Water as Leverage

CHENNAI, INDIA

November 2018

Against the backdrop of blue water tanks and a wall of pumps and hoses, a woman discards a bucket of water that was just lifted from a flooded basement in the Mambalam neighborhood of Chennai, India.

Photo: Cynthia van Elk │ Water as Leverage

CHENNAI, INDIA

July 2019

In many neighborhoods in Chennai residents rely on hand pumps for their water needs. In 2019 Chennai was tackling its worst drought in years and the wells had run dry for months. Water had to be trucked into the city. Tankers delivered water to different neighborhoods, at times not known in advance. Leaving the house, if only for one hour, was not an option. Water was ration

CHENNAI, INDIA

July 2019

A view into the settlements along the Cooum River, the heaviest polluted river in Chennai, India.

Photo: Cynthia van Elk │ Water as Leverage

KHULNA, BANGLADESH

November 2019

A late afternoon scene at the Rupsha river in Khulna; washing and bathing, while barges are being off loaded. Rapid urbanization, sediment obstruction and waste disposal have severely polluted the river.

Photo: Cynthia van Elk │ Water as Leverage

KHULNA, BANGLADESH

December 2018

A man is cleaning a stretch of the heavily polluted Mayur River in Khulna. Floating waste and water hyacinths are the main reason for water logging in the city.

Photo: Cynthia van Elk │ Water as Leverage

KHULNA, BANGLADESH

March 2019

The rear of shops on the Boro Bazar, overlooking the Rupsha River in Khulna, Bangladesh. Rapid urbanization, sediment obstruction and waste disposal have severely polluted the river.

Photo: Cynthia van Elk │ Water as Leverage