Large parts of Punjab are facing flood disaster since about Aug 14, 2023. There is no doubt that these floods are due to sudden, untimely releases of massive quantities of water from BBMB managed Pong and Bhakra Dams. It is welcome news that even Himachal Pradesh Chief Secretary has now listed the three BBMB managed dams situated in HP, namely, Pong, Bhakra and Pandoh among the 21 dams that have violated the Dam Safety Norms and also the CWC Guidelines of 2015 and action will be taken against them.
Continue reading “No dispute about role of Pong and Bhakra dams in Punjab Aug 2023 floods”Day: August 21, 2023
DRP NB 210823: Welcome Himachal action against Dam safety violations
(Feature Image:- Screen shot of Hridayesh Joshi, News Laundry ground report showing destruction along Pin Parbati river due to NHPC dam in Sainj Vally in July 2023)
The Himachal Pradesh Chief Secretary’s proposed action against violations by 21 of 23 big hydro projects in the state for violations of Dam Safety Act and CWC 2015 guidelines are welcome. We hope there will be no backlash against this from the central govt. In fact Central Govt agencies like CWC, NDMA, CEA and Ministry of Power will welcome and support the HP action and also ask all states to follow suit. In fact all dam owner states need to follow the HP example. SANDRP and other like-minded organisations like Himdhara in HP have been saying this for long and we are glad that there is some though long overdue action on this issue.
A lot more needs to be done. All information related to dam operations and dam safety must be without exception, promptly in public domain. Flood forecasting needs to get out of the ad-hoc-ism now prevailing and possibly needs to be handed over to a new independent organisation that has no axe to grind, unlike CWC. Earlier we bring all these changes, the better it will be for our disaster management.
Continue reading “DRP NB 210823: Welcome Himachal action against Dam safety violations”
SANDRP 