How e-waste crisis continues to plague informal sector
Over 90% of electronic waste management is done by informal sector workers, most of whom are unaware of their rights
A new planning commission or an advisory body?
Indications are that the National Development Reforms Commission that will replace the Planning Commission will not have financial allocation powers
Will access to toilets guarantee women's security in rural India?
The Badaun rape incident shows how vulnerable women are to sexual violence when there are no toilets in homes
Prevention is cure
When preventive measures can fight encephalitis, is there a need for treatment in ill-equipped primary health centres?
Sanitation workers on COVID-19 front lines: How to save the warriors?
Several incidents in the last few months have shone spotlight on abysmal conditions under which sanitation workers function — without …
High risk
Problem: Tall buildings risky in high seismic zones; Status: Hill-stations are getting concretised and growing vertically; Challenge: Use local …
What goes down
Problem: Lack of space for garbage disposal; inadequate sewerage; Status: Garbage disposed on hill slopes ends in streams/rivers; Challenge: …
Defying gravity
Problem: Terrain forbids water supply systems that work in plains; Status: Water crisis in peak season every year; Challenge: Develop …
Local travails
Problem: Tourist influx too large; earnings flow downhill; Status: Residents forced to share meagre facilities with tourists; Challenge: Regulate …
Lessons from two cities
Pune aims to become a zero-landfill city by 2015. With a range of solid waste management options, the target does not seem too ambitious. …
Dar-es-Salaam’s waste management needs a complete revamp
The waste crisis at Pugu dumpsite in Tanzania’s economic capital is rising and urgent interventions are needed
Why environmental degradation is a big health risk
Down To Earth and Centre for Science and Environment jointly release Body Burden 2015, an annual health report
Green issues plaguing rural West Bengal missing in Panchayat election campaigns, say activists
Low groundwater levels, cutting of trees and poor waste management not being addressed; political parties pass blame in response
‘Periods don't stop for pandemics, neither should our activism’
Srilekha Chakraborty, the woman behind menstrual health campaign #PeriodsPeCharcha, talks about introducing changes in ways menstrual health is …
Water is critical to sustainable development, says UN report
Increasing ubanisation and industrialisation are widening the rift between demand for and supply of water
Cleansing chronicle
THE SANITARY CITY: URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE FROM COLONIAL TIMES TO THE PRESENT·Martin V Melosi·John Hopkins University Press·Year&…
Boom
Problem: Terrain forbids sprawl as in cities in the plains; Status: Alarming population density (people per sq km); Challenge: Policy question is:…
Deaths due to non-communicable diseases increased by 37 per cent since 1990
Kerala, Goa, and Tamil Nadu have the largest share of non-communicable diseases, according to the 2016 India State-level Disease Burden study
New Age Approach
We need to go back to the drawing board to reinvent a green toilet. If necessary, to go back to our past and find technological innovations that …
Drowning In Human Excreta
Sanitation for urban India means building flush toilets and linking them to sewer systems. But the price of chasing this dream is leading to an …
Mainstreaming co-treatment of faecal sludge for reducing pollution in Ganga
Excreta of 73 per cent of UP’s population is not managed safely. Out of this, 48 per cent is dependent on on-site sanitation systems
New plan, old problem
The proposed Sewerage Master Plan 2031 that promises to end Delhi's drainage troubles underestimates the wastewater volume of the city
India’s sanitation campaign has not improved health of people: study
Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan did not help reduce exposure to faecal germs and diseases. Will Swachh Bharat Abhiyan fare any better?
Can we save Ganga?
The Ganga is getting political attention. What does it take to clean the river? Down To Earth team travels to the most polluted stretch of the …
COVID-19: How distant laws, uneven measures afflict sanitation workers
The pandemic has further aggravated the dichotomy of livelihood and safety of sanitation workers
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