2026: Books, Films, Discussions on State of Indian Rivers

March 21, 2026 SANDRPLeave a comment

(Feature Image: Cover page of five books on Indian rivers mentioned in this overview)

This overview puts together brief information on top five books, films, discussions, reports, and cultural stories published during previous year to present a comprehensive view on the state of rivers in India. The compilation emphasizes how rivers are deeply intertwined with ecology, society, politics and culture while highlighting the growing crises they face due to pollution, dams, urbanization and climate change. Through research, storytelling and lived experiences, the collection questions current policies and development models, stressing on the need for sustainable management, stronger accountability and recognition of rivers as living systems essential to human and ecological well-being.

Continue reading →

Fish, Fisheries, Fisherfolk

WFD 2025: Important Studies, Reports on Freshwater Fish Species, Habitats

November 21, 2025November 23, 2025 SANDRPLeave a comment

Marking World Fisheries Day (WFD) 2025, we present some of important studies and reports highlighting the growing threats over freshwater fish species in India and across the globe. The multi-taxon global freshwater fauna assessment for The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species published this year is among most concerning report revealing looming extinction threats over 24% of freshwater fauna worldwide. This includes the hump-backed mahseer, subterranean snakehead and peninsular hill trout found in rivers and waterbodies of Western Ghats.

Continue reading →

Yamuna River

केवल सफाई नहीं, चाहिए समग्र यमुना नदी तंत्र संरक्षण नीति

October 24, 2025October 24, 2025 SANDRPLeave a comment

दिल्ली चुनाव के दौरान यमुना नदी प्रदूषण एक अहम मुद्दा बना। चुनाव जीतने के बाद नई सरकार निरंतर यमुना सफाई को लेकर कई घोषणाएं और योजनाओं पर बात कर रही है। स्वयं प्रधानमंत्री और उसके बाद केंद्रीय गृहमंत्री, जल संसाधन मंत्री इसके लिए बड़ी बैठक कर चुके हैं। इन सबमें हरियाणा, दिल्ली और उत्तर प्रदेश सरकार द्वारा मिलकर कार्य करने की आवश्यकता सबसे सराहनीय पक्ष रहा है। सरकार द्वारा एसटीपी क्षमता विकास, औद्योगिक प्रदूषण रोकथाम, जल संचयन बढ़ाने और जल स्रोतों को बचाने की बातें भी कही जा रही है। पर ये सब बातें तो पिछली सरकारों द्वारा पहले भी कही जा चुकी हैं और बातों से आगे ठोस नीति और सफल निष्पदान कार्ययोजना की तरफ नहीं बढ़ पा रही है। इन सबके बीच यमुना नदी स्वास्थ्य में गिरावट जारी है।

Continue reading →

floodplains · Floods · Highest Flood Level · Yamuna River

Yamuna Flood 2025: Is River Carrying Capacity, Pattern Changing?

October 22, 2025 SANDRPLeave a comment

(Feature Image: Sept. 06, satellite image showing Yamuna flood spread downstream Delhi. Credit: Raj Bhagat P)

During South West Monsoon 2025, the Yamuna has witnessed one low, one medium and one high flood spells in its upper segment. On account of good rainfall in the catchment, the river also received significant flows for about one and half month from last week of July 2025 upto first week of Sept 2025. Due to this flood spells and flows the water quality in Delhi stretch of the river improved significantly, though temporarily.

Continue reading →

floodplains · Free flowing rivers · River Restoration · Yamuna River

Yamuna Manthan June 2025: Positive water, river stories from Yamuna basin

June 19, 2025 SANDRPLeave a comment

POSITIVE YAMUNA REPORTS

Uttar Pradesh’s Noon river runs again Jalaun farmers in Bundelkhand will not have to toil too much this season to get water for crops. They have almost revived an 81km-long local river that had dried up completely. Community members have restored the drainage basin over a 14km course of Noon river to create a funnel through which water has again entered it. The river had dried up to encroachments and poor rainfall. The revival commenced in 2021 and reached the final stage only recently, with voluntary labour contributions from thousands of local men and women. Officials said the water would start flowing through the entire course of the river in a fortnight. The river is expected to help more than 15,350 farmers.

