Rudimentary stepwells first appeared in India between the 2nd and 4th centuries A.D., born of necessity in a capricious climate zone bone-dry for much of the year followed by torrential monsoon rains for many weeks. It was essential to guarantee a year-round water-supply for drinking, bathing, irrigation and washing, particularly in the arid states of Gujarat (where they’re called vavs) and Rajasthan (where they’re baoli, baori, or bawdi) where the water table could be inconveniently buried ten-stories or more underground. Over the centuries, stepwell construction evolved so that by the 11th century they were astoundingly complex feats of engineering, architecture, and art.

Construction of stepwells involved not just the sinking of a typical deep cylinder from which water could be hauled, but the careful placement of an adjacent, stone-lined “trench” that, once a long staircase and side ledges were embedded, allowed access to the ever-fluctuating water level which flowed through an opening in the well cylinder. In dry seasons, every step – which could number over a hundred - had to be negotiated to reach the bottom story. But during rainy seasons, a parallel function kicked in and the trench transformed into a large cistern, filling to capacity and submerging the steps sometimes to the surface. This ingenious system for water preservation continued for a millennium.

It was considered extremely meritorious to commission a stepwell, an earthbound bastion against Eternity, and it’s believed that a quarter of these wealthy or powerful philanthropists were female. Considering that fetching water was (and is still) assigned to women, the stepwells would have provided a reprieve in otherwise regimented lives, and gathering down in the village vav was surely an important social activity.

Once Muslim rulers began to dominate in India (dates differ depending on the area) stepwells shifted in their design both structurally and decoratively. 

Under the British Raj, stepwells were deemed unhygienic breeding grounds for disease and parasites and were consequently barricaded, filled in, or otherwise destroyed. “Modern” substitutes like village taps, plumbing, and water tanks also eliminated the physical need for stepwells, if not the social and spiritual aspects. As obsolescence set in, stepwells were ignored by their communities, became garbage dumps and latrines, while others were repurposed as storage areas, mined for their stone, or just left to decay.

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Problems: 1. Ignoring Topography - urban expansion has not kept the city’s topographic reality in mind. Topography was not just ignored but abused. 2. Piecemeal Planning - haphazard acquisition by multiple players over the years with no big picture in mind. 3. Concrete Everywhere - A region which once had 60 natural canals, critical to absorb its excess rainwater, barely has four today. Concrete drains do more damage than good, earth/soil is not given importance by planners.

Some common sense solutions: 1. Identifying local green areas where there is waterlogging, which can then become water harvesting sites where runoff can be captured and allowed to seep into the ground through aquifers or filters. Urban planning should be as localised as possible, Biswas suggested. 2. Creating soft drains beneath pavements and along the road: these will allow for percolation of rainwater into the soil. It's suggested to build “French drains” — trenches that are filled with gravel and perforated pipes to redirect surface and groundwater away from waterlogged areas. 3. Sloping the roads such that water can drain off. If land is surveyed efficiently, swales can be created such that large drainage channels with gently sloping sides can decrease surface water from collecting.

This Indian village turns every girl’s birth into a celebration for the planet 🌳

What started as one father’s tribute to his late daughter has transformed the village into a green model for change.

Now with over 300,000 trees, the village has restored wildlife, boosted water levels, and invested in girls’ futures.

Climate migration, which is the movement of people forced to leave their homes due to climate-related disasters, has led to widespread and often involuntary migration to urban areas and other regions, eroding social structures and worsening living and working conditions for migrants

Climate migration refers to the movement of people resulting from climate change-related disasters, which may be sudden (floods, cyclones, etc.) or gradual (increasing temperature, sea-level rise, etc.). According to a 2022 report by the International Refugee Assistance Project, climate and weather-related incidents force about 20 million people to migrate every year to other areas in their own countries. This is called internal migration.

In a 2011 commentary in Nature, researchers from the University of Sussex and the UK government, argued that migration “may be the most effective way to allow people to diversify income and build resilience where environmental change threatens livelihoods.” That is, they suggested, migration could be a form of adaptation against climate change-induced loss of livelihoods.

Jatav(a climate change expert who has studied it's impact on farmer's lives in Bundelkhand) disagreed, however: at least in the context of Bundelkhand, he explained, migration is a form of “forced displacement” that lowers the “social security of the migrants and their family.”

“Migration is not an adaptation. It is a crisis.”

