South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People
(Feature Image: Search operation being conducted at Pakal Dul HEP dam site. Source: Screengrab of PNA.)
One worker has been killed; one went missing while two others sustained minor injuries following a landslide at the head race tunnel (HRT) site of Pakal Dul Hydro Electric Power (HEP) Project near Drangdhuran village in Dachan tehsil under Kishtwar district of Jammu & Kashmir as per available reports.
Continue reading “March 2026: Landslide at Pakul Dul HEP in Jammu & Kashmir”(Feature Image: Uttar Pradesh’s Matuka River Revived: How Farmers Got Their Lifeline On Course. Source: News18)
Marking the International Day of Action for Rivers 2026, this overview brings together several encouraging examples of people’s efforts to protect, revive and defend their rivers across India. At a time when rivers are increasingly threatened by pollution, indiscriminate sand mining, encroachments, dams and half-baked developmental projects, these stories remind us that citizens, communities and grassroots organizations remain the strongest defenders of the rivers.
Continue reading “International Day of Action for Rivers 2026: Efforts to Protect and Revive India’s Rivers”(Feature Image: Screen shot of FB video report on Vishnugad Pipalkoti HEP tunnel accident)
Collision between two loco trains inside the tunnel of Vishnugad Pipalkoti HEP in Uttarakhand around 9.30 pm on Dec 30 2025 has left over 60 workers injured. The accident occurred during change in work shift about 7km inside the tunnel near the tunnel boring machine (TBM). About 109 workers were working inside the 13km long tunnel at the time of the accident. The trains are deployed to transport the workers. The 444 Mw project is being built by Tehri Hydro Development Corporation (THDC) on Alaknanda river in Chamoli district. The construction work is going on since 2013-14.
Continue reading “Dec 2025: Vishnugad Pipalkoti HEP Tunnel Accident in Uttarakhand”(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.
Continue reading “Himachal Pradesh: Sainj HEP Remains Out of Operation for over 4 months”Blaming Sarbari I Small Hydro Power (HEP) project for causing reoccurring disasters, the villagers of Mashana panchayat in Lag Valley of Kullu district have demanded suspension of the 4.5 Mw project operation. As per the villagers the leakages in the surge shaft and head race tunnel and burst of penstock of the project in August and Sept. months this year have caused landslides and flash flood disasters impacting their land and livelihoods. They have said that due to these disasters about 80 meter Mashana link road, some houses, a water tank and over hundreds of bigha of fertile farmland have been severely damaged.
Continue reading “Himachal Pradesh: Kullu Villagers Demand Suspension of Sarbari-I SHEP”(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.
Continue reading “National Dolphin Day 2025: Deaths, Threats, Conservation Efforts related to Gangetic Dolphins”This is the summary report of Highest Flood Levels (HFL) breach incidents which we could document from CWC’s flood monitoring website during South West Monsoon Season 2025. The monthly reports for HFL breach incident for July 2025, August 2025 and September 2025 can be seen by clicking the hyperlinks and the detailed final report can be seen here. SANDRP’s previous reports on the subject can be seen here: HFL breach incidents in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 (I), 2021 (II), 2022 (I), 2022 (II), 2023, and 2024.
Continue reading “Rivers in Extreme Floods During SW Monsoon 2025”“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”(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.
Continue reading “Aug 2025: Flood Affects Satpuli Barrage Project in Uttarakhand”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?”
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