aditideodhar2017@gmail.com

How a Community Brought a Dead Stream Back to Life — One Sunday at a Time

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Discover how a simple, low-cost, community-led wetland restoration project at Vitthalwadi revived freshwater flow in the Mutha riverbed. A replicable model based on systems thinking, ecological principles, and citizen action. By Aditi, the initiator of ‘Adopt a River Stretch Program, Jeevitnadi’ If you ever want to understand how cities slowly lose their rivers, don’t look …

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How Pune Turned Its “Brown Problem” Into a Green Revolution

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A Story of Dry Leaves, Human Ingenuity, and a City That Refused to Burn. By Aditi, the accidental leaf–matchmaker Burning leaves causes smoke, asthma, and fire hazards. The Brown Leaf Project shows how Pune residents can mulch, compost, or donate dry leaves—turning waste into a resource. Every Green City Has a Brown Side — And …

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A school bag with a plastic tiffin in it

The Most Dangerous Thing in a Child’s Schoolbag — And How We Decided to Eliminate It, Bloomberg Style

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Aditi Deodhar writes about the hidden health danger inside children’s schoolbags—plastic tiffin boxes—and how Pune schools are adopting a Bloomberg-style approach to protect child health through simple, high-leverage school policies. Introduction: The Danger No One Sees If you had asked me a few years ago what the most dangerous thing in a child’s schoolbag is, …

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HEALTH WARNING ON THE CIGARETTE PACK AND WHY THEY SHOULD BE ON PLASTIC PRODUCTS

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In the mid-1900s, cigarette packs began to change — not their contents, but their conscience. What was once a symbol of style and freedom slowly became a warning label for an entire generation. This blog traces this transformation — from glamour to grim truth — showing how policy, science, and public awareness turned a dangerous …

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People drinking tea from paper cups

How Local Leadership Can Make City Streets Paper-Cup Free

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Across Indian cities, bustling market streets like Pune’s Laxmi Road witness thousands of paper cups discarded daily — small but persistent contributors to plastic waste, clogged drains, and greenhouse emissions. These “single-use” items appear harmless but create massive hidden costs for urban sustainability and public health. Under the Mission City Chakra initiative by the Centre …

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From Cups and Spoons to Real Change: Designing Solutions That Work

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Most environmental efforts stop at awareness and small fixes, but real change comes only from solutions that tackle problems at their root. Inspired by the Yamuna River’s pollution crisis, this article explores why “turning off the tap” must be our guiding principle. To address challenges like waste, pollution, and climate change, we need solutions designed to truly solve the problem — not just manage its symptoms.

Where Water or Soil

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तळ्यात की मळ्यात फुले आपल्याला कोण देतं? नदी की माती?  माती !!!  मग ती फुलं परत कुठे गेली पाहिजेत? नदीत की मातीत?  मातीत !!!  निसर्गात ‘मातीतून मातीत’ हे तत्व आहे. मातीतून झाड उगवते. मातीतून पाणी आणि पोषणद्रव्ये घेऊन ते वाढते. झाडाला पाने, फुले, फळे येतात. ती वाळून गळतात, झाडाच्या आजूबाजूच्या मातीत पडतात, कुजतात, त्यांच्यातली पोषणद्रव्ये …

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Story of a Bottle

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एका बाटलीची गोष्ट पियानोच्या keys, बिलियर्डसचे बॉल ह्यासारख्या अनेक गोष्टीसाठी हस्तिदंत वापरले जात होते. त्यासाठी हत्तींची मोठ्या प्रमाणावर शिकार होत होती. १८६७ साली तो आकडा लाखांत गेला. त्यावर्षी एकट्या इंग्लंडला हस्तिदंत पुरवण्यासाठी ४४,००० हत्तींची शिकार झाली. हत्तींचे कळप रोडावू लागले तशी उत्पादकांना काळजी वाटू लागली. म्हणजे  हत्तींची नाही, कच्च्या मालाची!! फेलन आणि कॉलेंडर ह्या उत्पादकाने …

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The Lorax

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BOOK REVIEW: THE LORAX by DR. SEUSS हे पुस्तक माझ्या मुलाला तोंडपाठ होतं. पुस्तक वाचलं आणि आम्ही दोघं पुस्तकाच्या प्रेमात पडलो. हे पुस्तक कोणासाठी आहे? लहान मुलांसाठी आहे? आहेच. त्यांच्यासाठी आहेच. पण त्यातला संदेश जास्ती आपल्यासाठी, मोठ्यांसाठी आहे. पुस्तक कशाबद्दल आहे हे थोडक्यात सांगायचं तर जरेड डायमंडचं Collapse तुम्ही वाचलं आहे का? तर त्यातला संदेश अगदी कमीत …

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Are you there, God? It’s me, Margaret

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‘Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret’ by Judy Blume एमीच्या banned booksच्या यादीतलं आणखी एक. गोष्ट आहे मार्गारेट ह्या 12 वर्षाच्या मुलीची. गोष्ट तीच सांगते. त्यामुळे हे पुस्तक 12 वर्षाच्या मुलीच्या भावविश्वात आपल्याला घेऊन जाते. मार्गारेट आणि तिच्या तीन मैत्रिणी, पहिला period, त्याबद्दलची त्यांची चर्चा, मैत्रिणीच्या मोठ्या भावाच्या मित्राबद्दल, वर्गातल्या एका मुलाबद्दल वाटणारे आकर्षण, चिडवा-चिडवी, हे वाचताना …

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