Open Letter to Kerala Chief Secretary about Monsoon preparedness and disaster risk reduction

May 11, 2020May 11, 2020 SANDRPLeave a comment

On May 7, 2020, a number of groups in Kerala wrote this letter to Kerala Chief Secretary on the important issue of Monsoon preparedness and Disaster Risk Reduction, with particular focus on Reservoir operations during Monsoon. This is an excellent initiative worth emulating by a lot of us in different states and at national level. Hence we are happy to Share this here with permission from the authors.

Sir,

The South-West monsoon is scheduled to arrive at Kerala by around June 1^st. Early predictions on the monsoon by different agencies including the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) suggest normal to above normal rainfall in India. The South-Western coast and adjoining regions are expected to get very good rainfall this year. It may be recalled that the state had to face extremely high-intensity rainfall incidents and consequent disasters in the last two years. Hence, the state needs to be well prepared to face any eventuality during the coming monsoon. The following concerns may be addressed and suggestions may be considered. Continue reading “Open Letter to Kerala Chief Secretary about Monsoon preparedness and disaster risk reduction” →

Are we ready to use more water from snow melt in Indus basin this year?

May 7, 2020May 7, 2020 SANDRPLeave a comment

Union Water Resources Minister Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat has recently said that the snow this year on Himalayan peaks is the highest in 50 years, and reservoirs like Bhakra, Pong, Ranjit Sagar, Ramganga, Tehri, etc will receive very high water inflow from snowmelt during summer and SW Monsoon.[i] This is in fact the third warning this year on this issue. Earlier on Feb 27, 2020 and then again on May 4, 2020, the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) provided the same warning to its partner states. However, neither the Union Minister & BBMB, nor the partner states seem ready or doing anything to prepare for the unprecedented situation that the dams and rivers may bring in ongoing summer and coming SW monsoon.

In fact the situation is similar to the one that happened twice at Bhakra-Pong-Ranjit Sagar Dams last year[ii]. Even then not only there were massive floods, but the water flowed away to Pakistan, totally against the declared pronouncements and policy of Indian Government leaders including the Prime Minister. Continue reading “Are we ready to use more water from snow melt in Indus basin this year?” →

Dam floods

NSW Supreme Court holds dam operators responsible for Australia’s Brisbane 2011 floods

November 29, 2019November 29, 2019 SANDRPLeave a comment

In a landmark judgment, the January 2011 Brisbane (Australia) floods class action decision was announced by the New South Wales[i] Supreme Court (Justice Robert Beech-Jones) on Nov 29, 2019[ii]. The court held[iii] the State of Queensland, Wivenhoe Dam operators and engineers responsible for inappropriate operation of the dam. It’s one of the largest ever class action suits of Australia and could cost the government millions of dollars. Continue reading “NSW Supreme Court holds dam operators responsible for Australia’s Brisbane 2011 floods” →

Dam floods · Dam Induced Flood Disaster · Dam Safety

2019 Monsoon: Instances when Dam Safety Came into Question

October 31, 2019 SANDRPLeave a comment

The South West Monsoon in 2019 in India brought the highest rainfall of last 25 years and issues related to heavy rainfall continue even to the end of October 2019. Here we have listed major instances during the monsoon when there were question marks over safety of dams either due to structural safety or due to wrong operations of the dams. Some issues of breaches of embankments/ canals are also included here. As we can see, the instances come from across the country, including North East, North, West, Centre, South.

Continue reading “2019 Monsoon: Instances when Dam Safety Came into Question” →

Climate Change · Dam floods · Dam Induced Flood Disaster · Dams · Floods

Impacts on cropland: 2019 Maharashtra Floods

October 4, 2019October 10, 2019 SANDRP1 Comment

Photo-Blog 3

Flood-hit districts of Kolhapur, Sangli and Satara are leading agri-producers in Maharashtra. They are also the historic sugarcane growing regions of the state. Assured water availability and rich soils have made these regions prosperous cultivators of sugarcane, grapes, bananas, groundnuts and other oilseeds like soybeans and also vegetables. Continue reading “Impacts on cropland: 2019 Maharashtra Floods” →

Chambal · Dam floods

Man made National Crisis at Gandhi Sagar Dam in Sept 2019

September 24, 2019September 25, 2019 SANDRPLeave a comment

Its not everyday that Government of India’s National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC) meets. It’s even rarer when the NCMC meets to deal with issues related to a dam. And that too on a Sunday.

The National Crisis So when on Sunday, Sept 15, 2019, the Cabinet Secretary chaired the NCMC meeting[i] to discuss the issues surrounding the Gandhi Sagar Dam on Chambal river in Madhya Pradesh (close to Rajasthan border) and called it a National Crisis, it signified how serious was the situation. Continue reading “Man made National Crisis at Gandhi Sagar Dam in Sept 2019” →

Dam floods · Kali River · Karnataka

Unprecedented Dam flood situation in Uttara Kannada in Aug 2019

August 31, 2019August 31, 2019 SANDRP2 Comments

The New Indian Express published a most remarkable report on Aug 24, 2019[i]. It said, among other things: “The district administration of Uttara Kannada will seek an inquiry report from the managing director of Karnataka Power Corporation Limited on untimely release of water from Kadra dam to Kali River, which caused flood in Kadra, Mallapur, Kaiga township, Hanakon, Kharge Jooga island, Kinnar, Siddar, Vailawada and many villages in Karwar taluk in the first week of August. 5,000 people from these villages were shifted to rehabilitation centres in Karwar and other villages. Half of the Kaiga township was inundated and employees of Kaiga Atomic Power Station had to use boats to reach the nuclear power plants… The district administration was not informed about the increasing inflow into Kadra dam and outflow into the river. Finally, DC Harish Kumar K, ZP CEO M Roshan and then SP Vinayak Patil camped in Kadra and took over the control of the dam due to the failure of dam officials. They managed the outflow of the dam for a couple of days. Deputy Commissioner Harish Kumar K said the district administration will write to KPCL MD seeking an inquiry on water released from dams to Kali river.” Continue reading “Unprecedented Dam flood situation in Uttara Kannada in Aug 2019” →

Dam floods

IMD forecast of Water Volume in River Basins: Can it help prevent Dam floods?

August 27, 2019August 27, 2019 SANDRP3 Comments

On Aug 16, 2019, a news report[i] announced that Pune IMD (India Meteorological Department) will now (from Aug 1, 2019) provide to CWC (Central Water Commission) forecasts of water volume that may accumulate in river basins across the India “In a bid to ensure effective reservoir management.”

Pulak Guhathakurta, head, Climate Application and User Interface at Climate Research and Service at IMD-Pune was quoted saying, “We will make use of our forecasts and rainfall information to calculate the total volume of water expected to accumulate in every river basin and sub-river basin on the basis of its area expanse. This information will then be shared with CWC and other authorities, like the department of irrigation. It will be handy and can be decisive while deciding the release of water from time to time, especially during the monsoon.” This statement again emphasised that this was being done to help reservoir management. The news report than mentioned the Kerala floods in 2018 and role of dams therein. Continue reading “IMD forecast of Water Volume in River Basins: Can it help prevent Dam floods?” →

Dam floods

Aug 2019 Krishna Basin floods in Karnataka & the Role of Dams

August 12, 2019August 12, 2019 SANDRP1 Comment

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” →

Dam floods

Aug 2019 Krishna Basin Floods in Maharashtra – Karnataka: How dams harming rather than helping

August 8, 2019August 8, 2019 SANDRP24 Comments

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” →