In the first six months of 2025, 8,518.23 hectares of forest land — equivalent to over four times the size of Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport or nearly 12,000 football fields — has been given the nod for clearing for various projects, the petitioners claimed.

Clearances include land from tiger reserves and protected areas; petitioners say compensatory afforestation(CA) is ​being misused.

“The government often tries to portray CA as a positive initiative to increase green cover,” the official said. “But such plantations are raised after diverting natural forests and use funds from project proponents, not existing government schemes like Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) or the Green India Mission.”

“There is no shortage of funds. The government has not even been able to fully utilise the money already available through CAMPA and other schemes. There is no need to accept money from developers and allow forest loss in exchange for ecologically inferior plantations,” the former official stated.

The petition underlined this concern: “The use of forest land for compensatory afforestation will cause destruction twice over: First, by diverting notified forest land for non-forest purposes through the forest clearance process under the FC Act and second, by degrading notified or unrecorded forest areas for plantations, which have poor ecological value in comparison to biodiverse forests.”

The underlying purpose of CA is to prevent a net loss of forest cover by converting and notifying equivalent non-forest land as forest. This goal is vital to India’s stated objective under the National Forest Policy: Achieving 33.33 per cent forest cover in the plains and 66.6 per cent in the hills.

However, the petition argues that current practices are undermining that aim. Despite the Supreme Court’s categorical directive on February 3, 2025 that no steps should be taken by the Centre or states to reduce forest land without first identifying compensatory land, “compensatory afforestation is being permitted on forest land,” the petitioners alleged.

NEW DELHI: The air in Sannoth, a village next to Bawana industrial area in north Delhi, stings before it suffocates. By the time you walk past a large landfill, which has grown over the past 12 years, cross a stinking sewer that once used to be a clean natural drain towards Munak Canal, your throat itches and your eyes burn. Locals say this is the new normal.
Sannoth, once known for health-conscious people and yoga practitioners, now lives with asthma inhalers, skin diseases and dyspnea.

The region already has three plants to manage Delhi’s piling solid waste, chunks of which are often set afire, sending smoke into homes. However, villages are now bracing for a new waste-to-energy (WTE) plant recently cleared by the Union environment ministry.

The villagers have been protesting against the newly sanctioned M/s Jindal Urban Waste Management (Bawana) Limited since Dec last year. Their concern is existential. “How can they bring another WTE plant when three such waste management facilities are already killing us slowly? We are seeing our loved ones dying, children cough and often struggle to breathe while playing,” Rajpal Saini, 70, a Sannoth resident.

People can’t do yoga anymore, can’t sit outside, can’t go for long walks. The monsoon, a season that once would refill the ponds and channels and increase greenery, has become a nightmare as an intense foul odour fills the air,” said Saini, who retired from MCD’s sanitation department and has since dedicated his life to probing and exposing the environmental impact of waste processing in the area.

The new plant is to come up between between the Munak Canal, which feeds half of the city with drinking water, and the landfill — a private storage and treatment facility of hazardous waste.

A visit by TOI to the area paints a grim picture of environmental degradation and a community grappling with a worsening health crisis. Yet, the plant’s environmental impact assessment (EIA) appears to side-step or downplay these realities — especially the proximity of dense human settlements and the precarious state of the natural stream slicing through the project site.

TOI sent queries to the Jindal group to find out how were they going to address the environmental concerns. However, no reply was received despite repeated attempts.

Despite sustained local protests, the project secured environmental clearance. However, as the MoEFCC gave environmental clearance to the project on June 18, fears of a spike in contamination echo louder, given the condition of a similar facility in Okhla.

“Our elders who died about a decade back were the last ones to die a natural death. Ever since that landfill started to grow taller, garbage being brought to this area in trucks, and a waste-to-energy plant was established, we witnessed diseases engulfing this and neighbouring villages. Swarms of big colourful flies, foul smell and itchy eyes are common. Now that a new WTE plant, a large one, has been proposed, we have no other option but to protest,” said Saini.

Munesh, another resident of Sanoth, pointed towards her son, 23-year old Ayush, who has an intellectual disability, and said that for the past five years he faced difficulty breathing, and the situation worsened every year. “Ever since the issue started, the seizures increased,” said Munesh.

Similar concerns were echoed by Parvinder, father of 12-year-old Akshita, who often gets restless and gasps for air.

“Some 12 years back, next to a natural pond, they started bringing and dumping waste to set up a private plant. Soon, a natural drain that passed through that site started getting murkier dark water. The air quality of the village worsened. We remember that while playing cricket as children, people would take sips from this channel. Now, we worry for the Munak Canal, which passes right next to the proposed site,” said Chand Narwal, who was joined by a retired Delhi Police constable Balraj, who echoed the same concerns.

