Book Review

Book Review: An odyssey through waterbodies

Guest Article by: Abhilash Khandekar 

Book Review : “Shades of Blue—Connecting The Drops In Cities” by Harini Nagendra & Seema Mundoli, Penguin/Viking, Pages: 334, Price: Rs 499/- 

The scarcity of water,  how we use and misuse it and thus the very importance of this very precious resource is yet to dawn upon most Indians. Not that different awareness campaigns in various parts of the country are not held regularly. The media stories about deep water crisis, the plight of most of our rivers and lakes is all known yet criminal neglect of the water sector continues. Be it drinking water in our homes or hotels and other uses like factories, agriculture–all come from the very limited fresh water available to the mankind—0.5%. Over 96% water lies in seas and oceans and is salty; of the 3% of fresh water available, much is locked up in ice, snow and glaciers. So, the humankind have to rely only on the 0.5% water for survival. Authors Harini Nagendra and Seema Mundoli teach sustainability at the Azim Premji University, Bengaluru. They have already published highly readable book—Cities and Canopies which talk about a select important species of trees mostly found in urban areas.

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decommissioning

Dams Decommissioning going up globally

All large dams have finite life. What happens to the dams once the useful life of a dam is over? It would need to be decommissioned. Decommissioning of a dam generally refers to[i] complete removal of the dam and its associated structures. This is a very relevant question for India as the third largest dam builder of the world. It becomes even more important as large dams are no longer required or are no longer viable and importance of a flowing river is increasingly appreciated. It needs to be kept in mind that a dam cannot be allowed to remain on the river, without proper maintenance, as such a dam would remain a huge safety hazard for society and economy downstream from the dam.

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