There were just too many reasons for reading British writer Adam Weymouth’s Kings of the Yukon (US Edition by Little, Brown 2018). It is a book about the King Salmon: a fish which travels nearly 3,200 kilometers upstream the Yukon River from the Pacific Ocean to spawn and die in the same river pools where it was born. But it is also a book about free flowing Yukon River which supports the largest run of King Salmon. Continue reading “Book Review: Kings of the Yukon: “The fish did not change, we changed””
Category: Dams
DRP: 31 Dec 2018: China Built Ecuador Dam, Advt For What Dam Can Do To River, Environment, Nation & Future
Best Advertisement of What Dam Building can do. Great Expose by NYT: “The dam sits under the glare of an active volcano, with columns of ash spewing toward the sky. Officials had warned against the dam for decades. Geologists said an earthquake could wipe it away. Now, only two years after opening, thousands of cracks are splintering the dam’s machinery. Its reservoir is clogged with silt, sand and trees.
Inquiry into Srinagar HEP Canal Leak Reveals Poor Quality of Construction
The power channel (canal) of 330 Mw, Srinagar Hydro Electric Power (HEP) project has been leaking since December 16, 2018 affecting Surasu, Mangsu, Naur and Supana villagers in Srinagar, Uttrakhand.
Villagers were alarmed when the gushing water started reaching fields, cowsheds and some village homes. They staged a protest and demanded that canal be repaired within three days. Following complains to local MLA Vinod Kandari, a team from Uttrakhand Irrigation Department and Public Work Department (PWD) inspected the affected areas.
The Kritinagar SDM Anuradha Pal also inspected the villages and issued notices to Alaknanda Hydro Power Construction Limited (AHPCL) the developer and operator of the project. She also formed three member probe team comprising of Executive Engineers from Irrigation Department, PWD and Revenue official to look into the issue.
Continue reading “Inquiry into Srinagar HEP Canal Leak Reveals Poor Quality of Construction”
Char Dham Road Project Kills 8 Labours: Will State & Central Govts Wake Up Now?
The landslide incident[i] on under construction Char Dham All Weather Road Project in Rudraprayag district of Uttrakhand has killed 8 labours on 21 December 2018 around 12.30 pm near Banswada in Ukhimath Bhiri area on the Rudraprayag-Gaurikund national highway (NH 107).
Continue reading “Char Dham Road Project Kills 8 Labours: Will State & Central Govts Wake Up Now?”
Sacred Origins: Spring Lake and San Marcos River of Texas
It was a freak accident. But it meant that I had to travel every week from Austin to Brooke Army Medical Center, some 75 miles away. These were not enjoyable trips and one of the solace was a sign on the highway: “San Marcos River Recreational Areas: Turn Right”. I used to wonder what will happen if we actually turn right someday. A river with parks around it maybe? Or trails along a flowing river? The thought always made the journey slightly more palatable. Continue reading “Sacred Origins: Spring Lake and San Marcos River of Texas”
Ken River Yatra: A Glimpse into the Lives of River People
This multi-media report by Siddharth Agarwal based on a walk along the majestic Ken River in central India, now part of a contentious river-linking project, shows how essential it is to the communities living around it.
The idea of walking along a river has many key reasons, but the most important of them is to interact, discuss with and document the life of the actual stakeholders of this natural system. Traversing flood plains and riverbanks on foot takes us right where the story is, not in a far removed space, where even a few kilometres away from it can be a major shift. Location plays a wonderful role in rejigging memory and helps people imagine past situations. The discussions on the scale of the importance of a river suddenly have a realism and depth.