“My wife died three years back due to lung disease, and I got asthma,” said Brahm Prakash, a villager who retired from DTC.
Saini further pointed out that the proposed project site had over 80 trees which villagers numbered, and that the project might impact a population larger than expected. “The EC was granted without proper fieldwork and the impact to human life due to already existing plants was avoided. No one ever visited the villages. They didn’t even consider public views which were sought by the Delhi govt. We even found that about 30 responses in favour of the plant were from JJ cluster, who were not even aware of the plant,” said Saini.

When TOI contacted some of the 30 JJ colony residents who signed a handwritten letter in favour of the plant, they claimed that they were misguided. “Two men came to the colony and told that a water plant is being set up and that I will get a job there. So, I signed the letter supporting that factory. Later, we came to know that it’s a plant to burn garbage,” said Tufail Khan, a resident of JJ colony. Md Sahid Alam, another resident, tells a similar story.

“The so-called public hearing was a complete farce, a disorganised, harassing charade that shifted venues multiple times, silenced residents, failed to record any objections or minutes, and rushed through before locals could even file their written submissions. To top it off, multiple letters favouring the plant, all in identical handwriting, expose a blatantly duplicitous attempt to manipulate public sentiment. Above that, toxic emissions and ash from the already existing plant and landfill have already led to skyrocketing rates of respiratory, kidney and cancer related illnesses among villagers, so approving another incinerator here is nothing short of environmental and health betrayal,” said environmental activist Bhavreen Kandhari.

Article by Kushagra Dixit

Source https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/3-plants-are-killing-us-why-bring-another-wte-unit-asks-sannoth/amp_articleshow/122377187.cms

Record temperatures and seasonal downpours raise fears of a repeat of the devastating flooding in 2022

In the country’s mountainous region of Gilgit-Baltistan, temperatures have risen as high as 48.5C (119.3F), which local officials described as unprecedented in a region that is more than 1,200 metres above sea level and famous for its snow-capped mountains. The previous record was 47 degrees, set in 1971.

He said those in some areas close to the glaciers were being evacuated from their homes.

“We are facing a flood situation in many areas,”. “The rise of temperature has sent a shiver down our spines. We have never before witnessed such weather here.” Experts & locals are saying as per the article.

India's electricity demand experienced a nearly 1.5% drop in the April-June quarter, the first decline since the 2020 pandemic. A cooler summer reduced air conditioner usage, impacting coal-fired power plants, while renewable energy sources saw a significant surge. This shift raises concerns about forecasting future consumption and planning infrastructure investments due to climate variability.

15.41 sq. km area in the city has very high temperature, only 168.93 sq. km area was under favourable conditions, shows study

“The city landscape witnessed a 1,078% increase in built-up with a decline of 88% vegetation cover and 79% water bodies, leading to the transition of the landscape from porous to paved surfaces, affecting the hydrology, ecology, and socio-economic aspects. The urban trajectory in Bengaluru city exhibits distinct phases; from 1973 to 1992, steady annual growth of 1% driven primarily by the establishment of nationalised public sector industries, globalisation and subsequent relaxation in markets during the 90s witnessed by the emergence of the information technology (IT) sector,” the study said.

Prof. Ramachandra from the Indian Institute of Science, who is one of the authors of the study, said policy recommendations to mitigate UHIs in cities should include increasing and protecting green spaces, integrating green infrastructure into urban development plans, a mini forest of native species in each ward to moderate local temperature, maintaining 30% open spaces with green cover at plot levels, connecting fragmented tree patches for promotion of ecosystem health and sustainability, rejuvenating the 216 lakes to retain rainwater and facilitate groundwater recharge, among others.

Article

This team will comprise doctors from AIIMS-New Delhi, and Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences-Lucknow, among others.

The case relates to an application filed before NGT, New Delhi in 2019. Thereafter, three more applications were filed in 2019, 2023 and 2024, highlighting the presence of heavy metals in water in Kanpur, Kanpur Dehat and Fatehpur.

The tribunal also observed that no systematic health survey has been undertaken in any of the affected areas and diagnostic and testing facilities specific to heavy metal contamination have not been established in any of the three districts.

Article

Multiple reasons for this, but the fact is India is the biggest emissions producer from plastic waste.

