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.
Continue reading “DRP 18 Aug2025: Sustainable Hydropower an Oxymoron?”Category: Hydropower
Devastation at Chasoti: Underlining the vulnerability of Chenab Basin again
Last October, we were about 15 kms from Chasoti in the Paddar valley of Jammu when we met Dular Singh jee, Priest of Machail Mata Temple, accompanied by other members of the Temple Management Board. They were on their way to Mindhal Mata Temple also on the banks of Chenab in the neighboring Pangi Valley. Theirs was a journey upstream and ours was downstream. We talked of Chenab, floods, Mindhal and Machail Mata Yatra (pilgrimage) and beautifully carved wooden temples of this region.
And today, Dular Singh jee, who is just 3kms from Chasoti, tells me in voice choked with emotion, “I have not seen such a catastrophic flashflood in my life.” The flood that started around 12 noon on Aug 14 2025, devastating Machail Mata yatra and pilgrims at Chasoti. “Mata Rani sabki raksha kare”. (May the deity protect all). He is also worried about villages like “Hangu, Hanoti, Hamori and Bhajanu Nalla”.
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DRP 280725: CWC Guidelines on GLOF should have mandated all information in public domain, independent assessment after every GLOF
Guidelines for Structural Measures to Mitigate Adverse Effects of GLOF on Dams Central Water Commission (CWC) on July 23 has issued new guidelines to safeguard dam infrastructure from risks and threat of flash floods triggered by glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs). The information about this 40 paged documents named Guidelines for Structural Measures to Mitigate Adverse Effects of GLOF on Dams July 2025 was shared by CWC director Shiv Kumar Sharma, in a LinkedIn post. The document is available in PPT format and a pdf link for the same is still not available.
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DRP 070725: Demand for Commission of Inquiry on Hydro Obsession in Himachal
(Feature Image: Flood ravaged Priyadarshini HEP in Manuni khad in Dharamshala, Kangra. Source: Social Media)
Hydropower obsession, Himalayan failure The massive hydropower push, another legacy of post-1990s liberalisation, has amplified vulnerability. Dams have mushroomed across river basins in Kinnaur, Lahaul-Spiti, Chamba, and Kullu — with scant regard for ecological thresholds. Muck from these construction sites is routinely dumped into riverbeds, narrowing channels and raising riverbeds. When the rains arrive, this loose muck turns into a lethal force, taking down everything in its path. The hydropower model — built on the assumption of perpetual revenue — has neither delivered long-term employment nor sustainable energy. Instead, it has left behind ecological scars, displaced communities, and made vast swathes of the state more disaster-prone.
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Subansiri Lower HEP faces damages in 2025 like in every year since 2019
“The commissioning of the Subansiri Lower Hydro Electric Project (SLHEP) has been further delayed till May 2026” NHPC has now acknowledged. In a report filed by PTI, the project developer has acknowledged on June 12 2025 that the controversial 2000 MW Hydropower project on Subansiri River in Brahmaputra basin on Assam-Arunachal border “has suffered “minor damages” during the recent monsoon rains”. The suggestion that the damages were minor may not be accurate considering the consequences of project delay.
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Jammu & Kashmir: ‘Cloudburst’ damages Karnah HEP in Jhelum Basin in May 2025
(Feature Image: Screenshot of video shared by Kashmir Weather on X platform showing powerhouse of 12 Mw Karnah HEP flooded after ‘cloudburst’ disaster on May 27, 2025 evening)
A ‘cloudburst’ induced deluge and landslide has severely affected the under construction 12 Mw Karnah Hydro Power Project in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district in evening hours of May 27, 2025. The extreme weather event between 04:45 PM to 05:45 PM, flooded the project.
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Of Landslides, Spirits and Stories
The Science and Myth surrounding a Himalayan Landslide
Here, in this central spot where three valleys come together
Is the triangle from which all phenomena originate,
An abode of the yoginis of the past,
A place for practitioners in the future.
~ A Tibetan prayer to the sacred Drilbu Ri Mountain where Rivers Chandra and Bhaga meet to form the Chenab
On a crisp September morning, we clank across an iron suspension bridge on the River Chandra to enter the valley of Bhaga. We are tracing the origins of Bhaga and will be reaching Barlacha La pass at an altitude of 15,900 feet in a few hours. Madly fluttering prayer flags swaddling the bridge and the roaring river below make it seem as if, like the prayers, we are adrift on the wind too. Below, on the toasty river sands, a few men doze like monitor lizards.
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Room for optimality in Kerala Summer Electricity Demand vs Hydro Generation
Guest Article by S P Ravi
The share of hydro electricity in the energy mix of state of Kerala has come down sharply over the last three summers. Hydro share that used to be around 25-30 percent in previous summers has come down to well below 15 percent on many days. This is despite a sharp rise in electricity demand since 2023.
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Infrastructure Projects in Chenab Basin and Climate Change: Need to Exercise Caution
The current developments around Indus Waters Treaty are deeply troubling. Following the heinous attack on tourists in Pehelgam, India has announced that Indus Waters Treaty, the only water sharing mechanism between India and Pakistan put in place in 1960, has been put in abeyance.
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The Moon River: People’s Story of Chenab
Chenab, which translates as the Moon River is the largest of the five tributaries of River Indus. It flows for about 974 kilometers from the High Himalayas of Lahaul to the forests of Jammu and Kashmir and onto the plains of Pakistan. Its main tributaries in India include Miyar, Marusudhar and Tawi. In the vast plains of Punjab in Pakistan, it is met by Jhelum, Ravi and Sutlej to form the mighty Panjnad before it meets the Indus. Its catchment, spread across 67,430 km2, is shared between the two countries.
Chenab is Chandrabhaga (Crescent Moon) in its headwaters. It was the River Asikni in Rigveda, and the Acesines for the ancient Greek. From sparse mountain settlements of Lahaul to the bustling urban centers of Sialkot, more than 10 million people live and prosper along the Chenab. Hydropower projects operational and under constructions on the river have an installed capacity of more than 5000 MW (Central Electricity Authority 2024), and its canals irrigate hundreds of thousands of acres in Pakistan and India (Shakir et al).
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