In an astounding move, NHPC published a Tender Notice for ‘Chenab-Beas Link Tunnel Project (Link 3)’ on the 20th May 2026 [1] and immediately cancelled it on the 23rd May 2026. No details of this project were online before this sudden announcement and its retraction, nor does the project have legally required environmental, forest, tribal ministry clearances or Gram Sabha resolutions in support.
Continue reading “Chenab-Beas Link Tunnel: Safety of the Indian Himalayan Region at Stake”Category: Climate Change
Submission to Karnataka Govt: Climate Change Adaptation & Mitigation Strategies for Water Sector
Guest Article by Nirmala Gowda
Under the National Water Mission, the Government of Karnataka conducted a consultation workshop on 24 March 2026 on “Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Strategies for the Water Sector in Karnataka.” Mapping Malnad attended the session and subsequently, along with SAPACC (South Asian People’s Action on Climate Crisis), submitted written comments on the presentation. This is a summary of our submission.
(The background image in the feature photo above is Pandri river, tributary of Kali river, Upstream of Supa Dam in Uttara Kannada District. Photo taken by the author.)
Raj Naun: Can Stories Save our Springs?
How can we drink this cool water?
For we will see you in it for all our life
Night of atonement, oh girls, oh birds.
~ Sukrat, an elegy for Queen Suhi who was sacrificed for Chamba’s water[1]
Raj Naun, the Royal Fountain House in Chamba is not what I imagined it to be. After reading and thinking about it obsessively for over a year what lies ahead is not a homage to water but a structure in ruins. The Raj Naun has vaulted ceilings, arches and two beautifully carved waterspouts to channel a robust Himalayan spring. But the spouts are dry, the chamber is full of garbage, bottles of alcohol, stacks of firewood, packets of chips lie around. There is that unmissable stench of urine.
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DRP 230326: Small Hydro environment friendly and help community development?
(Feature Image: Priyadarshini Small HEP on Manuni khad in Kangra, Himachal Pradesh damaged after flash flood in June 2025. At least 8 workers of the project were also killed in the disaster. Image Source: Gems of Himachal, post on X.)
The impression being given through the following PIB Press Release dated March 18 2026 that this scheme cleared by the Union Cabinet to promote small hydropower projects will promote environment friendly and socio-economically beneficial projects in North East and other hilly areas is incorrect and misleading.
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Gaddis: Storytellers of the Ravi Basin
As we stood on a ridge near the Lakke Wali Mata shrine, a tributary of the Ravi roared below in a deep gorge. Across it rose a shaded, Devdar (Himalayan Cedar)-covered mountain slope, etched by a steep brown trail. As we stood there observing the headwaters of Ravi, we noticed that the trail was moving.
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2025: People’s Resistance Against Hydro Projects in Himalaya
The local communities have continued their collective resistance against destructive hydro power (HEP) projects in North East and North West Himalayan states in India all through 2025. The ACT in Sikkim has condemned the EAC decision to rebuild the washed-out Teesta III dam. The SIFF along with dependent villagers and concerned citizen groups have opposed the forceful deployment of armed forces for SUMP surveys in Siang river basin.
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The Day Salun Village Fell: Impacts of Cascading Hydropower Projects in the Ravi Basin
Salun village, perched roughly 50 feet above the Ravi River, had its moment of fame on the 26th August 2025 — a moment that also became its last. On the dark, rainy afternoon, the small village with homes, rajma fields, apple orchards and cattle sheds collapsed into the flooded River Ravi like a house of cards. In a matter of 30 minutes, ancestral homes with warm hearths, blankets for the coming winter, old report cards and wedding albums, adhar cards and bankbooks-entire archives of living-were erased. Villagers, who managed to escape in time stood in awe and saw their village going extinct before their eyes.
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Himachal Pradesh: Sainj HEP Remains Out of Operation for over 4 months
(Feature Image: Outlet of Sainj HEP powerhouse tunnel buried under silt in last week of June 2025. Source: Hariram Chaudhary, Sainj)
The Sainj Hydroelectric Project (HEP) in Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh has been out of operation for over the past four months. The 100 Mw project of the Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (HPPCL) is the fourth HEP which was severely affected by flash flood in Jiwa nullah on June 25, 2025.
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2025: Hydro Projects Accidents & Disasters in Himalaya
The accidents and disasters occurring particularly during monsoon months have affected several Hydro Electric Projects (HEP) both built and under construction in Himalayan states of India. In this overview, we put together information about such disasters to underline their increasing vulnerabilities to climatic disasters endangering the lives of workers and local people living in the vicinity of these projects.
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DRP 101125: Does the world still need the annual jamboree of COP, given its record?
(Feature image is from the New York Times)
The annual Conference of Parties (COP) on climate change begins its annual meeting in Brazil today. Consider the track record of the annual meetings so far, it is a valid question to ask, as the Question of Cities asks, Does the World still need this meeting with such a huge carbon footprint of its own? Is it a futile exercise now?
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SANDRP 