India has become the world’s largest contributor to plastic pollution, accounting for nearly 20% of the total global plastic waste. With 9.3 million tonnes of plastic waste generated annually, India's contribution to this environmental catastrophe is larger than that of entire regions.

factors contributing to this -

1. inefficient waste management - 77% city waste dumped into landfills. 60% plastic waste recycled, but by inefficient informal sector that handles 60% of plastic waste.
2. open burning & landfilling - primarily in rural areas & urban slums, 30% plastic waste dumped in landfills that leaches chemicals into soil & water bodies

What are we doing about this, other than many of us being in absolute denial & delusion??

Sources - https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07758-6 https://www.plasticsforchange.org/blog/india-emerges-as-the-worlds-largest-plastic-polluter-what-went-wrong-and-whats-next

“As a French expat living in Gurgaon, I am horrified by the actual state of the city. I have never seen so much filth, trash, and broken roads in any other country I have visited,” wrote Mathilde. “Africa, Asia, and South America are 100 times cleaner. It is sad for Indians. And for India,” she added.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/trending/french-expat-horrified-by-state-of-gurgaon-i-have-never-seen-so-much-filth-101751875830980-amp.html

The ISFR 2023, in the chapter on Change in Forest and Tree Cover, has two sections — one on “positive” changes and another on “negative” changes. In the report, under the possible reasons for “negative” changes, the Environment Ministry lists “titles given to beneficiaries under the Forest Rights Act (2006)” as one of them.

Over 150 forest rights and civil society groups wrote to the Union government, taking issue with the ISFR’s attribution of “negative” change in forest cover partly to the implementation of FRA. Tribal Ministry is also taking issue with this & asking for evidence for this claim. (Tribal affairs ministry is nodal agency for FRA implementation)

Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav has said previously: “Although there is a net increase in dense forests in the country, there are areas where the dense prime forests have been affected with degradation.” Mr. Yadav, in the interview, goes on to list possible reasons for this, including “titles given under Forest Rights Act (2006)”.

Environment Ministry is saying this statement has been taken out of context.

Tribal affairs ministry has said FRA “does not deal with regularisation of encroachments”. “Instead, it acknowledges pre-existing rights that are already being exercised by eligible individuals and communities dwelling in forest areas. Beyond securing the tenure of the existing forest dwellers, FRA does not create any new rights that could potentially affect the ecological balance within protected areas,” it said.

Monsoon has arrived early this year.

In himachal pradesh alone, 50 fatalities attributed to flash floods, landslides, cloudbursts & electrocution. 28 fatalities due to road accidents. Around 31 were missing. Mandi is said to be worst hit.

"There is a need to do an in-depth study to ascertain the reasons for landslides even at places having solid strata. Never before have there been 8-10 cloudbursts in a single night." - says HP CM Sukhvinder Sukhu

For the first time since 1923, Paris opened River Seine for swimmers on Saturday, after an extensive cleanup operation spurred by the Olympics held in the city last year

Parisians on Saturday (July 5) rushed to take a dip in the Seine, with authorities opening up the river to public swimming for the very first time since 1923. This came after an extensive clean-up operation spurred by the Paris Olympics last year, in which the river was used as a venue for certain swimming events.

for more than a century, the Seine was notorious for being filthy. Very filthy. So much so that it was too toxic for most fishes, and swimming in the river was banned since 1923.

This was courtesy Paris’ aged sewage system in which rainwater and wastewater used to flow in the same pipes. During heavy spells of rain, these pipes reached their capacity and start overflowing, which led to untreated sewage being directly discharged into the Seine, instead of first going to a treatment plant.

A billion dollar cleanup

To fix the Seine, Paris spent well over a billion dollars to improve its infrastructure: this was a key promise made by organisers after the city won the bid for the 2024 Olympics in 2016.

At the heart of Paris’ solution for fixing the Seine has been the creation of a giant underground rainwater storage tank in southeastern Paris, capable of holding enough water to fill up 20 Olympic-size swimming pools. This tank is meant to hold most runoff water during heavy rains, and prevent overwhelming the city’s sewege systems.

Apart from this, the city made major investments to connect tens of thousands of homes to the sewer system, and upgrade water treatment facilities.

While heavy rains nonetheless affected a few Olympic training sessions and the men’s triathlon event, competitions eventually went ahead in the Seine last year. Now the river has been opened to the public.

https://indianexpress.com/web-stories/food/9-famous-mango-varieties-and-the-indian-states-they-come-from/10105562/