 million tonnes and India, with 3.2 million tonnes. (NDTV)

Pandemic turns into a boon, helps revive Madakas in Kadoor Panchayat, Udipi

With the water conservation efforts being taken up, the Covid-19 pandemic has turned out to be a boon for Kadoor Panchayat of Udipi district. In Nadoor and Kadoor villages, youth who returned home from Mumbai and Bengaluru following the lockdown, have been involved under MGNREGA for the revival works of five madakas- a traditional rainwater harvesting system. The people who were generally reluctant to work under the scheme have now come forward to take up works related to de-silting and there have been instances of people earning upto Rs 600 per day, informs the panchayat development officer Mahesh K. De-silting of ponds and madakas helps recharge groundwater and so far about 12 madakas and six lakes have been de-silted while a few more have been identified. (The TImes of India)

Chennai: Plastic waste piling-up near rivers posing a hazard to aquatic life

River beds in Chennai are facing the brunt of tonnes of plastic waste piling up near them. This is because the entire state government machinery is busy with the containment of coronavirus spread which has led to no proper clean-up works taking place. Pet bottles, parcel containers, wrappers, plastic bags, disposed face masks and gloves are found at the Adyar river bed and the situation is equally bad near the Cooum and Kovalam river mouths. The situation is going to worsen with the advent of rains as all the accumulated plastic waste in the river mouths will enter the ocean and wreak havoc on marine ecosystems. (The New Indian Express)

This is a roundup of important news published between June 24 - July 7, 2020. Also read policy matters this week.

Draft EIA notification 2020 attracts criticism from experts

In March this year, the Environment Ministry had issued the draft environmental impact assessment (EIA) notification. However, as per the experts, the new draft is non-transparent, undemocratic, unjust and unaccountable as it ensures no monitoring of development projects. Many provisions of the draft EIA Notification 2020 seem to tilt the scales in favour of infrastructure over the environment. The new proposal which will allow retrospective approval for projects that don’t have green clearance, seems to be very damaging, fear experts. The experts call for wide and deep deliberation of the draft notification before it is finalised. (The HIndu, Financial Express)

NGT slaps a fine of Rs 25 crore at Oil India over Baghjan oil well fire incident

In connection to a massive fire which exploded from OIL's Baghjan well, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has ordered the government-owned Oil India Limited (OIL), to deposit an initial amount of Rs. 25 crore with the District Magistrate, Tinsukia District, Assam, for causing damage to the environment, biodiversity, humans, wildlife and public health. Along with this, the bench has also constituted an eight-member Committee to look into the matter and submit its preliminary report within 30 days. While NGT has fined OIl India for causing destruction in the region, another news report has informed that the mixing of condensate with floodwaters in the Maguri-Motapung Beel close to the blowout site has killed fish in large numbers as the floodwaters have turned acidic. (National Herald, The Telegraph India)

Public outcry leads to panchayat refusing to allow mining in Neugal river

Bathan panchayat in Himachal Pradesh were left with no choice but to refuse the issuance of no-objection certificate for the allotment of a part of the Neugal river for mining and setting up a stone crusher after the public outcry. The residents of Thural and Bathan panchayat had lodged a protest over the government’s decision to open a part of the river for mining activities and setting up a stone crusher subject to the issuance of an NoC from the panchayat and local environmental groups. When a special meeting was called to discuss the issue and seek public opinion, the panchayat members unanimously rejected the proposal as it would lead to environmental degradation in the area. (The Tribune)

NGT raps NMCG for failing to save Ganga river from pollutants

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has reprimanded the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) for failing to control pollutants entering Ganga river and other water bodies. As per the panel, NMCG report does not show any meaningful action and merely refers to certain meetings and field visits by the officials of the Ministry of Jal Shakti. Moreover, the report hardly mentions compliance of law and rigorous steps which are expected against law violators when violations are rampant and patent. The NGT has ordered the Central Pollution Control Board and Secretary in the Ministry of Jal Shakti to ensure no pollution is discharged in water bodies and violators are to be dealt with as per mandate of law without any deviation from timelines. (Outlook India)

Tribal protests creates a roadblock for Bodhghat project in Chhattisgarh

In a bid to provide irrigation facilities to farmers in the three Communist Party of India (Maoist)-hit districts of the Bastar region, the Chhattisgarh government had started conducting a survey for the multi-purpose Bodhghat project on the Indravati river. The project, worth Rs 22,000 crore and likely to generate 300 megawatt of hydel power, envisages to construct a dam near Barsoor village in Dantewada district to irrigate 3,66,580 hectares (ha) of farmland in Maoist–affected Dantewada, Bijapur, and Sukma districts. However, the local tribes in the Bastar division stood up against the project due to fears of displacement and deforestation and the project's survey was stalled. Also, the activists have demanded that the project should be approved by state’s tribal advisory committee first because it is being constructed in tribal-dominated areas. (Hindustan Times)

This is a roundup of important policy matters from June 24 - July 7, 2020. Also, read news this week.

Akbarbhai (35), a Maldhari (semi-nomadic cattle herder) is struggling to survive as the lockdown to check the spread of coronavirus has hit demand of dairy products badly and led to prices crashing in Bhuj. He lives in Gandhinagari, an informal settlement in Bhuj that is home to around 30 cattle herders. His joint family of 15 members includes his two brothers and three sisters. Together they rear 60 cows, 17 buffaloes, and 20 goats.

Akbarbhai’s father migrated from the Banni area of Kutch, Asia's largest tropical grassland southwards to Bhuj in 1970. Banni is a vast landscape dominated by small shrubs typical of desert regions, but droughts have led many to migrate with their cattle for greener pastures.

At Bhuj, the cattle rearers were a part of the city’s economy from the pre-independence era and were mostly employed by the king or mahajans (merchants/ tradesman). They resided on the land where they took up rearing activity. Post-independence, these lands came under government control but the cattle rearers continued to dwell on it, though many like Akbarbhai had a set-up in the outskirts of Bhuj.

As per a study by Sahjeevan in 2015, there are around 335 cattle rearers in the city of Bhuj having approximately 6,295 cattle. Many of them have set-up their dairy activities like Akbarbhai, who for the last three years sold milk in the Defence Colony of Airforce in Bhuj. The monthly income generated from the milk sales was good prior to the lockdown. He managed to sell about 120 litres of cow milk and 80 litres of buffalo milk. Two-thirds of the cow milk and half the buffalo was sourced from other cattle rearers.

But with the Defence Colony, trying to restrict the entry of milk sellers to curb the spread of coronavirus, the cattle rearers got affected. The colony people opted for packed milk. Most customers paid charges for milk at the beginning of the month. With the announcement of the lockdown in March-end, Akbarbhai was unable to get payments from over half of his customers. Distribution and sale of milk were exempted from restrictions during this period, yet he saw a drastic fall in sales.

Now, Akbarbhai does door to door delivery of around 50 litres of milk every morning to new customers whose contacts he got through his kin. Part of the milk produced in the evening is sold to neighbours, while the rest is used to make buttermilk and ghee.

Fodder became expensive during lockdown by around fifty percent while earnings from milk had fallen. In normal times, Akbarbhai sold milk worth INR 1,38,000 a month while the expenditure on fodder and other essentials was INR 64,600. During the lockdown months of April and May, his monthly earnings reduced to INR 98,400 while the expenditure on fodder and other essentials was INR 89,600.

To cover these losses, he took a loan of INR 1 lakh at 3 percent monthly interest rate for a period of one year from a moneylender by mortgaging his wife’s jewellery of equivalent value. Otherwise, the interest charged would be a whopping 5 percent a month. The loan agreement says that if Akbarbhai is unable to pay this amount in a year, the moneylender would sell his cattle to recover the principal plus interest. The price of the cattle would be decided by four local cattle rearers. The moneylender would recover his money and return the mortgaged jewellery to Akbarbhai.

This is the plight of most cattle rearers at Bhuj. Though cattle rearing is the oldest profession in Kutch and Bhuj, no specific policy has been framed by the state to protect their livelihoods. Consequently, they are gradually losing their resources like grazing land, water bodies etc. If timely action is not taken to protect the sector, it will be quite difficult for them to survive in future. 

A need assessment of the cattle rearers was done during the lockdown by Homes in the City, which had been working with the group since 2016. They had been instrumental in registering an organisation ‘Bhuj City Cattle Rearers’ Association’, which works on protection of grazing lands, water bodies, milk marketing, fodder, etc.