Continue reading “Ken River Yatra: A Glimpse into the Lives of River People”
Magic Mahseer of Meghalaya
As we reached the dense banks of River Simsang, lined with blooming Kachnar Trees, first thing I heard was not the gush of a free flowing river, but a symphony. Continue reading “Magic Mahseer of Meghalaya”
अनुपम मिश्र मेमोरियल मैडल 2018 से सम्मानित अरुण तिवारी जी से बातचीत
श्री अरुण तिवारी जी वरिष्ठ पत्रकार-लेखक हैं। आप लगभग पिछले तीन दशकों से नदियों को बचाने और जल संरक्षण के लिए उल्लेखनीय लेखन कार्य करते आ रहे हैं। आपका पानी पोस्ट हिंदी ब्लॉग काफी चर्चित है जिसपर आप नियमित तौर पर नदियों और पानी से जुड़े विभिन्न पहलुओं और समकालीन विषयों पर जानकारियां साँझा करते रहते हैं। आपके अनवरत प्रयासों को देखते हुए आपको 25 नवंबर 2018 को अनुपम मिश्र मेमोरियल मैडल से सम्मानित किया है। आपके विचारों को अधिक से अधिक लोगों तक पहुँचाने के लिए, प्रस्तुत है, भीम सिंह रावत, SANDRP द्वारा आपके साथ ईमेल के जरिये हुए बातचीत के प्रमुख अंश।
अनुपम मिश्र मेमोरियल मैडल देश में नदी संरक्षण पर उत्कृष्ठ मीडिया काम के लिए प्रदान किया जाता है। यह सम्मान प्रख्यात पर्यावरणविद और गांधीवादी स्व. अनुपम मिश्र की स्मृति में, वर्ष 2017 से, इंडिया रिवर्स फोरम (भारतीय नदी जनसभा) के द्वारा वार्षिक तौर पर आयोजित भारतीय नदी दिवस के अवसर पर दिया जाता है।
भीम सिंह रावत: अनुपम मिश्र मैमोरियल मैडल के लिए बधाई। आप पिछले तीन दशकों से निरंतर अपने लेखन से नदियों की दुर्दशा और संरक्षण की ज़रूरत का मुद्दा उठाते रहे हैं। आज नदियों की क्या स्थिति है ? नदियों पर मुख्य संकट क्या है ?
अरुण तिवारी – नदियां, पृथ्वी की नसें हैं। ये नसें निरंतर सिकुड़ रही हैं। नीली की बजाय, काली, पीली और भूरी पड़ती जा रही हैं। भारत में यह चित्र तेजी से बढ़ रहा है।
नदी संकट के नाम पर प्रदूषण, वैश्विक तापमान में वृद्धि आदि कई कारणों को गिनाया जा सकता है, लेकिन भारतीय नदियों पर आसन्न प्रमुख संकट यह है कि हम नदियों की बहने की आज़ादी को तेज़ी के साथ छीनते जा रहे हैं। नदियां आज़ाद बहें; इसके लिए ज़रूरी है कि हम अपनी नदियों को उनका प्रवाह, उनका वेग, उनकी भूमि तथा प्रवाह के उनके साथी वापस लौटाएं।
Continue reading “अनुपम मिश्र मेमोरियल मैडल 2018 से सम्मानित अरुण तिवारी जी से बातचीत”
Dams Floods 2018: Filling up Dams well before Monsoon end, Invitation to Disaster
The tendency of filling up reservoirs in the beginning and middle of monsoon season have been leading to avoidable flood disasters in the country. Apart from Kerala flood 2018, which was aggravated by mismanagement of reservoirs, various reports show that reservoirs in river basin of Cauvery, Krishna, Godavari and Ganga were also filled up well before the end of South West monsoon season. Resultantly there were many man made flood spells in downstream areas affecting lives and livelihoods of people.
After highlighting role of dams in floods in Kerala and how improper dam operation affected people in Assam and Himachal Pradesh, this third and concluding part throws light on other dam induced flood (and canal breach) incidents in 2018. Continue reading “Dams Floods 2018: Filling up Dams well before Monsoon end, Invitation to Disaster”
WFD 2018: RIVER FISH UPDATE FROM INDIA
We would like to begin this long update on River Fish in India on Nov 21, World Fisheries 2018, on a positive note. What better way can there be then mention our own blog in this last year that portrays the fisherfolks as mascots of river conservation: https://sandrp.in/2017/12/15/riverine-fisherfolk-as-mascots-of-flowing-rivers-and-how-4-projects-treat-them-today/. Unfortunately, the struggle to get some place for the fisherfolks in the decision making continues. There are many positive developments here, though!
SANDRP 
