At a recent meeting in Pune, Secretary of Union Ministry of Jal Shakti said that safety assessment of about 5000 large dams, out of total around 6000 in India is pending as per the following PIB press release. He went on to urge acceleration of dam safety assessments across the country. This is a worrying situation, coming straight from the secretary of the concerned Union Ministry. It again underlines the sorry situation regarding dam safety in India.
Continue reading “DRP Nov 3 2025: Safety Assessment of 5000 Indian dams pending”
India’s Rivers in Extreme Floods in Oct 2025
In Oct. 2025, we could find at least 06 flood monitoring sites of Central Water Commission (CWC), where rivers have crossed their Highest Flood Levels (HFL) after the end of South West Monsoon season 2025 on Sept 30 2025. Of the 6 sites, 2 each are in Brahmaputra basin in W Bengal and Ganga basin in Bihar. 1 site Anantharam on Musi river in Telangana is part of Krishna basin and 1 site Marella on Gundlakamma river in Andhra Pradesh is part of East Flowing Rivers between Mahandi and Pennar basin.
Continue reading “India’s Rivers in Extreme Floods in Oct 2025”
DRP 271025: Without reliable data, is there any hope for our Rivers?
(Feature Image: Drain No. 2 carrying untreated effluents in Yamuna river in Panipat. March 30, 2025, SANDRP)
The following report this week about lack of reliable data on Rivers raises right questions, including if there is any hope for our rivers without such reliable data? The report however, misses the point that Central Water Commission, which works more like a lobby for large dams, has clearly no interest in sustaining, reviving or rejuvenating our works.
Continue reading “DRP 271025: Without reliable data, is there any hope for our Rivers?”
Open Letter Regarding Water Polluting Activities Around WYC in Bawana, Delhi
Respected Sirs, Oct 26, 2025
1. Shri Pravesh Sahib Singh,
Hon’ble Water Minister,
Delhi Government.
pss-pwd.minister@delhi.gov.in; dspwddelhi@gmail.com
Continue reading “Open Letter Regarding Water Polluting Activities Around WYC in Bawana, Delhi”
केवल सफाई नहीं, चाहिए समग्र यमुना नदी तंत्र संरक्षण नीति
दिल्ली चुनाव के दौरान यमुना नदी प्रदूषण एक अहम मुद्दा बना। चुनाव जीतने के बाद नई सरकार निरंतर यमुना सफाई को लेकर कई घोषणाएं और योजनाओं पर बात कर रही है। स्वयं प्रधानमंत्री और उसके बाद केंद्रीय गृहमंत्री, जल संसाधन मंत्री इसके लिए बड़ी बैठक कर चुके हैं। इन सबमें हरियाणा, दिल्ली और उत्तर प्रदेश सरकार द्वारा मिलकर कार्य करने की आवश्यकता सबसे सराहनीय पक्ष रहा है। सरकार द्वारा एसटीपी क्षमता विकास, औद्योगिक प्रदूषण रोकथाम, जल संचयन बढ़ाने और जल स्रोतों को बचाने की बातें भी कही जा रही है। पर ये सब बातें तो पिछली सरकारों द्वारा पहले भी कही जा चुकी हैं और बातों से आगे ठोस नीति और सफल निष्पदान कार्ययोजना की तरफ नहीं बढ़ पा रही है। इन सबके बीच यमुना नदी स्वास्थ्य में गिरावट जारी है।
Continue reading “केवल सफाई नहीं, चाहिए समग्र यमुना नदी तंत्र संरक्षण नीति “
Yamuna Flood 2025: Is River Carrying Capacity, Pattern Changing?
(Feature Image: Sept. 06, satellite image showing Yamuna flood spread downstream Delhi. Credit: Raj Bhagat P)
During South West Monsoon 2025, the Yamuna has witnessed one low, one medium and one high flood spells in its upper segment. On account of good rainfall in the catchment, the river also received significant flows for about one and half month from last week of July 2025 upto first week of Sept 2025. Due to this flood spells and flows the water quality in Delhi stretch of the river improved significantly, though temporarily.
Continue reading “Yamuna Flood 2025: Is River Carrying Capacity, Pattern Changing?”
DRP 201025: Indian Cities Drowning in Crisis of Governance
(Feature Image: A flooded housing society in Bangaluru after heavy rainfalls in Sept. 2022)
The excellent opinion piece below by Soumya Sarkar clearly explains how absence of hydrological governance has been root cause for increasing incidents of urban flooding across the country. Indeed, the urban development in India is construction centric where resilience has become a postscript rather an inbuilt feature.
Continue reading “DRP 201025: Indian Cities Drowning in Crisis of Governance”
Did Ichari, Vyasi Dams Influence Yamuna Floods in 2025?
(Feature Image: Ichari (Koti) Dam on Tons river in Dehradun in empty condition in first week of Sept. 25)
In the South West Monsoon 2025, the Yamuna river witnessed 3 flood spells in a span of two weeks between Aug. 17 and Sep 1. In the first and medium scale flood spell, hourly discharges crossed 1 lakh cusecs for 12 hours on Aug 17 and 1,78,996 cusecs flood was recorded at 16 hour at Hathnikund Barrage (HKB), in Yamuna Nagar, Haryana.
In the second and low scale flood spell, river received above 50,000 cusecs discharges for 21 hours on Aug. 29 with the peak volume of 83,774 cusecs at 16 hour. In the final and first high scale flood spell, hourly water volume in the river crossed 1 lakh cusecs for about 129 hours beginning at 4.00 hour on Sep 1 till 12:00 hour on Sep 5, and 3,29,313 lakh cusecs was recorded as peak flood volume at 9:00 hour on Sep 1.
Continue reading “Did Ichari, Vyasi Dams Influence Yamuna Floods in 2025?”
Oct 2025: 12 Drowned in Sand Mine Pit in Utangan river, Uttar Pradesh
(Feature Image: Search operation going on in Utangan river Agra to recover the bodies of victims)
In the latest example of how illegal sand mine pits are proving to be a death trap across the country; 12 people have lost their lives after falling in deep sand mine pit in Utangan river in Agra district. The incident occurred when 13 young and adult villagers entered the river and suddenly fell into the cavity around 1 pm Oct 2 on Dussehra near Dungarwala village under Khairagarh tehsil.
Continue reading “Oct 2025: 12 Drowned in Sand Mine Pit in Utangan river, Uttar Pradesh”
DRP 131025: Pump Storage Hydro Projects facing increasing opposition
(Feature Image: People raising objections against Sharavathi PSP at a Public Hearing in Shivamogga on Sept. 16)
It is interesting that this week there are reports about growing opposition to Pump Storage Hydro Projects across the country including in Rajasthan, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh (proposed project near Bargi reservoir in Narmada Valley) besides similar opposition seen earlier in Maharashtra. This should wake up the authorities and realise that the assumption of such projects being socially and environmentally benign is totally wrong.
Continue reading “DRP 131025: Pump Storage Hydro Projects facing increasing opposition”
SANDRP 