The need assessment was based on semi-structured interviews with eight cattle rearers and structured interviews with 28 cattle rearers, who are members of the cattle rearers’ association. It suggests the following set of measures:

Short-term measures

• Contact nodal persons in government offices and residential areas where demand for unpacked milk fell during the lockdown. Convince them about the quality of milk and follow requisite standard operating procedures while delivering milk in these areas.
• Engage in dialogues with the representatives of the local dairy (Sarhad dairy) to convince them to collect milk from unregistered milkmen too, till the situation normalises.
• Assist cattle rearers to purchase dry fodder in to reduce costs.
• To deal with decreased grazing lands, Homes in the City can with the help of partner organizations develop a plan to cultivate native grass species, which are healthier for cattle. Helping the cattle rearers’ association with deciding on native grass species, land availability, cultivation practices, maintaining the growth of grass and taking the yield for the cattle, etc., are some key steps in this direction.

Medium-term measures

• Demonstrate a green fodder plot near a water body in grazing area dedicated for cattle, which would be managed by cattle rearers, themselves.
• Construct awadas - huge water pots built of cement and concrete - at two to three prominent places in the city wherein water can be easily supplied from operational municipal water lines.

Long-term measures

• Provide tenure security on public lands where the cattle rearers reside.
• Construct animal hostels for housing the cattle.
• Protect existing water bodies and grazing lands that the cattle rearers have been depending on and ensure their access to these.

Way forward

With changing times and concerns, the return to the pre-Covid scenario is currently quite difficult, especially in India. In the current context, the Indian economy is driven by the ‘new normal’ with many social and ecological rollbacks including dilution of labour laws, environmental laws, human rights violation, loss of rights especially for the poor.

Given the state of discontentment and deficits faced by the marginalised sections of the society prior to Covid-19, the impacts of the pandemic on the informal economy, as evident from the need assessments in the city of Bhuj, would certainly be dramatic, pushing millions back to destitution given the exodus of migrant labour from urban areas, loss of wages, employment and livelihoods, health crisis and starvation.

Albeit this desperate situation, the pandemic has highlighted a multitude of opportunities in understanding these risks for the state as well as civil society organisations. New margins dealing with the impacts of climate change and for urban transformation lie ahead coupled with re-envisioning the existing social and environmental boundaries. This could mean something as simple as connecting to the local people, and giving meaning to ‘the local’ — be it local water, local markets, local food, etc.

In the specific case of cattle rearers, it would mean creating market chain linkages for groups involved in production and supply of perishable items such as milk, vegetables, fruits, etc., in order to protect their livelihoods as well as prevent a food crisis.

#HelloWRD: A social media campaign

Recently, the Water Resources Department launched the #HelloWRD campaign on social media to get information about the breach or erosion in embankments. The campaign calls out to people to inform the department if they notice any embankment breach or crack in their area through social media.

Using drones for surveillance

The Disaster Management Department has decided to monitor the embankments through drones. The officials of the department have informed that monitoring through drones will provide real-time information about the embankments, so that immediate repair works of embankments can be carried out. Along with monitoring the embankments, the drone will be also be utilised to find accurate location of people stranded in floods.

At present, the rescue operations are carried out on the basis of information received from the stranded people, but, as this location is known roughly, the search gets tough sometimes. However, with the help of drones accurate location of the stranded people will be available and they can be recovered immediately and taken to safer places.

District-level authorities informed to use drones

In this regard, Principal Secretary, Disaster Management Department Amrit Pratyay has written a letter to the District Magistrates and Divisional Commissioners of all districts.

In the letter, Amrit Pratyaya writes, "In view of the difficulties encountered during the search and rescue operations in an event like floods or other disasters, need for the use of drones is being felt. When people are stranded in remote areas during floods, there arise difficulties in the evacuation efforts due to unavailability of the exact position of the stranded people. However, with the help of drones, it will be easier to obtain the status of people trapped. Guidelines have already been issued regarding the operation of drones."

According to officials of the Disaster Management Department, the decision to make the use of drones for the aid of people stranded during floods and other disasters was approved in a meeting of the State Executive Committee which was held on June 22. The information regarding the decision has been disseminated to all the authorities at the district-level.

An official associated with the Disaster Management Department told India Water Portal, "At present, in the absence of a flood situation, our officials can reach to any location easily, so use of drones are not required at the moment. But, when the floods will arrive and our reach in the flood-hit areas will get limited, we will be making use of drones."

According to a bulletin issued by the Water Resources Department on the evening of July 8, Kosi River was flowing above the danger mark at Balatra station in Khagaria, but at the remaining flood monitoring stations in Bihar the rivers were flowing below the danger mark.

He further added, "There are 20-25 sensitive places in the entire state, where the breach of embankments are observed every year and severe floods are caused. In such sensitive places, drones will be put to use. ”

State suffers the fury of floods year after year

Floods occur almost every year in Bihar, especially in North Bihar, causing heavy loss of life and property. 76 percent of Bihar is flood prone. Last year, floods affected 88.46 lakh people of 1269 panchayats across 13 districts in the state while causing 130 deaths. Earlier in the 2018 floods, 15 blocks of three districts of Bihar were affected. Moreover, in these 15 blocks, there were 127 villages which were surrounded by flood waters from all four sides. Also, the crop worth Rs 513.65 lakh were completely destroyed in these floods and 23 people died.

Earlier in the year 2017, 214 blocks of 22 districts were hit by floods. In this flood, 815 people lost their lives and 8,57,036 people were taken to relief camps. Crop worth Rs 6,85,87 lakh were destroyed in this flood. Also, in the year 2016, floods had affected villages in 185 blocks in 31 districts and 458 lives were lost.

Experts believe that it is not possible to save crop losses from floods, however, the lives of people, cattle and people's property can be saved to a great extent, provided the information about the breach of embankments or rising water level is received in time and timely action is taken. In this sense, monitoring of embankments and locating stranded people through drones would prove to be an effective solution if implemented appropriately.

Reaching out

To support the Water Resources Department, Government of Bihar and the people of the state, India Water Portal wishes to lend its support by creating awareness about the campaign. Also, if you come across any embankment-related issues in your area, you can inform us via

Email | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Post to us 

We will take your complaints to the department so that necessary actions to combat floods can be taken. While posting your grievance, please do let us know your location to avoid any delays to the repair work.

You can read the article in hindi here. Authored by Umesh Kumar Ray; Translation to English: Swati Bansal

Lead image source: Water Resources Department, Government of Bihar, Twitter handle

Nested amongst the Satprura hills lies Kapoti, a village in the Dindori district of Madhya Pradesh. This region is known as Baiga Chak and is inhabited by Baigas, a vulnerable tribal group. Following a simple lifestyle, Baigas have been a self-provisioning, self-determining and nearly self-sufficient community residing in the resource rich highland forest regions in small hamlets for generations. The dense forest, its flora and fauna and water are the main sources of sustenance for this community. Rice and millets form their staple diet and they supplement it with seeds, grains, roots, leaves and fruits of numerous wild plants, which abound in the forest. 

Across generations, the Baigas have lived in close harmony with nature and relied on natural resources for their sustenance. Protection of nature and natural resources is a way of life and the Baigas take pride in conserving forests, bio-diversity and water resources. 

Things have however, changed in the past few decades. The village elders recall the time when streams flowing in the forests were full of water for most part of the year. Springs, which are a major source of drinking water used to yield freshwater all through the year. Ravnu Singh, an elderly villager recalls how he as a child used to see a number of springs flowing through the village, some of them were even perennial and sufficient to meet the water needs of the villagers. However, all this is changing and they are now grappling to meet the basic requirement of water for its residents. Anthropogenic pressures resulting in loss of forest cover coupled with changes in the micro-climate of the region has impacted the availability of water. Declining water tables and degradation of the catchment have made people vulnerable. The impact of water scarcity has manifested in girls and women spending hours to fetch drinking water, often walking miles to reach the source.  

Speaking of the time spent in collecting water, Sombati Bai says that the whole exercise of fetching water has not only taken away their valuable time, it has also increased their drudgery and physical pain. She adds that the scenario has led to girls in their village either missing school and at times dropping off from school altogether.

While the scarcity of water remains a problem, residents face a double whammy with contamination of water sources, becoming an issue, especially during the rainy months which impacts the health and wellbeing of the communities. Increased incidences of water borne diseases like diarrhoea, cholera and typhoid further accentuate the problems for the villagers.

While handpumps have been installed by the Public Health Engineering Department, the Baigas prefer springs as their preferred source of drinking water, because they feel it tastes better as compared to water from deep aquifers. However, the approach of protecting and conserving springs and their catchment as a preferred source of drinking water has not found many takers within the government. 

In 2017, when WaterAid India began work across 52 villages including Kapoti in 3 blocks of Dindori district in Madhya Pradesh, our approach was to revitalise the springs ensuring year-round availability of drinking water for the Baigas. We realised that the conservation of springs has to be seen as going beyond a drinking water supply programme. It was imperative to link spring shed management with forest conservation, protection of the catchment and community participation. 

