A story about moving from despair to action, and the discovery that the best solutions are often the simplest ones.
Hydromet hazards
The Ghost of the Buried River
A story about a modern road, an old map, and the discovery that sometimes, the biggest floods happen where there is no river at all.
Dehradun’s Flood Catastrophe and the Global Imperative for Floodplain Resilience
Dehradun’s devastating floods in September 2025 were not an act of God, but a man-made catastrophe. We uncover how the obliteration of the city’s ancient canal network for wider roads turned a manageable downpour into urban ruin.
Unravelling the 2025 Punjab Floods and Charting a Path to Resilience
The 2025 Punjab floods reveal a devastating truth: disasters are a hybrid of nature and neglect and here we uncover the systemic failures that amplified the monsoon’s fury besides offering a blueprint for a flood-proof future.
Unraveling the Complex Web of Landslide Vulnerability and Resilience
The Himalayan landscape holds a dangerous secret. This article unravels how our own choices—not just climate change—are turning natural hazards into preventable catastrophes, and offers a blueprint for a safer future.
Uttarakhand’s Monsoon Disasters: The Real Killer Is Not the Rain
From the tragic floods at Dharali to the devastation in Tharali, this is not a story of natural fury alone and here we uncover the systemic human failures that amplified the 2025 monsoon’s destruction and reveal a blueprint for a safer, more resilient Uttarakhand.
India’s Deluge: From Ancient Harmony to a Modern Flood Crisis
Climate change and unplanned urbanisation are exacerbating flood impact and the situation calls for reviewing and redefining our flood management strategy.
Landslide Safe Uttarakhand
A blueprint for a landslide safe Uttarakhand that advocates integration of governance and true inter-agency coordination, with the involvement of local communities armed with their traditional knowledge, for proactive mitigation.
The Ghost of Gohna Tal and the Scientist’s New Compass
As authorities begin a risky, controlled breach of the lake on Yamuna, Banta channels the ghost of Gohna Tal – a 19th-century success story of monitoring and early warning to deliver a powerful lesson on why our modern approach to disaster management is dangerously flawed.
The Scientist’s New Compass
To stop being disaster detective and try becoming community doctor, was Banta’s advise to the brilliant young scientist and he was quick to grasp and launch a new mission.