The 12th CSE Media Fellowships: Water Bodies in India : Public Space, private design
August - October, 2011
This fellowship was supported by Jamshedji Tata Trust
After land, our water bodies are now facing tremendous stress: industries, urban 'development', increasing population, imperfect legislation... scores of wetlands, lakes, rivers and waterways are threatened by such projects and pressures.
On one hand, cities across India struggle to meet the insatiable water demands of their people; on the other, real estate and industry are eyeing wetlands and water bodies, while regulators look the other way. According to the Directory of Asian Wetlands (1989), India has 27,403 wetlands,covering an estimated area of 4.1 million hectare. A survey by the Wildlife Institute of India says they are disappearing at a rate of 2 per cent to 3 per cent every year. Some of the recent cases of transgression include the Nirma cememt factory in Bhavnagar, Gujarat and an upcoming power plant in Kakrapalli, Andhra Pradesh.
Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) rolled out a media fellowship to journalists to address, analyse and report on this subject. Some of the suggested topics were:
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Encroachments on wetlands and water bodies
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Conflicts and people's struggles
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Regulations pertaining to water management and use
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Classification of wetlands
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Biodiversity
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Livelihoods and water
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Wetland banking
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pollution
We received 62 applications from all across the country and the media fraternity, out of which 11 fellows were shortlisted. The shortlisting was done by a jury comprising of internal and external subject matter experts and senior media The jury comprised of
Mr MK Venu, editor, Financial Express, Delhi
Mr Pranjal Sharma, Executive Editor, Bloomberg UTV, Delhi
Mr Navin Joshi, Editor, Hindustan, Lucknow
Ms Sunita Narain, Director General, CSE, Delhi
Mr Richard Mahapatra, Editor, Down to Earth, Delhi
Fellows :-
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Bhoomika Kalam Special Correspondent Bhoomika wanted to research and publish a series of articles in People’s Samachar on the following:- a) Bhopal, known as the city of lakes, is ideally located for harvesting and storing water. But today, the only remnant of this lake paradise is the 'Upper Lake' or Bhoj Tal. She will do a story/stories on the pollution, encroachments and a host of other problems which has put this lake under tremendous stress.b) If any initiatives are being planned against the encroachments on the catchment area of the lake, and to save the catchment from further degeneration. c) Investigate and do a story/stories on why Bhopal needs to invest in diverting water from the distant Narmada river, instead of spending money in cleaning up its own lakes? |
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Senior Correspondent Kashmir Newz, Srinagar Haroon will research on and publish a series of articles in Kashmir Newz on the following: a) History of the water chestnut industry and how it blossomed in Kashmir, The story will document the pathetic condition of water chestnut gatherers, how they have been by-passed by development. b) The dying Wullar – The story/stories will include the unique character of the lake and how it regulates the sensitive ecology of the Kashmir Valley; the rampant encroachment, increasing pollution levels and officialdom’s initiatives in tackling the situation; the decreasing flora and fauna; and the status of the Rs 120-crore package to save the Wullar. c) Wullar Lake continues to be under curfew, and this affects the livelihoods of the water chestnut gathering community. A series of stories on the Wullar looking at various aspects in terms of its socio-economic benefits hindered by the current political situation in the region. www.kashmirnewz.com/f000111.html
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Journalist PTI, Kolkata Nikhil will research on a series of articles to be published through PTI on the following :- a) How the local tribes, who once used to kill ‘Sangai’, the rare species of deer surviving in and on the Loktak, have now turned its protectors. The threat to them, however, remains from the shrinking size of ‘phumdis’ or the floating biomass. zeenews.india.com/news/eco-news/threatened-species-of-deer-may-lose-last-home_739207.html zeenews.india.com/news/eco-news/it-s-no-entry-to-aquatic-guests-now-in-manipur_738525.html theshillongtimes.com/2011/10/21/loktak-project-turns-agricultural-land-into-swamps/ theshillongtimes.com/2011/11/23/loktak-lake-being-cleared-of-encroachments/ |
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Senior Staff Reporter Hindustan, Bareilly Pankaj research on and publish a series of articles to be published in Hindustan on the following story ideas, concentrating on the areas of Shahjahanpur and Bareilly:- a) Bareilly has over 400 industries, especially some of the polluting industries such as zari units, which are run as small-scale factories from homes. These have no systems or arrangements for treating the water they use, ending in the river/water bodies untreated. |
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Pulin Kalita Pulin has publish a series of articles in Dainik Asam. He has focused on Deepor Beel, Taranga Beel and Panidihing Bird Sanctuary on the following :- a) Pollution of the Deepor Beel affecting the biodiversity and the livelihood of the people. See the articles Charai Nathaka Pakkhi Abhyaranya(1) pdf |
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K Rajendran
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Kumar Sanjay in.jagran.yahoo.com/epaper/index.php |
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Senior journalist The Dharitri, Sambalpur Shiba Shankar will research on and publish a series of articles in Dharitri, concentrating on the water bodies in Odisha a) A general analysis of the state of such common property resources supported by one or two case studies from villages. b) Case studies on successful initiatives to restore common water bodies and the impact of these initiatives. c) Tracking down water poverty cases and impacts in rural areas. d) Exposing the urban crisis of dying water bodies. e) Problems related to the current industrial-oriented growth, especially in the mining and industrial areas of western Odisha and what effect it has on water bodies. |
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Sunil Kumar
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