Working with communities, gram sabhas, National Institute of Women, Child and Youth Development (NICWYD), a civil society organisation and the district administration, we devised a programme which on one hand worked on repair and renovation and on the other worked on strengthening the local institutions and building awareness on safe handling of water and management of water resources. 

Engaging communities in each and every activity was fundamental to our aim of ensuring water security. We constructed a spring chamber - a square-shaped mini pond like structure at the source of the spring to ensure its protection. A pipeline bought water from this chamber to the filter tank. This system works on the simple principle of gravity. Water from this spring chamber is directed into a three-chambered distribution tank where it is filtered using the slow sand filtration technique. Finally, the filtered water is stored in a tank having a capacity of 9,600 liters from where it supplied to individual stand posts placed in front of every household in the village.

While we were excited with our efforts, we realize that we have a bigger task at hand. For villages like Kapoti nestled in the Central Indian Landscape, springshed management is a way to go if we are to ensure drinking water security for the primitive vulnerable tribal groups. Our efforts going forward will be centered around working with the different departments, district administration, local institutions and communities. Also, learnings from Kapoti clearly underscore the importance of springshed management especially in the hilly areas and this could be an important lesson for stakeholders engaged in the implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission. 

As Bhagwati Bai fill water in her pots, she has a message for us, ‘conserve our natural resources if we have to sustain our future generations, we owe it to them. 

See more pics here.

Amar Prakash is Programme Coordinator at WaterAid India. Email: AmarPrakash@wateraid.org

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of India Water Portal.

Due to incessant rains, many rivers in Bihar are in spate and there is a situation of floods in the state. Meanwhile, the Meteorological Department has forecasted heavy rains for the next two-three days, which may worsen the situation.

Heavy rains predicted

According to a press release issued by the Patna Meteorological Centre, the districts of North Bihar may receive heavy rains. "There is a possibility of heavy rain and thunderstorm in the next 72 hours from July 9 in the adjoining districts of Nepal and North Bihar of the state," the press release said. This may lead to loss of life and property, water logging, obstruction of traffic, disrupted electricity service and rise in the water level of the rivers.

Officials of Patna Meteorological Centre have informed that the rains will mainly impact the lowland areas of Nepal and the North and Central Bihar districts which includes West Champaran, East Champaran, Gopalganj, Siwan, Shivhar, Sitamarhi, Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur, Samastipur, Saran, Madhubani, Supaul, Araria, Saharsa, Madhepura, Purnia, Kishanganj and Katihar.

Rivers above the danger mark

At several flood monitoring stations, Gandak, Bagmati, Kamla, Kosi and Mahanadi rivers are flowing above the danger mark due to heavy rains. The Gandak river is above the danger mark at Dumariaghat gauge station in Gopalganj. Similarly, the Bagmati river has risen above the danger mark at Dhang bridge of Sitamarhi. While the Kamala river is flowing above the danger mark in Madhubani's Jhanjharpur, Jayanagar, in Khagaria, Kosi is flowing above the danger mark.

Considering the heavy rains, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has directed the Water Resources Department, Disaster Management Department as well as the District Magistrates of all the districts to be on high alert.

Water Resources Department Minister Sanjay Kumar Jha said, "In view of the warning of the Meteorological Center, all the engineers have been put on high alert and the situation is being closely monitored at Patna. Local people can also provide information to the government related to flood conditions in their area. ” 

Preparation towards the rescue efforts complete 

In wake of the flood situation due to increasing water level in the rivers, advanced preparations for rescue efforts are going on in many districts. According to officials from the Water Resources Department, there is preparedness to shift the people living in relief camps in case the water level rises in four blocks of Araria district, three blocks of Kishanganj affected by Mahananda river, six blocks of Katihar and Rupauli, Baisa, Bayesi and Amour in Purnia district affected by Kosi river and other low-lying areas .

Apart from this, seven panchayats of Aurai, Katra and Gaighat blocks of Muzaffarpur district, 12 panchayats of three blocks of Sitamarhi district and the population settled in low-lying areas within the river embankment of Shivhar, East and West Champaran will also be shifted elsewhere if the water level rises.

An official from the Water Resources Department said, "The water flow in the Kosi river is low now, but it is continuously increasing. If the water flow in the river exceeds 2 lakh cusecs, then preparations have been made to shift people from 22 Panchayats in five blocks of Supaul, two and a half dozen panchayats of Saharsa and eight panchayats of Madhepura to safer places." 

With water level rising in the Manushmara river in Runnisaidpur in Sitamarhi, flood water has entered half a dozen villages. Due to the heavy rains in the Terai region of Nepal, 1.15 lakh cusecs of water has been released into the Gandak river from Gandak Barrage in Balmikinagar which has led to a critical situation in West Champaran. DM Kundan Kumar has informed that 190 homeguards have been deployed to monitor the embankments. Apart from this, engineers have also been asked to patrol the embankments continuously.

Public cooperation needed

In case you notice any cracks or other problems in the embankments in your area, then call the helpline number 18003456145 and share the information immediately.

You can also report at Twitter by tagging #HelloWRD, @WRD_Bihar (Department of Water Resources). On obtaining the information, the department will immediately inform the officials of the concerned area and prompt action will be taken.

You can also share this information with India Water Portal via

Email | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Post to us

While sharing the information, please share your name, location, mobile number, email and photo. Your personal information will not be made public.

You can read the article in hindi here. Authored by Umesh Kumar Ray; Translation to english by Swati Bansal

Due to intermittent rains in the Terai region of Bihar and Nepal, the water level of Mahananda, Kosi, Kamla and Bagmati rivers of North Bihar is continuously increasing and flood conditions have started to build in the region.

The Bagmati river is flowing above the danger mark at four flood stations at Sitamarhi, one at Muzaffarpur and Shivhar. The water level of the river has been recorded at 70.75 meters at Dhang Bridge flood station in Sitamarhi, which is 0.65 meters above the danger mark. At the Sonakhan flood monitoring station in Sitamarhi, the river is flowing 0.40 meters above the danger mark. On 12 July, the water level here was 1.45 meters above the danger mark. Similarly, in Muzaffarpur and Shivhar, this river is flowing up to one meter above the danger mark.

The Kamla Balan River is above the danger mark at Jhanjharpur (Railpul) and Jayanagar, two flood stations of Madhubani. The river is flowing about 0.70 meters above the danger mark in Jayanagar while 2.75 meters above Jhanjharpur (Railpul). The Mahananda River is flowing above the danger mark in Purnia and Katihar.

Rainfall alert for the next few days

According to a bulletin issued by the Central Water Commission, Balmikinagar has received 91 mm of rain in the last 24 hours while Galgalia has received 161 mm of rain. Similarly, 82 mm rainfall has been received in Beniabad and 103 mm in Jayanagar.

According to the Indian Meteorological Department, the downpour will continue for the next few days and the media reports have further informed that the rainfall in Nepal may continue for next three days, due to which water level of the rivers is expected to increase further.

Sources in the Water Resources Department informed that till Sunday evening, 2,49,795 cusecs of water has been discharged from Kosi barrage, while 2,39,000 cusecs of water has been discharged from Gandak barrage.

An official of the Water Resources Department told that “The rivers are showing an increasing trend in the water level. In view of this, district level officers have been asked to remain alert.”

Flood water enters many villages

Flood waters of the Kosi and Kamala rivers have entered two villages of Ghanshyampur block of Darbhanga district causing food and drinking water crisis. DM of the district Thiagarajan SM has informed that after the water entered into the villages, community kitchens have been started where food is being provided to the people.

The media reports on the other hand revealed that the flood waters have spread to more than 170 villages in Gopalganj district, causing panic among the villagers. Moreover, many villages have even lost contact. While relief materials and relief teams are yet to reach these villages, people are forced to live in the outposts and elevated places in their homes. 

However, Gopalganj DM Arshad Aziz has said that water has not entered the villages outside the river embankment yet.

Aziz told India Water Portal that, "Water has penetrated 15-16 villages within the river embankment, but none of the villages outside the embankment have been impacted. 300-400 people have been evacuated from these villages and sent to relief camps. They are being provided with all kinds of facilities. A lot of people are still in the villages, but they do not want to leave their places. We have given them a boat. The situation is being monitored."

Flood waters have also entered some villages situated within the embankment of Kamala Balan river of Madhubani.

Lal Mohan Jha, the head of Kothiya panchayat of Jhanjharpur block of Madhubani told India Water Portal, “The water level of the river is continuously increasing and if it rises further, then water will enter my panchayat. Right now, it is yet to reach the panchayat."

