Gujarat has so much Narmada water this year: Why not share with drought hit & thirsty?

April 17, 2019April 22, 2019 SANDRP6 Comments

It’s a strange situation in Gujarat. While everyone is talking about unprecedented drought and the drought hit are suffering due to lack of water for irrigation and even water supply, the Sardar Sarovar Dam today (April 16) is at 119.14 m, and has 1095 Million Cubic Meters (MCM) in Live storage, in addition to about 3700 MCM of water in what is called dead storage. The Dam has received much more water this year compared to last year. SSP Water level on April 16, 2019 is up from 115.55 m, the lowest level it reached this water year[i] on March 3, 2019, since 2018 monsoon.

In fact, it was astonishing to find that the water level at SSP kept rising from March 3 (115.55 m) to April 8, 2019 (119.37 m), it has only marginally dropped since then. This was happening bang in the middle of summer! Continue reading “Gujarat has so much Narmada water this year: Why not share with drought hit & thirsty?” →

Pump Storage Project · W Bengal

DEVASTATING DEVELOPMENTS IN AYODHYA HILLS

March 2, 2019March 2, 2019 SANDRPLeave a comment

Guest article by Kaushik Mukherjee and Sourav Prokritibadi

‘Kotto jongol chhnirbek! Sohoje ee jongol chnirte lairbek’ [‘How many trees are they going to cut down? These forests can never be destroyed so easily’]- comment by a tribal lady, Marang Buru hills, Ajodhya, Purulia.

The hilly area of Ayodhya is located within the dry deciduous forest belonging to a sub-region of the north-eastern part of Chhotonagpur plateau, included within a distinctive agro-ecological zone of West Bengal—the undulating red and laterite zone. Some of the prominent and well known hills of this area are Mathaburu, Gorgaburu, Pakhipahar, Ayodhya. The distinctive geological-hydrological backdrop and its characteristic floral and faunal diversity support a local human population—who, as official documents testify, are dependent on the forest for their life and livelihood. Moreover, the topography, forest wealth and wildlife attract tourists, wildlife researchers and naturalists in considerable numbers. Apart from being a popular tourist destination, Ayodhya hill range is significantly important for the entire Santhal population of all over India. The area is located precariously close to excavation sites that have yielded a rich outcrop of microliths—pushing the prehistory of Bengal back to 42,000 years BP[i] and promoting the area to the status of one of the most sensitive archaeological locales in West Bengal[ii]. Continue reading “DEVASTATING DEVELOPMENTS IN AYODHYA HILLS” →

Arunachal Pradesh · Dams · Manipur · Sikkim

Fighting Destructive Dams: Lessons from the masters

March 1, 2019March 1, 2019 SANDRPLeave a comment

Guest Article by Chicu Lokgariwar

“Everybody loves us Lepchas” said Tseten. He went on to explain that this affection was important to the Affected Citizens of Teesta and was a major reason that the group decided never to add violence [i] to their arsenal of techniques in their fight to save the Teesta.

The idea of non-violence being a strategic decision rather than a (purely) moral one intrigued me. I was at a meeting where several anti-dam activists from the North-Eastern states were present. As I listened to their stories, it was clear that these veterans had several lessons for those of us worried about the death of their rivers today. Each of the groups that had been compelled to fight for their rights had evolved strategies and developed tools to help them.

Sadly, the struggle against ‘development’ projects that adversely impact the lives and livelihoods of people, as well as cause irretrievable harm to the environment, continues in many places across the world. Rather than reinventing the wheel, it will be useful for young activist groups to have access to the lessons learnt by those who have preceded them. Continue reading “Fighting Destructive Dams: Lessons from the masters” →

Kerala · Rivers

Ozhukanam Puzhakal: UNTO HER WE SHALL RETURN…

February 23, 2019March 27, 2019 SANDRPLeave a comment

Guest Blog by Dr Manju Vasudevan

Two artists are engrossed in some meaningful graffiti work at a public bus stand, on an otherwise laid back, colourless Sunday morning. A closer look and their strokes in fact seem to be urging the passerby to pay attention to rivers and water resources. There seems to be a message to all the drawings. It is not often that one comes across a sight like this in small town Chalakudy in Kerala. The artists have teamed up with the Chalakudy River Protection Forum under the umbrella of a State-wide campaign titled ‘Ozhukanam Puzhakal’ or ‘The Rivers Must Flow’. Continue reading “Ozhukanam Puzhakal: UNTO HER WE SHALL RETURN…” →

Kerala · Rivers

Ithikkara River in Kerala: Tampering with Nature – a recipe for negative NPV

January 25, 2019January 25, 2019 SANDRPLeave a comment

Guest Blog by Jacob Chandy Varghese (jacob.c.varghese@gmail.com)

