Dams

How much longer will Goa remain Otter Worthy?

September 30, 2017October 1, 2017 SANDRP5 Comments

Above: A fisherman on his traditional mango-wood canoe in Goa. (Photo: Atul Borker)

Guest Blog by Atul Borker, with Salil Chaturvedi

My deep engagement with Goan rivers began almost half a decade ago, when I started researching otters in the state. In this short span of time, an otter’s life has seen its ups and downs, and I don’t mean the daily rise and fall of tides that are critical to wildlife adapted to the mangroves!

Though Goa is the smallest state of India, it is blessed with as many as nine rivers. A unique aspect of Goan rivers is that they are tidal as well as rain-fed. During the monsoon months (June-September), water is drained out of the watershed through the rivers and into the sea. At the same time, the rivers experience a daily tidal influx upto 40 kilometers inland. The salinity of the rivers varies sharply between the monsoon and non-monsoon seasons, and so does the physico-chemical quality of the water. Needless to say, the people and the wildlife along the banks are highly attuned to these seasonal (and diurnal) changes, and the shy and elusive otter is one such animal. Continue reading “How much longer will Goa remain Otter Worthy?” →

Ken Betwa Project to destroy Raneh Falls: India’s Mini Grand Canyon-cum- Mini Niagra

September 29, 2017September 29, 2017 SANDRP7 Comments

“Oh my god! I wont have believed that such an amazingly beautiful river canyon exists in India had I not seen this!” These were my first words, believe or not, on seeing Raneh Falls earlier this year. It was such mesmerizingly beautiful scene that I could not believe no one has even mentioned that this whole site is likely to be destroyed by the proposed Ken Betwa Project (KWP).

In fact, there are Amazing number of untold stories of the destruction that the proposed Ken Betwa link will cause. One of them is the story of Raneh Falls. The name is a bit of misnomer, but let us stick to it. Continue reading “Ken Betwa Project to destroy Raneh Falls: India’s Mini Grand Canyon-cum- Mini Niagra” →

Dams · DRP News Bulletin

DRP News Bulletin 25 September 2017 (Three Incidents of Canals & Dam Breach In Two Days, Who Is Responsible?)

September 25, 2017September 25, 2017 SANDRPLeave a comment

This week there have been three incidents of canals and dam breach in three States raising concern over quality of construction of dams and canals in India.

All these incidents are a result of negligence exercised by concerned departments. These incidents also proves that the quality of construction of dams and canals in India is not as par standard.

It is surprising that no government official or private contractor has been held responsible for these avoidable incidents. To avoid recurrence of such incidents, governments of these states bring the involved officials and persons to justice. It also strictly monitor the quality of construction to avoid wastage of public money. The safety of the public is also uncompromising and hence should not rush through the irrigation projects without proper consultation care.

Continue reading “DRP News Bulletin 25 September 2017 (Three Incidents of Canals & Dam Breach In Two Days, Who Is Responsible?)” →

Delhi

Decentralized STPs in the Delhi Capital Region

September 23, 2017October 15, 2017 SANDRP4 Comments

Guest blog by Kelly D. Alley and Nutan Maurya

The territory under the jurisdiction of the New Delhi Municipal Council, or Lutyen’s Delhi, is lush with beautiful gardens. The New Delhi Municipal Council maintains around 8,000 parks and uses about 80 million gallons of water a day for grass, plants, shrubbery and trees. The Delhi Jal Board estimates that the total water treated at its sewage treatment plants is about 455 million gallons a day (mgd) of which they provide 142 mgd for horticulture and irrigation in the Delhi metropolitan region. With groundwater levels depleting to over 300 feet in some sections of Delhi, there has been increasing focus on curtailing use of groundwater for horticulture and other non-essential services. In this context, the National Green Tribunal has directed all urban municipalities to use treated wastewater for horticulture. Continue reading “Decentralized STPs in the Delhi Capital Region” →

Dams · DRP News Bulletin

DRP News Bulletin 18 September 2017 (Why Madhaya Pradesh Depleted Its Meagre Water Storage To Fill up SSP Dam For Sept 17?)

September 18, 2017 SANDRP1 Comment

As per the Daily Status Reports of Narmada Control Authority[iv], inflow into SSP Dam suddenly jumped from 495 cumecs (Cubic Meters per second) on Sept 12, to 2518 cumecs on Sept 13, 2383 cumecs on Sept 14 and 2210 cumecs on Sept 15, 2384 cumecs on Sept 16, in anticipation of the birthday, so that when Narendrabhai visits the dam site to formally declare the project complete, the reservoir is seen to have substantial water. Expectedly, SSP water level rose from 126.19 m to 128.5 m by 8 am on Sept 15. How was this made possible?

Madhya Pradesh depletes its water storage so that SSP looks full on Sept 17? The increased inflow into SSP was made possible only by increased outflow from upstream Madhya Pradesh dams like Indira Sagar Project (ISP) on Narmada. ISP, incidentally is India’s largest reservoir in terms of storage capacity.

So the ISP storage level which was already very low (about 33%) on Sept 11 with monsoon almost coming to close, was depleted by further 450 MCM (Million Cubic Meters) from Sept 11 to Sept 16 (date for which latest information is available), while SSP water level rose by 750 MCM during the same period. All this, so that water level at SSP could look more respectable on Sept 17. Its not known why Madhya Pradesh is ready to lose water from its low storage levels (in fact, the water level at Omkareshwar Project on Narmada is below Minimum Draw Down level throughout this period).

Will Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister and MP Govt be held accountable for this by the media, judiciary and the people?