In Kishanganj district of Bihar’s Seemanchal, flood water has entered many villages. A resident of Bahadurganj block of Kishanganj has sent a video about how water has entered his village and people have taken shelter in the school with essential goods and cattle. Another local person has given a video message that flood water has entered the village of Singhibari and is passing through the road, due to which people are facing problems.

BDO Zulfikar Adil of Bahadurganj said that water had entered some houses along the banks of the river, but it has receded now. At present, no village is affected by the flood water.

Locals extend help

Several panchayats of Barsoi block in Katihar district have been flooded for the last two weeks, but they are not getting any help from the government. These villages are located on the banks of the Mahananda river. According to the local people, flood water has entered the houses and people have taken shelter at the outpost and other elevated places. While the flood-affected people are looking desperately for help, some locals are extending their support to them. Among them is Sohail Akhtar, who has also come forward for people's aid and providing food and drinking water to the flood-hit people. 

He told India Water Portal, “Along with cooked rice, we are also delivering citrus fruits to the people. Since the Covid-19 epidemic has spread, citrus fruits will double benefit them.” 

Sohail Akhtar is studying at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences. He informed that after seeing the people trapped in floods he made up his mind to help them and even his family, teachers and friends are also engaged in this work. Akhtar has so far delivered relief material to the affected people of three panchayats and will soon provide relief to five more panchayats.

He has informed that, "We had given shelter to three families in our house as their houses were devastated in the floods."

Your cooperation

In case you notice any cracks or other problems in the embankments in your area, then call the helpline number 18003456145 and share the information immediately.

You can also report at Twitter by tagging #HelloWRD, @WRD_Bihar (Department of Water Resources). On obtaining the information, the department will immediately inform the officials of the concerned area and prompt action will be taken.

You can also share this information with India Water Portal via

Email | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Post to us

While sharing the information, please share your name, location, mobile number, email and photo. Your personal information will not be made public.

You can read the article in hindi here. Authored by Umesh Kumar Ray; Translation to english by Swati Bansal

The annual floods that wreak havoc in Bihar have almost knocked the state even this year as well. So far, the flood waters have entered 150 panchayats of 30 blocks across eight districts, namely Sitamarhi, Shivhar, Supaul, Kishanganj, Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur, Gopalganj and East Champaran  .

An official of Bihar's Disaster Management Department said,

“As per the estimation till now, 2 lakh 88 thousand people have been affected by the floods. Of these, 9,845 people have been evacuated and sent to relief camps.”

However, in comparison to the affected poppulation, the relief camps are being operated less. According to the Disaster Management Department, at present only five relief camps are being run, out of which two are in Darbhanga and three are in Gopalganj. 2081 people are staying in these relief camps and according to government data, 28 community kitchens are being operated for those living in the camps.

Not a single relief camp in Supaul and Sitamarhi

According to the information received from the Disaster Management Department, every year Kosi river affects 53,223 people from 5 blocks of Supaul district. Despite this, not a single relief camp is being operated in Supaul.

When India Water Portal spoke to Supaul DM Mahendra Kumar in this regard, he said,

“The population that has been affected is living within the Kosi embankment. Earlier, 2 lakh 76 thousand cusecs of water was being discharged in Kosi, which has been reduced to 1 lakh 40 thousand cusecs. Moreover, the water level of the river is decreasing and the water has even receded from people's homes. So there was no need to set up a relief camp."

He adds,

“Right now, two community kitchens are operating in Supaul, where people are getting food, but with water levels receding, the people are returning to their homes and are not coming to eat the food. So, we are going to close both the kitchens soon.”

Another Supaul official said that, a relief camp was operated till July 13, in which 400 people were staying. 

However, the flood-affected people and NGOs working there have raised questions over the government arrangements. As per the locals, flood waters have been rising for the last one week, but there has been no help from the government. When water entered the houses, the government should have provided at least dry ration, but nothing was found. 

Mahendra Yadav, associated with the Kosi Navnirman Manch, said, “For two days, houses of the locals remained inundated in flood waters and during this time people had to take shelter on the embankment. Some moved to their relatives place, but no relief camps were set up by the government. Even the community kitchens were not started for the people taking shelter at the embankment.” 

Even in Sitamarhi district, 30,900 people from 5 blocks have been affected by the floods, but no relief camp is operating here.

Looking at the figures of the flood affected people; the situation is getting worsened day by day. Moreover, according to the data received from the Disaster Management Department, on July 13, 23 blocks in seven districts of Bihar were hit by floods and 1,68,668 people were affected, which has now increased to 2.88 lakh.

On the other hand, due to spillage in Bagmati river, a temporary coffer dam in Piphari block of Shivhar district was broken, following which a new dam was constructed so that flood waters would not spread to the villages. Sanjay Jha, Minister of Water Resources Department of Bihar, posted on twitter that the 36 meter long dam was constructed in just 36 hours.

In Kewati of Darbhanga, the spillage in Bagmati river has caused an embankment breach near the railway line which has led to the spread of flood waters in the village.

Status of rivers

For the last two-three days, the state is not experiencing any rainfall as against the forecast of the Indian Meteorological Department; however, the water levels in the river is showing an increasing trend due to rains in the Terai areas of Nepal.

According to the Water Resources Department, although the Budhi Gandak is flowing below the danger mark, its water level is increasing in Samastipur, Khagaria and Muzaffarpur. Similarly, the Kamala Balan river is flowing below the danger mark in Madhubani's Jayanagar, but an increase in its water level is being observed. This river is flowing 0.85 meters above the danger mark in Jhanjharpur of Madhubani. The Ghaghra river has reached the danger mark at Darauli in Siwan.

The river Khiroi is flowing above the danger mark at Kamatoul and Ekamighat in Darbhanga. Likewise, the Bagmati river is also above the danger mark in Katounjha and Beniabad of Muzaffarpur. The Adhwara river is flowing above the danger mark at Sundarpur and Pupri in Sitamarhi. Although, the Ganga river is flowing below the danger mark, but its water level is continuously on the rise in Kahalgaon and Bhagalpur of Bhagalpur, Hathidah and Munger in Patna.

The Indian Meteorological Department has predicted rains in some areas of Nepal and North Bihar till July 20.

Your cooperation

In case you notice any cracks or other problems in the embankments in your area, then call the helpline number 18003456145 and share the information immediately.

You can also report at Twitter by tagging #HelloWRD, @WRD_Bihar (Department of Water Resources). On obtaining the information, the department will immediately inform the officials of the concerned area and prompt action will be taken.

You can also share this information with India Water Portal via

Email | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Post to us

While sharing the information, please share your name, location, mobile number, email and photo. Your personal information will not be made public.

You can read the article in hindi here. Authored by Umesh Kumar Ray; Translation to english by Swati Bansal

Flood batters three northeast states, Assam worst affected

According to the Assam State Disaster Management Authority, over 24.19 lakh people from 2,323 villages and localities across 24 districts are reeling under the flood, with the death toll rising to 87 in the state. Major rivers such as Brahmaputra, Dhansiri, Jia Bharali, Kopili, Gaurang, Kushiyara and Sankosh were flowing above the danger level at several places. The situation is no better in Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya. According to official sources, five people lost their lives in Meghalaya while an estimated one lakh others were affected. The floods have also created havoc in Kaziranga National park, where 116 animals including 11 rhinos, have died due to drowning and vehicle hits. As per the administration, NDRF has positioned 122 teams across the country to tackle the flood and heavy rain situation. (The New Indian Express)

Bridge collapses, embankments breach during floods in Bihar

A small bridge that connected Gopalgang to Chhapra and other districts was washed away by a swollen Gandak river last week. The bridge, worth Rs 264 crore, was constructed in eight years and collapsed in 29 days of its inauguration. As per engineers, the collapse could be attributed to either not taking into account the levels of rise in Gandak river during floods or the poor quality of work. Similarly, an embankment built on the Bagmati river for the construction of a dam at the Belwa area of Piprahi in the Sheohar district was damaged due to heavy water pressure. (The Print, Livemint)

Crop cultivation to get a boost this year, thanks to excess rains and return of migrants

As per the Indian Meteorology Department (IMD) data, the South-west monsoon brought excess rain to all states except Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Tripura, Mizoram and the four hill districts of Karnataka. As 88 percent of sowing is already completed in the country, the agricultural experts believe that on-time rain, hike in Minimum Support Price (MSP) and the return of millions of people to their villages due to lockdown are the main reasons behind this. While sowing of paddy sees a boost, the sowing of pulses and millets have also increased from last year. Along with this, the overall sowing has so far been done across 432.97 lakh hectare of agricultural land as against 202 lakh hectare, last year. (News 18)

Gujarat government approves signing of MoU for four aerodromes

The Gujarat cabinet has given its approval to enter into a tri-party agreement for the construction of four water aerodromes under the regional connectivity scheme. The MoU will be signed by the Gujarat government, Union Ministry of Civil Aviation and Airports Authority of India. The latter will be the implementing agency that will guide the government in formulating the design. The proposed aerodromes are expected to come up at the Sabarmati riverfront in Ahmedabad, Sardar Sarovar dam at Kevadia in Narmada district, Shetrunji dam at Palitana in Bhavnagar district and Dhaori dam in Mehsana district. (Outlook India)

Haryana asked to preserve water bodies and stop effluent flow in Western Jamuna Canal

With an aim to ensure improvement in recharge mechanism, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed Haryana to revive, preserve, conserve and protect all water bodies in the state. The direction has come following the petition filed that challenged an earlier order to panchayats in Kurukshetra for replacement of paddy by other crops for checking groundwater depletion. In another order, the Irrigation and Water Resources Department has sent notices to four departments asking them to stop the flow of domestic effluents into Western Jamuna Canal (WJC). Domestic effluents, including sewage and water from sewage treatment plants (STPs), villages and urban areas in the district are dumped into the WJC at 21 places. (The Tribune)

This is a roundup of important news published between July 8 - 20, 2020. Also read policy matters this week.