An Old Story: I read an account about Netherlands in the journal, Annals of Botany (2010)[i] . This story dates from the 11^th century. Many centuries ago, the coastal plain of the Netherlands consisted of a dynamic landscape of meandering river channels, extensive floodplains and large complexes of fens and bogs. Sediment deposition and peat formation kept pace with the gradually rising sea level, so that the level of the land remained well above the water for most of the time. Since 11^th century, inhabitants of the low-countries started to modify the hydrology of their surroundings to create protection from flooding for their dwellings and agricultural fields. They built dikes and started to manipulate the water level. Continue reading “Ithikkara River in Kerala: Tampering with Nature – a recipe for negative NPV” →

Dams · Fish, Fisheries, Fisherfolk · Free flowing rivers · Meghalaya

Magic Mahseer of Meghalaya

December 3, 2018December 3, 2018 SANDRP4 Comments

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” →

Andhra Pradesh · Water Resources Information System

APWRIMS: Impressive Water Information System of Andhra Pradesh

November 14, 2018November 16, 2018 SANDRP4 Comments

Andhra Pradesh Water Resources Information and Management System[i] is truly impressive water information system, possibly not available in any other state or even at national level, at any time in India. The comprehensiveness of the water information system is striking, as it not only includes reservoir water storages of Major and Medium Projects, but also storages in minor projects, minor tanks, water conservation structures (check dams, percolation tanks) but also groundwater and most importantly, soil moisture. These are collected in real time from diverse information sources including on ground measurements, satellite based assessments and also sent via mobile apps from diverse sources. And the information is put out in real time, along with number of analysis. The data are collated and analysed using tools from Vassar Labs, like Machine learning, Artificial Intelligence and big data. Continue reading “APWRIMS: Impressive Water Information System of Andhra Pradesh” →

Arunachal Pradesh · brahmaputra · China · Landslide dam

Another Landslide Dam on Yarlung Tsangpo raises more questions

November 1, 2018November 6, 2018 SANDRP2 Comments

On Oct 29, 2018, another landslide dam blocked the path of Yarlung Tsangpo Dam, reportedly at the same location as the Oct 17,2018 landslide dam[i]. It breached on Oct 31, without any reported major calamity, but these repeated occurrences, twice in two weeks and third time in ten months (if we include Dec 2017[ii] landslides) raises a lot of questions. The silence of government of India institutions about the possible causes or other analysis, including by Central Water Commission, Union Ministry of Water Resources, National Disaster Management Authority or even National Remote Sensing Agency has, as expected, raised questions and speculations in Arunachal Pradesh. Continue reading “Another Landslide Dam on Yarlung Tsangpo raises more questions” →

Environment Impact Assessment · Gujarat · Narmada

Why Sardar may have been uncomfortable with the 600 feet statue

October 29, 2018November 2, 2018 SANDRP4 Comments

Consider the facts: The 600 feet tall statue of Sardar Patel that the Prime Minister of India will inaugurate on Patel’s Birthday on October 31, 2018 is situated bang in the middle of the Narmada river. To take up such unprecedented construction in the middle of the river would require, at the least, environment clearance, since the construction would have huge impacts on the river. No such clearance was sought or given. It would have required environmental impact assessment, environmental management plan, appraisal, public consultations, monitoring and compliance. NONE OF THIS HAPPENED. Continue reading “Why Sardar may have been uncomfortable with the 600 feet statue” →

Arunachal Pradesh · brahmaputra · Landslide dam

Landslide DAM on Tsangpo creates flood disaster risk for Siang

October 19, 2018November 24, 2018 SANDRP3 Comments

A massive dam, created by landslide in early hours (around 5 am) of Oct 17,2018 has blocked the main stream of Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibet. The reservoir behind the dam already has humungous 360 Million Cubic Meters (MCM) of water by 7 am on Oct 18, 2018 and as per latest reports (subsequently saw the CWC tweet put out at 955 pm on Oct 18, saying that storage had reached 484 MCM by 8 pm on Oct 18), the reservoir is still growing in size. The exact location of the landslide dam is uncertain. According to one source, the latitude longitude could be 94.93754° E, 29.74957° N, but this may not be accurate the likely location may be a few kilometers downstream from here. The Chinese media[i] has reported that the landslide dam is located at near Gyalha village in Milin or Manling county. According to some experts who visited the site, the dam could breach very soon, possibly on Oct 19, bringing massive floods along Siang river in Arunachal Pradesh. Continue reading “Landslide DAM on Tsangpo creates flood disaster risk for Siang” →