Belagavi district (earlier known as Belgaum) in Northern Karnataka is the worst affected among the Krishna Basin Flood affected districts in August 2019. As the state Chief Minister and Union Home Minister visit the area to take stock of the situation, it would help to understand the reasons for these unprecedented floods. Continue reading “Aug 2019 Krishna Basin floods in Karnataka & the Role of Dams”
Author: SANDRP
Aug 2019 Krishna Basin Floods in Maharashtra – Karnataka: How dams harming rather than helping
Krishna River Basin is in for worst floods than the previous big flood of August 2005. Already at eight sites, the water level has already crossed the previous HFL – Highest Flood Level recorded by CWC (Central Water Commission), at four sites each in Maharashtra and Karnataka, almost all on different tributaries. Continue reading “Aug 2019 Krishna Basin Floods in Maharashtra – Karnataka: How dams harming rather than helping”
DRP: 5 Aug 2019: Why Dam Safety Bill and ISWD Amendment won’t help
India urgently needs a lot of effective work on Dam Safety, but the bill before the Parliament makes CWC (Central Water Commission) as focal point of Dam Safety, but CWC has conflict of interest and poor track record. The Bill does not provide any real independent oversight, nor clearly defined norms of complete transparency in the dam safety matters, and there is no role of the vulnerable communities, the most important stake holders. The Bill also tends to centralise the power with the Union govt, and states legitimately suspects this. https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/dam-safety-bill-2019-why-evokes-opposition-stakeholders-1576391-2019-08-02 (Aug 2, 2019)
The Interstate Amendment Water Disputes Amendment Bill before the Parliament is basically tinkering with the existing system, which will not change anything fundamentally. It needs to be understood that disputes arise when an upper riparian state (or a country) build a large dam or diverts the massive amount of water, leading to lower availability of water for the lower riparian state (or country). When it comes to resolution, the tribunals look at a river as a channel of water and its distribution, ignoring that it is a complete ecosystem and that water in a river depends on the state of its basin and catchment area. It also depends on the extraction of groundwater. These aspects are ignored by the tribunals. Moreover, a state does not represent a river basin or all its stakeholders (the people using river water), which is why the Narmada tribunal’ award created a conflict between the states and their people. The central government’s impartiality is suspect and would have a great bearing on the resolution process. https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/interstate-river-water-disputes-bill-2019-1575531-2019-07-31 (1 Aug. 2019)
Continue reading “DRP: 5 Aug 2019: Why Dam Safety Bill and ISWD Amendment won’t help”
DRP: 30 Jul 2019: Why this push for unviable, destructive Dibang Project?
Lot of media persons asked this question over the last few weeks ever since Union Cabinet cleared India’s largest proposed hydropower project, the 2880 MW Dibang Multipurpose Project, involving construction of one of the highest dam, and destruction of pristine Dibang river, one of the tributaries of the Brahmaputra and also destruction of over 4550 ha of one of the most bio-diversity rich forests. Particularly when pointed out that the project is not even economically viable and its clearances involved all kind of violations, manipulations and frauds. And when highlighted that the every reason why the 2000 MW Lower Subansiri Project remains stalled since Dec 2011 also applies to the Dibang project.
Continue reading “DRP: 30 Jul 2019: Why this push for unviable, destructive Dibang Project?”
DRP: 22 July 2019: Submergence as weapon against people’s movement?
Why are Gujarat and Centre in such a hurry to fill up Sardar Sarovar Reservoir? Shocking Decision of NCA. Stop power generation so that people can be submerged and displaced. The Madhya Pradesh government has objected to a decision of the Narmada Control Authority (NCA) to halt production of electricity at the River Bed Power House of the Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP-RBPH). NCA consented to Gujarat’s request in April this year to halt power generation at the SSP-RBPH so that the reservoir could be filled to capacity this monsoon. In a letter addressed to NCA chairman U P Singh, Madhya Pradesh chief secretary S R Mohanty termed the decision “unilateral” and demanded that the decision should be reviewed immediately.