Flood waters inundated the house of Ramchandra Yadav, a resident of Khoknaha village of Supaul, for three days. During these days he cooked food by setting up a brigade on the outpost and spent nights at the same post.

"The water level of the Kosi river was continuously rising, but there was no way to get out, so we decided to stay at home and made arrangements for cooking on the chowkis", Ramachandra informed.

For so many years, people living inside the Kosi embankment cook food using this jugaad as they are aware that no government help will be provided to them. Even this year, the story is no different. Despite the flood waters inundating people's houses, neither the government help nor any rescue boat reached for their aid and as a result, they had to spend three days within the flooded homes.

Ramachandra told India Water Portal,

“People living inside the Kosi embankment get little or no government help that is why we have been doing this jugaad for years during the flood season. After applying a thick coat of clay on the chowkis, it is covered with a sheet of tin on which food is cooked. A black stain, which appears due to cooking, is found on the chowkis of every house inside the embankment."

Every house built within the embankment has two to four chowkis so that the essential items can be saved from water at the time of floods and these chowkis also forms the place where people resort to when hit with floods.

Ramachandra says,

"In the past few days, the water level was somewhat low, but due to continuous rain it has started rising again and the danger of flooding looms once again."

This story is not just about Ramchandra. So far, 3,50,378 people have been affected by the floods in Bihar and almost everyone's story is the same in the region.

An official of the Disaster Management Department informed that 190 panchayats across eight districts of Bihar have been affected by the floods so far and 3,50,378 people have come under its impact. Out of these 13,535 people have been evacuated and sent to relief camps.

Several villages in Saharsa district were waterlogged in the past. However, when the rain stopped for some days, the water level got under control, but as the rains have started again, people are getting scared.

Chandraprabha Devi, the head of Aina Panchayat of Saharsa told India Water Portal,

“In the past few days, water had entered several houses, then it receded slowly, but now there is a possibility of flooding again.”

Last week of July experienced heavy rainfall

The districts of North Bihar have received heavy rainfall around July 21.  According to the Indian Meteorological Department, Ramnagar and Chanpatia in West Champaran have recorded 290 mm of rainfall, while Jhanjharpur in Madhubani received 220 mm of rains on July 21. Similarly, 220 mm rainfall has been received in Sursand in Sitamarhi and 210 mm in Shivhar.

Anand Shankar, director in-charge of India Meteorological Department Patna, said, “The monsoon trough is moving towards Himalaya via Uttar Pradesh and Bhagalpur, which is causing heavy rains in North Bihar districts. He also said that the rains may continue in the same manner for the next 48 hours and thereafter it will decrease." 

Minister of Water Resources Department Sanjay Jha said,

“Heavy rains have increased the river water level in many parts and we are closely monitoring the water level of various rivers.”

The heavy rains on July 21 that continued for 24 hours considerably increased the water levels of Bagmati and Lakhandei rivers which caused inundation in many villages of Aurai, Katra and Gaighat blocks of Muzaffarpur. Nearly ten Chachari bridges made of bamboo have been damaged in the district, leading to traffic troubles in the areas. 

About 41 thousand people have been affected by floods in Darbhanga. The flood water has entered 32 panchayats in the region. Similarly, in East Champaran, Sitamarhi, Gopalganj, Kishanganj etc., dozens of villages have been flooded due to the rising water level in the rivers.

Water discharge increased in Kosi and Gandak

On July 21, 3,35,425 cusecs of water was discharged from the Kosi Barrage. According to the officials from the Disaster Management Department, the water level in Kosi is continuously increasing. Moreover, 2 lakh 57 cusecs of water was discharged from the Kosi barrage on July 19 which implies that in total 60 thousand cusecs of water has been discharged from the river and there is a rapid rise in the river water flow. 

The water level in Gandak is also rising constantly. At 6 am on July 21, 4,08,000 cusecs of water was discharged from Gandak Barrage, which increased to 4,36,500 cusecs at 10 am.

According to the Central Water Commission, the Mahananda River at Dhengraghat in Purnia is flowing above the danger mark while at Chargharia in Kishanganj it has almost touched the danger mark. The Gandak River has also touched the danger mark at Banka's Triveni. In Chitwan district, Nepal, the river is flowing 1.47 meters above the danger mark at Devghat. Similarly, the Adhwara River is flowing above the danger mark in Saharghat in West Champaran and its water level is continuously on the rise. The Kanakai River, a tributary of Mahananda, is flowing 1.7 meters above the danger mark at Naimchuli in Ilam, Nepal.

In view of heavy rains, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has instructed the district authorities to remain alert. He has ordered that action should be taken to evacuate people living in Gandak's catchment areas and also in the low-lying region. He has also given directions to provide masks to people and ensure social distancing norms are being followed in the relief camps.

Meanwhile, the Water Resources Department is receiving complaints of cracks, erosion in river embankments. On July 21 itself, half a dozen such complaints were received within 24 hours. In Parsauni village of Gopalganj, there was a complaint of erosion in the dam, which was repaired immediately.

A complaint of leakage was also received in Saran embankment in Saran district and immediate action was taken. An official from the Water Resources Department informed,

“The leakage was reported from the embankment at Tapua village in Bhagalpur, which was passed on to the local authorities and the repair work was carried out immediately. A similar complaint was also received regarding the embankment of Kamala Balan River. It has also been repaired.

Your cooperation

In case you notice any cracks or other problems in the embankments in your area, then call the helpline number 18003456145 and share the information immediately.

You can also report on Twitter by tagging #HelloWRD, @WRD_Bihar (Department of Water Resources). On obtaining the information, the department will immediately inform the officials of the concerned area and prompt action will be taken.

You can also share this information with India Water Portal via

Email | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Post to us

While sharing the information, please share your name, location, mobile number, email and photo. Your personal information will not be made public.

You can read the article in Hindi here. Authored by Umesh Kumar Ray; Translation to English by Swati Bansal

Flood havoc continues to increase in Bihar. Until recently, the effect of flood was only in eight districts across the state but now it has spread to ten districts.

According to the latest data by the Disaster Management Department, floodwater has inundated 426 panchayats in ten districts and affected 7,65,191 people and only 28 relief camps are operational for the affected population. Moreover, only a few people are staying at these camps and a large section of the flood-hit people are still engulfed in floodwaters, but no government help has reached them. However, as per the government claims relief material is reaching the affected.

An official from the Disaster Management Department has informed that "21 teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) are deployed to rescue the affected and eight relief camps are running in East Champaran, 12 in Gopalganj and five in West Champaran."

3.26 lakh people affected in Darbhanga alone

With 3,26,344 people hit by floods, Darbhanga is the worst affected but surprisingly not a single relief camp is operational here. However, according to the government data, 122 community kitchens are running in the region while two teams of NDRF and SDRF are deployed.

The floodwater has spread to 98 panchayats across 11 blocks in the region. Locals have alleged that neither the government aid nor adequate rescue boats have been provided to the affected panchayats.

A pregnant woman Rukhsana Parveen, who resided in Asraha village in Kewati block of the district, suddenly had a stomach ache. The village has been engulfed in floodwaters from the past few days and there was no boat for her rescue. Taking note of the woman's plight, the villagers built a boat using a tyre tube and wooden planks and she was taken to the hospital.

The relatives of the pregnant woman told that there was a dearth of help from the government, so the locals made a boat from the tube and then the woman was taken to the hospital. 

Her mother said, “There is a lot of trouble. Water has reached the courtyard of our house. The villagers prepared a boat out of the tube; otherwise, I could not have brought my daughter to the hospital.”