Continue reading →

Yamuna River

Yamuna Manthan 090525: Will we STOP Commercialization of River Floodplains?

May 9, 2025May 12, 2025 SANDRPLeave a comment

(Feature Image: Redstone stuctures at Vasudev Riverfront site on Yamuna. BS Rawat, SANDRP/ April 2025)

The rhetoric of Sabarmati type river front project for Yamuna in Delhi is getting louder. For over a decade, the DDA has already been working on 11 projects disguised as ‘floodplain restoration’. In recent past, none other than the NGT has flagged concerns over permanent structures and concretization work in some of these projects. Notably, all these cosmetic projects have suffered huge damages in the July 2023 floods.

Despite this, showing no regard to laws and sanctity of floodplains, DDA (Delhi Development Authority) has commercialized some of the projects including the Vasudev riverfront and the Baansera park. Since there is no autonomous body functioning in Delhi to hold the DDA accountable, every week there is news about a new riverfront or park project aiming at further commercializing the Yamuna floodplain.

Continue reading →

Sand Mining

Odisha Lawyer Sankar Prasad Pani Interview: Citizen Monitoring Key to Improve Riverbed Mining Governance

May 9, 2025May 9, 2025 SANDRPLeave a comment

(Feature Image: Lawyer Sankar Prasad Pani. Source: Facebook)

Advocate Sankar Prasad Pani is among some of the finest environmental lawyers in Odisha with knowledge about the effective legal remedies for addressing the adverse impacts of unsustainable and illegal riverbed mining. Over the past decade, Sankar Pani has argued in more than 50 cases in the eastern bench of National Green Tribunal (NGT).

The lawyer aims to bring transparency and improve governance in riverbed mining operations in Odisha and has secured remarkable decisions in some of the cases in 2024. In January 2025, the tribunal prohibited sand excavation in Mayurbhanj district following Pani’s intervention. In this interview with the lawyer Sankar Pani, Bhim Singh Rawat of SANDRP focuses on the basics of legal mechanisms and impact as well as limitations of available legal tools concerning the governance of finite natural resource like sand.

Continue reading →

Book Review

Book Review: Submerged Worlds & Amazing Stories of India’s Mighty Rivers

April 28, 2025April 29, 2025 SANDRPLeave a comment

“All rivers are living entities. The job of any river is to flow. And it flows in a most systematic and sophisticated manner. As it flows, it nurtures everything around it, everything within it. A flowing river, whether it’s gurgling, bubbling and frothing on rocks and cobbled valleys or silently meandering along its course on the plains, is a happy and healthy river. Like a lap of a mother, the river allows many living beings to make a home and live together…” These introductory lines from the recently published book “Submerged Worlds and Amazing Stories of India’s Mighty Rivers” highlights the significance of a free-flowing river.

Continue reading →

Yamuna River

Yamuna Manthan 100425: Blasting at Lakhwar Dam Shaking Hills, Damaging River

April 10, 2025April 11, 2025 SANDRPLeave a comment

Feature Image: Screen grab of social media video shows scale of impact of heavy blasting work at Lakhwar dam on 07 April 2025)

A viral social media video media shows the frightened impact of a huge scale blasting work done for building the main structure of controversial Lakhawar dam on Yamuna river in Dehradun district, Uttarakhand. As per the locals, the blast took place in the morning hours of April 07, 2025, and caused shaking of hills to a large extent apart from blocking the flowing course of river with enormous debris for several hours forcing the project authority to employ heavy machines to clear the blockage.

The social media post shared with the video mentioned that the heavy blast scared the birds in the area and questioned how the company was allowed to destroy the entire hill environment. The heavy blast has indeed created havoc for the aquatic life in the river and downstream projects.

Continue reading →

Sand Mining

Indian People’s Fight Against Destructive Riverbed Mining

March 14, 2025March 14, 2025 SANDRPLeave a comment

Since 1997, March 14 has been observed as an International Day of Action for Rivers across the world. This year the 29^th event on the topic will be celebrated with the theme ‘Our Rivers, Our Future’. Marking the day, SANDRP through this account highlights the exemplary work being done by activists and organizations in protecting the rivers from destructive riverbed mining practices in India.

Continue reading →