South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People
(Feature Image: Yamuna river near ISBT, Delhi on Aug. 23, 2026. BS Rawat/SANDRP)
In the third month of the 2026 southwest monsoon season, we have been able to document rivers breaching their respective Highest Flood Levels (HFLs) at least at 10 Central Water Commission (CWC) flood monitoring sites. These sites are spread across five river basins and four states mainly in central and east India.
Continue reading “Rivers Crossing Highest Flood Levels in August 2026”(Feature Image: Screengrab of drone video capturing severe flood spell in Mandakini river in Chitrakoot town, Satna on Aug. 29, 2026. Source: Hindustan Samachar)
The Mandakini (Paisuni) river has witnessed a major flood event in the pilgrimage town spread across Satna and Chitrakoot districts of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh during August 28-30, 2026. The deluge was triggered after prolonged heavy rainfall in the upper hilly catchment of river, which broke records set 23 years ago. The flood spell has killed two people and left one missing in addition to causing widespread damage to public and private properties.
Continue reading “Aug-Sep 2026: Mandakini Flood Disaster in Chitrakoot”As I write this, over 1,200 people are dead across Nepal and China, and nearly 5500 more are missing. About 900 people are trapped in hydropower tunnels clogged by debris. Herculean national and international efforts are being made to bring them out, but the tunnel entrances are sealed by dense plugs of compressed sediment, and rescuers have no idea of the extent of that blockage. An Australian tunnel expert summed up, “we might only have to dig 10 meters, or we might have to dig 100 meters.” [1]
Continue reading “Himalayan Floods Are Not Just a Water Event, They Are a Debris Event”On the 28th August 2026, Nepali officials roughly doubled their tally of missing people to over 1,900, saying hydropower producers had only recently shared a count of unaccounted-for workers at projects in the devastated river valleys. It is feared that over 900 people are missing from hydropower projects.
This might be a watershed moment for the disaster-torn hydropower boom in South Asia, funded many times by International Financial Corporations and Multilateral Banks like ADB and World Bank, and also Chinese Exim bank.
Hundreds of hydropower labourers, engineers and locals are currently trapped inside tunnels of projects like Upper Trishuli 1 and Trishuli 3A, the latter funded by a loan from China’s Exim bank in the flood ravaged Nepal. More than 350 have been rescued by the valiant efforts of Nepal Army, but many more are still trapped inside the tunnel, including Indians.
Continue reading “Nepal Disaster and Hydropower: How Global Banks Downplayed the Risks they Knew”On the morning of Wednesday, August 26, 2026, one of the most severe high-mountain fluvial disasters struck the transboundary Tibet–Nepal frontier. By now we have seen the terrifying and incomprehensible footage of the disaster.
Continue reading “Himalayan Disaster: August 2026 Bhote Koshi Deluge”(Feature Image: Natural vegetation in the Yamuna floodplain is being damaged during the levelling of land at the Yamuna Reservoir Project, developed over 17 acres near Sungarpur village in Delhi’s Burari area in 2019. Bhim Singh Rawat, Aug. 23, 2026)
इसमें कोई संदेह नहीं है कि दिल्ली में यमुना के बाढ़ क्षेत्र (खादर) में बढ़ते अतिक्रमण ने प्राकृतिक बाढ़ को आपदा में बदलने का खतरा पैदा कर दिया है। खादर क्षेत्र का सीमांगन नहीं होने के कारण ओ-ज़ोन (यमुना खादर) का सही तरह से क्रियान्वयन नहीं हो रहा है।
लेकिन वर्तमान बहस समस्या के केवल एक हिस्से तक सीमित है, जबकि इसके मूल कारणों पर पर्याप्त ध्यान नहीं दिया जा रहा। सबसे पहले यह समझना जरूरी है कि यमुना के खादर पर किस प्रकार के अतिक्रमण हुए हैं और इसकी सुरक्षा के लिए कौन-सा कानूनी एवं संस्थागत ढांचा उपलब्ध है।
Continue reading “यमुना: दिल्ली में बाढ़ का बढ़ता खतरा और नदी बाढ़ क्षेत्र प्रबंधन”(Feature Image: Drone image showing flood situation in Assam. Source: TNIE/ Credit ANI, July 26, 2026)
Among many analyses of the recent Assam Floods, three contrasting ones stand out to illustrate the limitation of supremely confident perspective that engineering alone will solve the problem. One of them is by Mitul Baruah and another one is on edit page of The Times of India on Aug 17 2026. The third one by Arupjyoti Saikia is published in Indian Express. The one in TOI does not look at cultural or historical aspects of floods in Assam, nor the uniqueness of unprecedented upper Assam floods & the reasons behind it. The analysis by Mitul Baruah, in contrast, takes into account all this and in fact comes from lived experience in Majuli. Arupjyoti Saikia, an environmental historian, takes historical perspective.
Continue reading “DRP 170826: Assam Floods: Engineering alone cannot help”(Feature Image: Map showing the temporal changes in the Yamuna river courses for years 1990, 2007, 2014 and maximum possible/ visible extents of the associated floodplains for years 1807, 1952, 1980, 1990, 2007 and 2014; digitized from the toposheets compiled from Survey of India, IRS 1C LISS III imageries and Google Earth images. Credit: Constriction of the Yamuna River Floodplains within Delhi Region since 19th Century: A Serious Concern)
Three recent studies have once again highlighted both the severe degradation of the Yamuna and the critical role of its floodplain in Delhi. Their findings make it clear that cleaning sewage alone will not revive the river. Protecting natural flows, restoring floodplain connectivity and conserving wetlands are equally important for reducing flood risk, recharging groundwater and sustaining the river’s ecology. Undoubtedly, the Yamuna floodplain has already suffered extensive encroachment, fragmentation and ecological damage due to weak governance.
Continue reading “Yamuna Manthan Aug 2026: Floodplains remain under threat”In this Photo Blog, we narrate some recent history in flood-lines regulation in Pune that shows how the disasters – including in ongoing 2026 monsoon- are the result of corrupt, non-transparent, unaccountable governance.
The rivers in Maharashtra are seasonal rivers and have their cycles of shrinking and blooming. During dry seasons they shrink and they bloom during monsoon. For instance, the Mutha River in Pune City is one of such river.
Continue reading “Corruption in flood-lines regulation in Pune”(Feature Image: Yamuna river at Kalanaur flood monitoring station in Saharanpur on March 31, 2025. SANDRP)
In July 2026, SANDRP has documented Highest Flood Level (HFL) breaches at least at 15 flood monitoring sites of Central Water Commission (CWC) in India. These 15 sites are spread over 7 river basins, with maximum 4 sites in Brahmaputra basin followed by 3 sites each in Brahmani & Baitarani and Mahanadi basin, 2 sites in West Flowing Rivers from Tapi to Tadri basin and at 1 site each in Ganga, Narmada and Tapi river basin.
Continue reading “July 2026: Rivers Crossing Highest Flood Levels”