Sahil Abbas, a local youth in the village, who made the temporary boat, said, "We had to make the boat out of a tube, as only one rescue boat has been provided for the entire panchayat, which is inadequate for such a large population."

Village head Sajira Parveen told India Water Portal,

"Pregnant woman is disabled. When she got the pain, her father called me. We collected three to four boys from the village and built the jugaad boat and sent her to the hospital.”

She said, “In my panchayat, floodwater has inundated nearly 700 houses and in the last 24 hours, there has been a rise in the water level. The situation is critical. There is an embankment in the panchayat, which if breached, will lead to the inundation of another 400-500 houses. Therefore, we have engaged ourselves in embankment protection works."

Thyagarajan SM, District Magistrate (DM) of Darbhanga visited the panchayat two days ago. According to the villagers, the DM has promised to deposit Rs. 6000 rupees in the bank accounts of the affected families within a week.

Sajira Parveen says,

“There are four community kitchens in the panchayat where food is prepared and we distribute it among the affected families. People whose houses are on high platform and multi-storeyed have given shelter to the flood victims in their houses. Some people have also been sent in madarsas."

A district-level official said, “Along with deploying the team of SDRF for the panchayat, tarpaulin has also been distributed among the affected families.”

On the other hand, floods have also entered the Lalunagar Mahadalit township of Sadar block in Darbhanga, forcing people to move out of their house and search for shelter. Their houses are filled with water up to three feet and they are living on roadside taking the shelter of plastic hangings, but no help from the government has reached them, alleged the flood affected.

Forced to stay in flood waters for four days

Kudhani village in Turki block of Muzaffarpur district has been flooded for the last four days, but the government is not even aware of it. A resident of the village Kudhani, Kishan Sahni, who has resorted to chowki in his house for safety, told India Water Portal,

“There are 65 houses in the village and all the houses have been inundated for four days. Out of these only 4-5 are pucca houses while the rest are mud houses and no one knows when they will fall. Even in such a scenario, there is no help from the government, so the people are forced to live in their homes by risking their lives. ”

He further said, “The canal, which is connected to the Gandak River, has been filled with the river water and flooded the village. Earlier, it was in the year 2007, that the water entered the village. "

“We are in a lot of trouble. Most of the houses here do not have toilets and people have to go far enough with clothes open and they defecate only when they find an empty space. The government has not even provided any rescue boats to the affected village,” Sahni added.

He told us that there is a school one kilometre away. But, due to the fear of coronavirus, people are afraid to visit the school. Moreover, there is no arrangement from the government in the school.

Kishan Sahni informed that "We are spending all day sitting at the chowkis."

Floodwaters have entered 63 panchayats of nine blocks in Muzaffarpur. According to the data from the Disaster Management Department, there is not a single relief camp here, but two teams of NDRF and SDRF has been deployed.

India Water Portal tried to contact DM Chandra Shekhar Singh of Muzaffarpur district, but could not get through him. Following this, BDO of Kudhni block was contacted who asked us to get in touch with the Circle Officer. However, we were not able to get connected to the Officer. 

Birju Sahni, the ward member of five number ward of Kudhani village told India Water Portal,

“The water is constantly rising, but there is no help. We also met the Circle Officer and requested him to help us. He replied that the water has entered the animal sheds only and has not reached the houses yet. If the officials visit the village, then they will get to know where the water has entered. ”

Rivers are on the rise

The water level of the rivers is constantly rising in the state amidst the dangers of spreading flood. According to the information received by the Central Water Commission, Kamala, Kosi, Mahananda, Gandak, Budhi Gandak and Bagmati are flowing above the danger mark in many gauge stations and their water level is rising.

The Kamala River is flowing above the danger mark at Jayanangar, Jhanjharpur and Jhanjharpur (Railpul) of Madhubani. At the same time, while the Gandak River is above the danger mark at Dumriabandh of Gopalganj and Rewaghat of Muzaffarpur, Budhi Gandak is also above the danger mark at East Champaran, Muzaffarpur and at the two gauge stations Samastipur and Rosda in Samastipur.

The Bagmati/ Adhwara River is flowing above the danger mark at three gauge stations at Sitamarhi, one each at Shivhar and Muzaffarpur and at three gauge stations of Darbhanga.

Here, the river water discharge has also increased. On July 24 morning, 1,68,835 cusecs of water was discharged from Kosi barrage while two lakh eighteen thousand (2,18,000) cusecs of water was discharged from Gandak barrage.

Due to the huge flow of water, there are some reports of roads breaking down in the region. The connectivity path of Jadopur-Mangalpur Mahasetu connecting Gopalganj to Bettiah has been broken, affecting the movement. Similarly, 100 feet of a road connecting several villages in Madhubani was broken, causing trouble to people. A road in Bishanpur has also been damaged by the flood water.

Your cooperation

In case you notice any cracks or other problems in the embankments in your area, then call the helpline number 18003456145 and share the information immediately.

You can also report on Twitter by tagging #HelloWRD, @WRD_Bihar (Department of Water Resources). On obtaining the information, the department will immediately inform the officials of the concerned area and prompt action will be taken.

You can also share this information with India Water Portal via

Email | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Post to us

While sharing the information, please share your name, location, mobile number, email and photo. Your personal information will not be made public.

You can read the article in Hindi here. Authored by Umesh Kumar Ray; Translation to English by Swati Bansal

Two weeks ago, the Kanakai River flowing through Kishanganj rendered dozens of families homeless. While the people in the region are staying under plastic sheds, the government has turned a blind eye to their plight.

Mohammadin is also one of them. He tells the India Water Portal,

“I have a family of 20 members, including women. We were living here for 10 years but from past three weeks, we have been living in a polythene shed.”

"Where will we go in the floods?", he asks." We are surviving on food and water provided by people in the vicinity. However, we have not yet received any substantial help from the government." 

Mohammadin received two and a half kilograms of flattened rice, one kilogram of gram and half a kilogram of sugar two weeks ago from the government, a very meagre amount considering that he has a family of twenty people to feed. Mohammadin feels that the government should arrange for a house for them. He says

"We want the government to at least give us land to build houses, so that there is a permanent roof over our heads."

Mohammadin lives in Satmeri village in Bahadurganj block of Kishanganj where about 40 houses are completely submerged while the rest are filled with knee-deep water. People have moved to dry places or to their kin with goods and furnishings.

Local Public Representative Shahbir Alam who lost his house in the flood informs that he notified the local administration of his loss. They conducted a survey, but all he received was polythene, flattened rice, gram and sugar. No one came to see their condition.

He says, "Most of the people living here are poor. After the destruction of their houses, some families have taken shelter in other people's houses, while some are living in the open by setting up polythene sheds. The houses on the other side are now facing the threat of erosion and the threat of submergence due to the swelling river”, he adds. "

56.63 lakh people affected by floods, 13 dead

The flood situation is worsening day by day. Thousands of people have lost their homes in the floods amidst the government claims of flood protection measures undertaken. An official from the Disaster Management Department who is monitoring the flood situation says, "So far, 56,53,704 people have been affected by the floods and the flood has now spread to 14 districts. Seven people have lost their lives in Darbhanga, two in Muzaffarpur and four in West Champaran due to drowning in flood waters. ”

According to data received from the Disaster Management Department, 18.61 lakh people in 199 panchayats of 15 blocks have been hit by floods, with Darbhanga being the worse affected. Following Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur is the most affected as the flood waters have entered into 213 panchayats of 13 blocks, impacting 12.98 lakh people.

However, out of 56.53 lakh people affected by the floods, only 4,18,490 people have been evacuated so far. The rest have been forced to live by the roadside or on the embankments under polythene sheds waiting for the flood waters to recede. Despite the impact of floods in 14 districts, relief camps have been set up in only four districts-- Gopalganj, Khagaria, East Champaran and Samastipur. A total of 19 relief camps have been set up covering all the four districts, in which only 17,554 people are living.

An official associated with the Disaster Management Department informs that many of the affected people do not want to leave their homes while there are many others who have returned after waters have receded from their houses. Thus, the number of operational relief camps have been less, but as high as 1358 community kitchens have been running in the affected districts where 9,43,293 people are being fed daily.

An officer from Darbhanga district says,

“The district has been flooded due to Adhawara Samuh and Kamala Balan River. Two teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and a team of State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) have been deployed in the district, and are keeping a close watch on the situation.”

