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.
Continue reading “The Day Salun Village Fell: Impacts of Cascading Hydropower Projects in the Ravi Basin”Category: Dams
WFD 2025: Mass Fish Death in Indian Rivers
(Feature Image: Thousands of fish found dead in Mula-Mutha river near Naik Bet, a river island at Bund Garden in last week of Dec. 2024. Source)
Indian rivers continue to witness mass fish death incidents all through the year 2025. Most of these incidents we were able to track have occurred in urban rivers across the country including Mula-Mutha in Pune, Yamuna in Delhi, Gomti in Lucknow and Varuna in Varanasi. Mass fish mortality cases have also happened in streams passing through Nalagarh & Pithampur industrial areas of Himachal Pradesh & Madhya Pradesh. These streams are part of Sutlej-Ghaggar-Yamuna-Chambal river basins & have been facing large scale fish death for years.
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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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National Dolphin Day 2025: Deaths, Threats, Conservation Efforts related to Gangetic Dolphins
(Feature Image: Carcass of a Gangetic dolphin found on Ganga river bank in Sahibganj district on Oct. 02, 2025)
Oct. 5 is marked as National Dolphin Day since 2022 after a decision by the NBWL in its 67th meeting in March 2022. Earlier the day was designated as Ganga River Dolphin Day. Bihar has been celebrating Oct. 5 as ‘Dolphin Day’ for the past many years. In May 2010, the MoEF had notified the Gangetic Dolphin as ‘National Aquatic Animal’ and in Aug. 2022 launched the Project Dolphin.
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Sept 2025: 5 die when Kadana dam water release floods Gujarat Hydro project
At around 3 pm on Sept 4, in a major disaster, water gushed into under repair power house of 12 MW Ajanta hydropower plant on Mahi river near Tatroli village in Mahisagar district of Gujarat. The project is located on Dolatpur weir of Kadana dam on Mahi River, about 20 km downstream of the dam. Out of about 15 workers present, five are missing and so far one dead body have been found on Friday evening. Rest of the workers could escape and save them themselves. The project had faced damaging disaster earlier too. The water seems to have come from the discharge of huge quantity of water from upstream Kadana dam. The project owning company was also involved in the Morbi Bridge disaster earlier.
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Vulnerable Nallahs in the Himalayas Need Urgent Attention
“When Jahlma Nallah starts roaring, we cannot sleep. It has been flooding for the past three years at least” said octogenarian Devi Singhji in October 2024. Jahlma Nallah, which joins the Chenab and blocks it occasionally, flooded again catastrophically in the monsoon of 2025.
Continue reading “Vulnerable Nallahs in the Himalayas Need Urgent Attention”
Aug 2025: Chenab, Tawi and tributaries cross Highest Flood Levels: Muck Dumping worsens the impacts
In an event which is seem like an emergency, in. the morning of Aug 27 2025, Chenab and its tributaries have crossed Highest Flood Levels (HFL) at three hydrological observation sites between the under-construction 850 MW Ratle Hydropower Project in Kishtwar District and 900 MW Baglihar Hydropower Project in Ramban District in Jammu. Similarly, River Tawi is experiencing “Extreme Flood” in Jammu and has crossed its HFL.
At least 30 people have died at landslide near Vaishno Devi Pilgrimage site, Reuters reported.
Continue reading “Aug 2025: Chenab, Tawi and tributaries cross Highest Flood Levels: Muck Dumping worsens the impacts”
Aug 2025: Yamuna Flows Blocked at Syana Chatti in Uttarakhand
(Feature Image: Buildings submerged in artificial lake following blockage in Yamuna river at Syana Chatti)
Blockage of Yamuna flows has resulted in formation of an artificial lake in the Yamuna river on August 21, 2025 at Syana Chatti in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand. The lake is a result of debris and mud floods in Kupada khad (Garh gaad) after the rains in the morning. The water level in the lake dipped in the afternoon and increased again following fresh debris slide from the stream without any rain activity around 04:30 pm.
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Aug 2025: Flood Affects Satpuli Barrage Project in Uttarakhand
(Feature Image: Flooded machines, camps and materials of Satpuli lake project on Aug 06 morning. Credit: Chain Singh Rawat (Junyali), Satpuli)
A flood spell in Nayar river (East) on Aug 6, 2025 morning has affected the ongoing construction work of Satpuli Barrage Project in Pauri district of Uttarakhand. The flood submerged some machines, heavy vehicles, worker camps and huge amount of construction materials, leading to huge losses for the construction company. All these machines, materials and camps were in the riverbed and flood zone of the river, exposing them to flood threats in the peak monsoon.
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DRP 18 Aug2025: Sustainable Hydropower an Oxymoron?
Analyzing a recent paper authored by 37 persons mainly from academics and hydropower related companies on “Sustainable Hydropower”, Eugene Simonov shows why the phrase is an oxymoron, a contradiction in terms. The paper fails to even refer to the most important work on hydropower projects, the report of the World Commission on Dams.
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SANDRP 