On 10th April 2018 around 500 fishers assembled at Majhdia, a town bordering Bangladesh in the district of Nadia (W Bengal), to publicly voice their protest against killing of rivers Mathabhanga and Churni. Majhdia town reverberated with the slogan Save River, Save Fish, Save Fisher People! Continue reading “Fisher-people lead Save Mathabhanga & Churni River Campaign in W Bengal”
Author: SANDRP
DRP: 16 April 2018: HOW Citizens can use mobile app to monitor Rivers
MOBILE APP FOR RIVER MONITORING: HUGE POTENTIAL FOR CITIZENS IN INDIA? If you added up the length of all the streams around the world, the total would be at least 89 million kilometers [Downing et al., 2012]. More than half of the global stream channel network is likely intermittent (i.e., the streams do not have flow year-round [Datry et al., 2014]), yet most streamflow monitoring stations are located on perennial streams.
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Pawai Dam Project displacing people without Rehabilitation, allege PAFs
Above: Broken, Silted Canals of under construction Pawai Project on Ken River in MP (SANDRP photo)
The Ken Yatra while going through the Panna district were told by Project Affected People that the Pawai Medium Irrigation Project (PMP) under construction is displacing the people without just compensation or rehabilitation.
The Ken Yatra observed that the construction work of the PMP is happening in full swing in Madhya Pradesh. The dam is being built at ‘Tendu Ghat’ on Ken River in Panna district to supply irrigation water to 9952 hectares (the board at the project site erroneously says it will irrigate 30 000 ha) of agricultural land falling in Pawai and Gunnor tehsils. The construction work also involves creation of a massive canal, including a few aqua-ducts on Ken river and its tributaries. Continue reading “Pawai Dam Project displacing people without Rehabilitation, allege PAFs”
DRP: 9 April 2018: Flood control makes Mississippi floods worse
Mississippi floods get worse with flood control engineering Groundbreaking research suggests that floods in 3800 km long Mississippi River passing through ten US states have got worse over the centuries, a new study suggests, with Flood Protection Engineering! “Floods on the mighty Mississippi River are larger and more frequent today than at any time in the past 500 years — in part, a new study suggests, because structures erected to control the river have increased the flood risk.
Continue reading “DRP: 9 April 2018: Flood control makes Mississippi floods worse”DRP: 2 April 2018: How New Rivers are born in Argentina
New Rivers appearing in Morro Basin in Argentina This is unheard of, amazing story, a frightening and yet fascinating one, of how large scale deforestation, combined with wet cycle and fragile top soil has lead to NEW RIVERS suddenly appearing in Morro Basin in Argentina over the last decade. The deforestation has been mostly done for brining the land under Soya Beans, the biggest contributor to exports from Argentina, Argentina is the world’s third largest producer after US and Brazil, 60% of its arable land under this single crop. So much so that commentators have called the new river as Soya Bean river and Argentina as Soya Bean republic, in line with Banana republic. Some 2.4m hectares of native forest have been lost in the last 10 years, according to Greenpeace.
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AIBP: just a pack of unverifiable claims or worse?
Union Ministry of Water Resources (MoWR) has been claiming that Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Program (AIBP) is a success story of Modi government and some media stories[i] are happy to uncritically report those claims. If we take a close, objective look at the MoWR website[ii], we gather that the claims of success is just that: claim of the ministry. There is no evidence available on the ministry’s website or in the media report that support such claims to show that additional irrigation has actually been achieved. Continue reading “AIBP: just a pack of unverifiable claims or worse?”
DRP: 26 Mar 2018: Massive Farmer protest in Palghar against water diversion
MASSIVE Farmer protest in PALGHAR (Maharashtra) The protest for the third day on World Water Day, was against diversion of water from Survya Dam for Vasai-Virar and Mira-Bhayander. under the aegis of the Surya Pani Bachav Samiti.
– The contract to construct the 88-km long pipeline has already been awarded to the L&T Group by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) under the Surya Regional Bulk Water Supply Scheme.
– Ramakant Patil, chief convenor of the SPBS who is also undertaking the fast, said the Surya dam, which was built in 1990 over the Kawdas and Dhamni rivers in Kasa taluka,Dahanu, was specifically for irrigational purpose for 19,000 odd acres of farmland in Palghar district. “Now the MMRDA is planning to divert around 89% of the dam water to the above cities so as to solve the cities’ drinking water issues, but we the farmers would be denied water for our land,”said Patil.
– They withdrew it after an assurance of a meeting with chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. “We have raised this issue for many times in the past. But it is for the first time that a CM has agreed to sit with us and discuss. Now we are just waiting to hear from the CM’s office to know the date of meeting,” Brian Lobo of Kashtakari Sangathan adds. https://www.hindustantimes.com/mumbai-news/palghar-farmers-fast-over-diverting-surya-dam-water-enters-third-day/story-LsTeF2vf6xuVroPRO2GSYJ.html, http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report-urban-areas-rob-tribals-of-water-supply-2597713
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Happy Birth Day, Yamuna! In pics from Friends of Yamuna
Every year on the sixth day of summer Navratra the birthday of Yamuna river is celebrated. This year it was on 23 March 2018. On this occasion, SANDRP has prepared a photo blog covering almost entire length of the river. The Yamuna Mitra Mandali (YNMM) (Friends of Yamuna River) group established by Yamuna Jiye Abhiyan has essential contributed for this pictorial blog.
The photo blog tries to show the present day situation of river Yamuna and activities of YNMM on the day of Yamuna Jayanti.
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WORLD WATER DAY 2018: INDIA’S POSITIVE WATER STORIES
On occasion of World Water Day 2018, SANDRP put together reports of remarkable water conservation work done by individuals, villager community and organizations across the country.
Good that UN report this WWD says[i]: “The efforts by local communities in India to improve water availability have been lauded in a UN report that highlights the importance of finding nature-based solutions to meet global water challenges…. The report notes that reservoirs, irrigation canals and water treatment plants are not the only water management instruments at disposal. It also cited the example of China’s Sponge City which aims to recycle 70 per cent of rainwater.”
But the UN report[ii] does not mention that local options should be the top priority and should be exhausted before going for large projects. Unfortunately, Indian water resources establishment’s priority is Large dams and river linking. The UN report also does not say that local systems are bound to be neglected and destroyed in the shadow of large projects and where the governance is top down, unaccountable, non transparent and non participatory.
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DRP: 19 Mar 2018 (PM Abandons Inauguration of Mapithel Dam in Manipur Following Protests)
In an important development in Manipur this week, PM Narendra Modi could not commission the controversial Mapithel dam due to local protest. As per, the official statement notifying The PM was was supposed to launch is the Mapithel dam, part of the Thoubal Multipurpose Project.
As per CRA Manipur blog report, the forum of Mapithel dam affected “Joint Action Committee Against Forced Inauguration of Mapithel Dam had threatened a 48-hour shutdown to coincide with the dam’s scheduled inauguration by Modi. The committee withdrew its call late on March 14, reportedly after the Manipur government agreed to shelve the inauguration.
The action committee is primarily demanding compensation for the people displaced by the project as mandated by the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.
Apart from complaints of inadequate compensation, opposition to the commissioning of the dam itself has grown louder over the years. Local communities claim the project violates the Forest Conservation Act of 1980 and its new avatar, the Forest Rights Act of 2006. https://cramanipur.wordpress.com/2018/03/16/as-local-communities-protest-manipur-government-cancels-plan-of-modi-inaugurating-mapithel-dam/
Continue reading “DRP: 19 Mar 2018 (PM Abandons Inauguration of Mapithel Dam in Manipur Following Protests)”
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