Rivers flowing above the danger mark

Rivers continue to flow above the danger mark at more than a dozen gauge stations and floods are expected to spread to more areas. Officials of the Water Resources Department inform that the Gandak River is flowing 1.12 meters above the danger mark at Dumariaghat gauge station in Gopalganj while the Budhi Gandak is flowing above the danger mark at the gauge stations of East Champaran, Muzaffarpur, Samastipur and Khagaria. In the Rosda gauge station of Samastipur, this river is flowing about four meters above the danger mark. Similarly, at the two gauge stations of Bagmati / Adhwara river in Sitamarhi and three gauge stations of Darbhanga the water levels are above the danger mark. The Kamla River is also flowing above the danger mark at Madhubani's three gauge stations Jayanagar, Jhanjharpur Railpul and Jhanjharpur. The Kosi River has risen above the danger mark at Balatara in Khagaria and Kursela in Katihar. Like Kosi, the Mahananda River is also flowing above the danger mark in Purnia and Katihar.

Leakages and breach of embankment continue to occur. Recently, an embankment broke in Darbhanga district, causing panic in the surrounding villages. In two weeks, the embankments breached at seven places in the district's Kewati block. According to locals, the embankment broke at Gopalpur on 19 July, Madhopatti on 24 July and Karjapatti on 31 July. Locals proactively informed the administration about the situation. 

Kishore Kumar Jha, the head of Karjapatti told the India Water Portal, “We received  news of embankment breach around 11 pm on 31 July. As soon as the news was received, people of the village reached the spot and tried to repair the embankment on their own. We also informed the administration, who arrived and repaired the embankment.” He further said that owing to the embankment breach many houses in the village got inundated.

Due to heavy rains, the Gandak River embankments in Gopalganj and East Champaran also broke, which have been repaired. The Sirisia-Sironia embankment in Samastipur district was also damaged due to the rising river water. However, the Samastipur officials informed that the broken embankment has been repaired.

Along with this, the embankment at Bagmati breached at three places in Muzaffarpur on Monday. DM of the district Chandrashekhar Singh has ordered an inquiry into the breach of the embankment. He said that the surveillance on the embankment has been increased and that the possibility of deliberately damaging the embankment cannot be ruled out, so an inquiry has been ordered.

Your cooperation

In case you notice any cracks or other problems in the embankments in your area, then call the helpline number 18003456145 and share the information immediately.

You can also report on Twitter by tagging #HelloWRD, @WRD_Bihar (Department of Water Resources). On obtaining the information, the department will immediately inform the officials of the concerned area and prompt action will be taken.

You can also share this information with India Water Portal via

Email | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Post to us

While sharing the information, please share your name, location, mobile number, email and photo. Your personal information will not be made public.

You can read the article in Hindi here. Authored by Umesh Kumar Ray; Translation to English by Swati Bansal

Groundwater fulfills the drinking water requirements of nearly 85% and 50% of the rural and urban Indian population, respectively. 65% of the total irrigated area utilizes groundwater. It also caters to the water needs of the industrial sector in India. However, this intensive and unregulated extraction and utilization of groundwater has led to a sharp and severe decline in the groundwater levels. To arrest the decline in groundwater levels, Atal Bhujal Yojana or Atal Jal - perhaps India’s largest community-led groundwater management program to date - was launched in December 2019. 

It will be implemented across 8353 Gram Panchayats across 7 States of India i.e. Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh, and the selection of blocks was done using a challenge method. The program is based on PforR model (Program for Results) which drives the fund allocation under the program. Of the total 6000 crores allocated to the program (with 50% share of the World Bank), Atal Jal is designed to disburse funds to States only after they are able to demonstrate achievement of results on the ground using reliable data against predefined indicators called Disbursement Linked Indicators or DLIs. There are five DLIs in the program. 

Atal Bhujal Yojana: Overview

Atal Bhujal Yojana: Roles and responsibilities

   Atal Bhujal Yojana: Capacity building 

Atal Bhujal Yojana: Districts and blocks

Detailed program guidelines are available on the Ministry of Jal Shakti website.

Acknowledgments: To the participants of Programme in Rural Management (PRM), Batch 40 of the Institute of Rural Management, Anand (IRMA) for their help in simplifying the guidelines.

National Water Mission’s (NWM) has launched a campaign ‘Catch the rain’ on a pan India basis to nudge the states and stakeholders to create appropriate rainwater harvesting structures (RWHS) suitable to the climatic conditions and sub-soil strata before the onset of monsoon.

The campaign launched in February 2020 with the tagline ‘Catch the rain, where it falls, when it falls’ aims to promote the construction of check dams, water harvesting pits, rooftop RWHS etc. Efforts are on to remove encroachments and desilt tanks to increase their storage capacity; remove obstructions in the channels which bring water to them from the catchment areas etc.; repair step-wells and use defunct borewells and unused wells to recharge water back to aquifers.

The campaign aims to complete the activities well in time through the active participation of people. To facilitate the activities, states have been requested to open ‘Raincenters’ in each district - in Collectorates/Municipalities or Gram Panchayats offices.

During this period, these ‘Raincenters’ will have a dedicated mobile phone number and will be manned by an engineer or a person well trained in RWHS. The center acts as a technical guidance center to all in the district as to how to catch the rain, as it falls, where it falls.

Efforts are being made to ensure that all buildings in the district have rooftop RWHS and most of the rainwater falling in any compound is impounded in it. The basic aim is to allow only limited amount of water to flow out of the compound. This will help in improving soil moisture and in raising the groundwater table. In urban areas, it will reduce water gushing onto roads, damaging them and will prevent urban flooding.

Under the ‘Catch the rain’ initiative, all water bodies in the districts are to be enumerated (checked with revenue records) and encroachments are to be removed.

All District Collectors, heads of institutions like Indian Institute Management, Indian Institute of Technology, Central Universities, Private Universities, Railways, Airport Authority, PSUs, Central Armed Police Force etc., having large tracts of lands with them have been requested to take steps to ‘Catch the rain’.

In order to sensitize various stakeholders such as industries/corporates for active participation in this campaign to initiate water conservation activities, the National Water Mission has collaborated with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) to take forward the campaign. FICCI has a well-established water division which is actively working in the water sector since long and its water mission of promoting water stewardship is aligned with the National Water Mission.

FICCI also aims to bring different corporate experiences around water harvesting and water conservation measures in order to share good practices that corporates have embarked on and for others to carry messages in terms of how they could implement similar initiatives.

Jal Pay Charcha

Four webinars were held by the National Water Mission in collaboration with the FICCI in July 2020. The series of webinars was initiated with introduction to the ‘Catch the rain’ campaign in the first webinar which dealt with ‘infrastructure preparedness and awareness generation’. Thereafter, in the second and third webinar, subjects like ‘groundwater recharge and aquifer management’ and ‘3Rs of water conservation – reduce, reuse and recycle’ were taken up. The fourth webinar was held on ‘increasing water use efficiency in agriculture sector’ with the theme ‘sahi fasal’. 

The speakers and panelists in the webinars included Ms. Naina Lal Kidwai, Chairman, FICCI Water Mission; Ms. Sangeeta Thakral, Head CSR & Sustainability, Diageo India; Shri S Vishwanath, Advisor, Biome Environmental Trust; Prof. A.K. Gosain, IIT Delhi and various champions of water intensive industries.

Water security

Groundwater extraction in India far exceeds that in countries such as China and USA, and therefore, replenishing the groundwater is crucial. As irrigation is the highest consumer of groundwater, there is a need to focus on ‘sahi fasal’ to nudge the states to use appropriate crops based on agro-climatic conditions. A 10 percent water use reduction in agriculture could result in significant saving of water and therefore, water use efficiency is critical to water conservation.

There is a need of working closely with local governance institutions for successful implementation of mass water replenishment as well as a conservation project which includes restoration of ponds, construction of check dams, borewells, door to door connection, and installation of water ATM etc.

The issuing of byelaws for water harvesting at city, state and at water utility level and the access to rainfall data at watershed, sub-watersheds and sub-aquifers level plays a critical role in implementing water harvesting initiatives. For example, in the state of Karnataka, byelaws for rainwater harvesting have been made at the three governance levels - state authority, water utility, and city corporation and are well synchronized.

There is also a need to redefine stormwater drain systems to infiltrate rainwater into the ground. Recharge wells need to be created in the stormwater drains and all the water from the pavement can flow into the drain and get filtered, and percolate into the ground. It also provides livelihood and employment opportunities to the various communities who have been digging wells over centuries.

Some leading corporates (such as Diageo) have water stewardship programmes as part of their corporate social responsibility work. They are working on various interventions such as water for productive use, improving irrigation practices, creating water recharge structures across different states, integrated water management programme, and replenishment projects (like RWH, pond desiltation, water storage ponds).

As a part of this, they are engaging with NGOs, Gram Panchayats, village watershed committees, and are handing over the structures created to the Gram Panchayats to ensure sustainability of the water stewardship programmes.

