Prøve GULL - Gratis

Taking charge for water

Down To Earth

|

April 01, 2024

A young sarpanch in Maharashtra helps his village residents avail drinking water at home 

- DAKSHIANI PALICHA

Taking charge for water

A DECADE AGO, the women of Hiwardhara village were always on foot, recalls Mahendra Kinake. With containers in hand, they would either walk to the few handpumps in the village, or if these were too crowded, they would go farther to waterbodies to collect drinking water for their households. Once home, they would rush to the fields to tend to crops along with their other family members. "Such was the scarcity of drinking water in the village, that households would spend most their days only arranging for it," says Kinake, the sarpanch of the Hiwardhara gram panchayat, which comprises his village and two others in Yavatmal district of Maharashtra.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA Down To Earth

Down To Earth

Down To Earth

JINALI MODY - ENTREPRENEUR

In September 2025, UN Environment Programme announced Mumbai-based Jinali Mody, founder of material-science startup Banofi Leather, as a Young Champion of the Earth.

time to read

2 mins

January 01, 2026

Down To Earth

Down To Earth

IT'S AN ENDLESS BATTLE

A decade spent tackling waste still feels vanishingly small

time to read

2 mins

January 01, 2026

Down To Earth

Down To Earth

'NUMB, AND UNABLE TO ACT

As disasters grow more frequent, I find myself wondering how long I can continue living here, waiting for the next storm

time to read

2 mins

January 01, 2026

Down To Earth

Down To Earth

SAJANA SAJEEVAN - CRICKETER

In April 2024, Sajana Sajeevan got her maiden call up to the national women's cricket team on the back of a 12-year domestic career that began in the paddy fields of Wayanad, Kerala.

time to read

4 mins

January 01, 2026

Down To Earth

Down To Earth

NILA MADHAB PANDA - FILMMAKER

Few storytellers bring dramatic despair of ecological loss to the big screen like Nila Madhab Panda. The national-award winning filmmaker often makes nature his central character, be it in his 2017 film Kadvi Hawa or in the 2023 web series The Jengaburu Curse.

time to read

4 mins

January 01, 2026

Down To Earth

Down To Earth

CHETAN SINGH SOLANKI: SCIENTIST | SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR

For the past five years, Chetan Singh Solanki has been on a singular journey.

time to read

2 mins

January 01, 2026

Down To Earth

Down To Earth

ʻLIVING SLOWLY, RELUCTANTLY

The pleasures and burdens of attempting a sustainable life in a fast-moving world

time to read

2 mins

January 01, 2026

Down To Earth

Down To Earth

KIRAN RAO

Filmmaker and producer Kiran Rao has mastered the art of mainstreaming social commentary, as seen in her early films like Dhobi Ghat and more recently in Laapataa Ladies and Humans in the Loop.

time to read

4 mins

January 01, 2026

Down To Earth

Down To Earth

I SEE THE RISE OF DEFENDERS

When a species disappears from a land, the loss extends far beyond the species itself.

time to read

2 mins

January 01, 2026

Down To Earth

Down To Earth

MANISH MEHROTRA - CHEF | RESTAURATEUR

Manish Mehrotra is globally recognised for his innovative approach to preserving India's culinary heritage.

time to read

4 mins

January 01, 2026

Listen

Translate

Share

-
+

Change font size