Continue reading “DRP News Bulletin 18 September 2017 (Why Madhaya Pradesh Depleted Its Meagre Water Storage To Fill up SSP Dam For Sept 17?)” →

Narmada

Happy Birthday, Narendrabhai. But why drown the Narmada Valley this day?

September 16, 2017September 17, 2017 SANDRP1 Comment

Sept 17, happens to be birthday for India’s Prime Minister Naredrabhai Modi. We join the Nation in wishing him Happy Birthday.

But the Prime Minister has also decided to celebrate his 2017 birthday by declaring completion of the controversial Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP), as several media reports announced[i]. To achieve this, the gates of the Sardar Sarovar Dam are closed. The reservoir behind the dam is being filled up to raise water level that was so far at maximum of 121.92 m, to Full Reservoir Level of 138.68 m. This will lead to submergence and displacement of habitat of over 40 000 families of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, when their rehabilitation, as required by law, has not happened. Continue reading “Happy Birthday, Narendrabhai. But why drown the Narmada Valley this day?” →

Rivers

Will this ‘Rally’ help the rivers?

September 13, 2017September 13, 2017 SANDRP7 Comments

PRESS RELEASE From India Rivers Week Organising Committee on Sept 13, 2017

We are concerned about the increasing superficial optics around saving rivers, with little or no effort to address fundamental issues which are causing their demise.

The high profile rally initiative to save India’s rivers taken up by well respected religious guru Sadguru and his followers is noteworthy, and the most recent case in point. It is striking that so many film stars, politicians, governments, and public personalities, are joining the call. Lakhs of children are expected to join in the program. While we welcome such an outpouring of good intentions and good will as a demonstration of the positive energy all around, unfortunately, we have seen no evidence either from the rally organisers, on their website[i] or their messaging, that they understand or plan to address the real threats faced by our rivers and their sorry state. Continue reading “Will this ‘Rally’ help the rivers?” →

Dams · DRP News Bulletin

DRP News Bulletin 11 September 2017 (Why This Rally Won’t Help The Rivers?)

September 11, 2017 SANDRP2 Comments

The news media is filled with this new kid on the block, trying to wake the nation about the need to save our rivers… amazing to see so many film stars, politicians, governments, and public personalities, many of them rather innocently joining the band wagon… some friends were pleading that see, he is able to take the message of rivers to so many people, including lakhs of children… let us try and see if there is something positive here… may be, may be this is just the entry point, but the guy and his team have bigger vision? May be we need to give him longer rope, be more charitable and not jump to negativity?

We have kept all this in mind while writing this.

We see nothing from the people who are leading the rally, or their websites or messages that they understand the real threats faced by and reasons for the state of our rivers, are ready to even list such causes or protest any further move to destroy our rivers. The website claims it is “a nationwide awareness campaign to revive our rivers”. Can missed call save our rivers?

Continue reading “DRP News Bulletin 11 September 2017 (Why This Rally Won’t Help The Rivers?)” →

Bhagirathi · Ganga · Uttarakhand

Walking along Ganga in Uttarakhand in 2017

September 5, 2017September 5, 2017 SANDRP4 Comments

Above: The Bhagirathi valley has a lot of beautiful bends, comparable to the most popular scenic spots across the world. But we’re busy cutting down the mountain to make broader roads in these eco-sensitive areas. Image taken in March 2017. Photo credits: Siddharth Agarwal

Guest Blog by Siddharth Agarwal

In the initial stages of planning the Moving Upstream project on the Ganga for Veditum, where we were going to walk along the whole length of the river, I had approached a lot of individuals to learn from their experiences about the river and the many connected stories around it. These learnings varied from science and activism to adventure and survival. Of all those who were approached, Himanshu Thakkar from SANDRP had been the most generous in extending knowledge resources and sharing contacts from the field. He even entertained a couple of my visits to their office and shared with me a copy of the SANDRP report prepared by Theo, called Headwater Extinctions (February 2014, see: https://sandrp.wordpress.com/2014/12/16/new-publication-headwater-extinctions-impact-of-hydropower-projects-on-fish-and-river-ecosystems-in-upper-ganga-and-beas-basins/, it includes link to full report), along with a few other documents.

Headwater Extinctions looks at the role played by small and large hydropower projects in altering the fish biodiversity and river ecosystems in the Himalayan reaches of the Ganga and Beas basins. It also speaks about the perspective of local people and that of the authorities towards hydropower projects. Theo, who is an adventurer and ecologist, penned down the report with a scientific aptitude, while I will limit myself here in this revisit report to updated observations made on ground while walking along the Ganga in Uttarakhand (March 2017). This comparative observation will hopefully enable a conversation that requires continuity. Continue reading “Walking along Ganga in Uttarakhand in 2017” →

Dams

Development NOT Dams: Pancheshwar affected people demand

September 5, 2017September 8, 2017 SANDRP1 Comment

(Feature Image: Pancheshwar Temple at the confluence of Saryu and Kali Rivers. Pics: Bhim )

The people to be affected by the proposed Pancheshwar Multipurpose dam project are saying we need development NOT dam in ecologically sensitive Himalayan region. The untimely Environment Public Hearing (EPH) for 123 to be affected villages in Uttarakhand State has been rushed through in August 2017 with numerous violations as we reported earlier.

During one week long trip to the affected districts of Champawat, Pithoragarh and Almora, I along with Sumit Mahar of Himdhara visited proposed dam site and few of the villages that may face submergence in the unlikely possibility of the project coming up, to understand the local social and environmental issues.

Continue reading “Development NOT Dams: Pancheshwar affected people demand” →