The key learning outcomes of series of webinar are:

• Redefine stormwater drain systems to infiltrate rainwater of urban areas into the ground for groundwater recharge.
• Institutionalise the usage of drought tolerant crops, which consume less water in water stressed areas.
• Promote village level governance for water conservation activities with active people’s participation.
• Provide subsidized microirrigation systems to poor and marginal farmers after improving their awareness about its significance in order to improve water use efficiency for onfarm land irrigation. 
• Well synchronized byelaws for rainwater harvesting could be made compulsory at all three governance levels - state authority, water utility, and city corporation.
• Regular monitoring of change in groundwater level using piezometers following development of water conservation works on field.
• Create more ambassadors and village champions who can be evangelists to amplify the ‘Catch the rain’ campaign.

Water webinar series - Catch the rain campaign - Effective way of rainwater harvesting

Water webinar series - Catch the rain campaign - Groundwater recharge and aquifer management

Monsoon 2020: Countrywide deficit of 10 percent in July; September may have heavy rains

As per data from the India Meteorological Department, July experienced deficient rains due to a monsoon trough (line of low pressure) moving towards the Himalayan foothills repeatedly, which left many parts of northwest and central India dry. With the countrywide monsoon deficit of 10 percent, July became the driest month in five years. However, the monsoon forecast by the weather agency for the second half of the season points out to the possibility of heavy rains in September as La Nina conditions are expected to develop in the Pacific, which generally aids the Indian summer monsoon. As of now, the overall monsoon is neither in deficit nor in surplus as June had a rain surplus of nearly 18 percent while July ended with a 10 percent deficit. (Hindustan Times, The Times of India)

After Assam, Bihar, heavy rains batter Kerala

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecasted extremely heavy rains in-- Kasaragod, Kannur, Wayanad, Kozhikode, Malappuram and Alappuzha districts-- in the state raising concerns of aggravated flood situation in low lying areas.  A red alert has been sounded for these districts as they are likely to receive more rains. Last week, a devastating landslide at Pettimudi near Rajamala caused by heavy downpour took 43 lives. The flood situation is further aggravating in the state due to incessant rains, landslides and opening of shutters of dams across rivers. Six shutters of Pamba dam in Pathanamthitta district have been opened raising fear of floods in Ranni, Chengannur and Kuttanad regions. (Business Insider)

New version of the India-WRIS launched

With new functionalities and features, the Ministry of Jal Shakti has launched a new version of the India Water Resources Information System (India-WRIS). The portal is open to the public and contains information related to water resources through dashboards for rainfall, water levels & discharge of rivers, water bodies, groundwater levels, reservoir storages among several others. The first version of the system was launched in July 2019. The portal receives data from many central and state agencies on a regular basis and any stakeholder can visualise the information in a user-friendly manner, as well as download the information in the form of excel reports and graphs. (Devdiscourse)

Proposed Pancheshwar Dam threatens flora and fauna: Report

As per the recently released State of Environment Report compiled by the Uttarakhand Pollution Control Board in collaboration with GB Pant Agriculture and Technical University, the proposed Pancheshwar Dam along the Indo-Nepal border will threaten the existence of more than 300 species of flora and fauna. The proposed project, a joint venture between India and Nepal, envisages to build a 315-metre-high dam on Kali river at Pancheshwar in Champawat district. The report points out that along with having an adverse impact on around 43 mammals, 193 varieties of flora, 30 species of fish and 70 species of bird in the region, it will also submerge 87 villages of Almora, Champawat and Pithoragarh. (The Times of India)

10 lakh women self-help groups help over 45 lakh households during Covid-19 pandemic

Bihar is now the first state in the country to have 10 lakh women self help groups (SHGs), functioning under Jeevika, a World Bank-supported poverty alleviation programme to empower women and make them self-reliant. Nearly 1.20-crore women in the state have got involved in these groups who availed Rs 12,200 crore worth loan from banks to start their own income-generating activities and the repayment is also timely. Even during the lockdown period, the SHGs have benefitted 45.5 lakh households through its various activities like production of masks and serving food to quarantined people and in-patients. (Hindustan Times)

This is a roundup of important news published between July 21 - August 9, 2020. Also read policy matters this week.

A crowd of people jostling by the ticket counter at Jhansi railway station in Uttar Pradesh; men and women, some with families in tow, boarding trains to Delhi, Lucknow, Mumbai and other big cities. These are common sights during the summer months at Jhansi, a major town and railway junction. People from rural areas of the Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh routinely travel to cities and towns in search of jobs and livelihoods.

Changes in rainfall patterns coupled with the topography, which does not allow rainwater to percolate and recharge the groundwater table, has led to water scarcity impacting the livelihoods and well-being of the people in the region.

For women in Bundelkhand, this means fetching water from long distances. “It’s a never-ending cycle for us,” says Sito as she balances three pots of water on her head. She, like many other women in the region, spends 2-3 hours every day, collecting water for the household. The importance of water for the people in Bundelkhand is best illustrated in the local saying “khasam mar jaae; gagri naa phoote,” translating as “let the husband die, but the pot of water should not break.”

Sito’s father works at a factory in Delhi, and her brothers (aged 18 and 21) plan on relocating to Delhi in search of jobs. The 1.5 hectares of agricultural land that Sito’s family owns, is not suitable for cultivation in the absence of an assured source of irrigation. By 2030, Bundelkhand, may turn into a water-scarce region, says the Vision Document for Bundelkhand prepared by the Government of Uttar Pradesh. This will lead to further migration of people in search of livelihoods.

We now turn our focus to Ghoramara, an island in the Sundarbans region of West Bengal, located around 100 km from Kolkata. The Sundarbans is a mangrove area in the delta formed by the confluence of the Ganga, Brahmaputra and Meghna Rivers in the Bay of Bengal, spanning across the Indian state of West Bengal and Bangladesh. It comprises of closed and open mangrove forests, agriculture land, mudflats and barren land, and is intersected by multiple tidal streams and channels.

Once having an area of 26 sq. km, Ghoramara island has shrunk to around 5 sq. km and is likely to disappear due to sea-level rise and erosion. The island, once home to 40,000 residents, now houses only 5,000. People have moved out of the island, and those who continue to live here are waiting to be relocated out of their land, the one that belonged to their forefathers, but is slowly being ebbed away by the rising seas owing to climate change.

The harsh realities of Bundelkhand and Sundarbans bring to the forefront, the prediction made years ago by climate scientists and experts. Not only in India but across the world, the effect of climate change and disasters is displacing more people when compared to other reasons like conflicts and violence.

According to the World Migration Report (2020), released by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), at the end of 2018, there were a total of 28 million new internal displacements across 148 countries and territories and 61% (17.2 million) of these new displacements were triggered by disasters, and 39% (10.8 million) were caused by conflict and violence.

The State of India’s Environment Report-2020 released by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) stated that there were 50 lakh internal displacements in India in 2019. The country had one in five of all internal displacements caused by disasters across the world, mostly caused by floods, cyclones and drought.

Both Bundelkhand and Sundarbans, separated by 1000 km, face a common ‘climate’ crisis, the impact of which is being felt year on year and translates as suffering for the people living in these areas.

The impacts of climate change are felt differently based on one’s gender and women and girls are more vulnerable than men to the impacts of climate change. The main reasons for these are:

Women and girls are the primary providers of food, water and fuel, which become scarce due to climate change. Women are also on the frontlines when it comes to combating climate change. They help protect the food and nutrition security of their families and communities.

Women and girls often have an unequal and forced responsibility to care for children and the elderly, which makes it harder and more cumbersome for them to leave home. Women displaced by disasters also face an increased risk of gender-based violence.

Social and cultural norms create barriers for women, making it less likely for them to be involved in decisions on how to prevent, mitigate and cope with climate change, including leaving their homes.

As governments, non-government organizations, research institutions, and private foundations engage and work to devise strategies to empower communities, roll out programs to build the adaptive capacities of communities, it is fundamental that we first work towards developing and scaling-up gender-sensitive climate adaptation and resilience programs.

Secondly, programs and policies of the government must better integrate gender equality efforts and displacement considerations in national adaptation and disaster risk reduction action plans. Lastly, efforts should be made to empower women and girls so that they can play leadership roles in better planning and management in times of crises.

As the government, practitioners, and researchers deliberate and plan action on climate change, let us constantly remind ourselves, that for people (especially women) in Bundelkhand and Sundarbans and many other regions of the world it’s a struggle that they face and are living with, day in and day out. It is time to engage and act to reduce their vulnerabilities and make them stronger to cope with the impacts of the changing climate. We owe it to them!

Romit Sen is Associate Director at Institute for Sustainable Communities (ISC) leading ISC's Water Program. Working across development sector organizations, international NGOs and industry associations, Romit has implemented programs in areas of Water and Sanitation, Sustainable Agriculture, Industrial and Urban Environment Management.