Continue reading “DRP: 22 July 2019: Submergence as weapon against people’s movement?”
DRP: 15 July 2019: How Early Flood warnings using WhatsAPP saves lives
The following is an excellent example of how early flood warnings from Bhutan, shared with downstream Assam communities using WhatsApp messages, saves lives. This needs to be highlighted and word spread to implement it in all flood prone areas on Urgent basis, including in trans-boundary areas, as this is an example of the same.
In the last few weeks of June 2019, a series of WhatsApp messages (sent via unofficial channels) were sent from Bhutan to India to warn “cross-border friends” downstream of the Aai, Saralbhanga and Manas rivers about cloud-bursts, swollen rivers and possible flash floods affecting people in the Indian state of Assam.
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Sand Mafia Build Illegal Bunds In Ken River
Ken River, the lifeline of Bundelkhand region is again succumbing to illegal sand mining on a massive scale. The 427 km long river originates from agricultural lands in Mamar hills of Katni district, Madhya Pradesh. It flows through Panna district and merges into Yamuna river as right bank tributary at Cheela Ghat in Banda district of Uttar Pradesh.
For first about 50 km from origin the river remains seasonal and gets strength once the tributary streams and rivers like Aloni, Gurne, Patne, Sonar, Midhasan, Shyamari, Banne, Khudar, Kutne, Urmil, Kail successively falls into it as the river flows through plateau area of Vindhya hill range in Central India.
Continue reading “Sand Mafia Build Illegal Bunds In Ken River”
3 Kids Drowned to Death in a DAY In Illegal Sand Mining Pits
Illegal sand mining operations continue to take the lives of innocent people in India. So far there have been dozens of violent incidents and tragic accidents involving illegal sand mining activities.
The latest in the series is death of 3 kids in two different Indian states on a single day of July 7, 2019. The first incident killing two adolescents is reported from Yamuna Nagar district of Haryana state. As per the reports, five children from Kanalsi village had gone to the river for bathing in the evening of July 7.
Continue reading “3 Kids Drowned to Death in a DAY In Illegal Sand Mining Pits”
DRP: 8 July 2019: Kerala CRZ Norms Violation; Senior Lawyers ‘Play Fraud’ On Court, Invite SC Wrath
Irked over “judicial impropriety” by some senior advocates in taking relief from its vacation benches by suppressing facts, the Supreme Court July 5 blasted them for “playing fraud” upon it. Terming this practice as “the height of judicial misconduct”, a bench comprising Justices Arun Mishra and Navin Sinha said senior advocates were “not above the law” and such conduct reflected that “no morality” is left in some of them.
It also took exception to the passing of order by the vacation bench, which had stayed the demolition of some buildings in Kerala for six weeks. Hearing the matter earlier, a bench headed by Justice Mishra had directed on May 8 that these buildings be removed within a month as they were constructed in the notified Coastal Regulations Zones (CRZ), which is part of the tidally influenced water body in Kerala.
When the matter came up for hearing on July 5, the bench said it has “serious objection” to what has happened in the case as “height of judicial impropriety has been done”. “During the vacation, the matter was mentioned before me but I refused to hear it. Then it came before another vacation bench. That bench should not have passed the order. You (lawyers) are permitting the court to commit judicial impropriety,” the bench told senior advocate Kalyan Banerjee, who is also a Lok Sabha MP from All India Trinamool Congress.
Continue reading “DRP: 8 July 2019: Kerala CRZ Norms Violation; Senior Lawyers ‘Play Fraud’ On Court, Invite SC Wrath”
India’s Water Management Crisis
Blessings, like disasters, are complicated. Blessings come with a lot of attachments. And if you cannot manage them, you could invite disasters.
India is a blessed country in so many ways as far as water endowment is concerned. Our monsoons, rivers, aquifers, the Himalayas, the rich traditional techniques and management systems, to name a few. But the impacts of accumulated mismanagement over the last several decades are now coming out in the form of crisis in multiple ways. Continue reading “India’s Water Management Crisis”
SANDRP 