International Day of Actions for Rivers 2022: Resistance against Destructive Hydro

March 13, 2022March 14, 2022 SANDRPLeave a comment

March 14 marks 25^th anniversary of International Day of Actions for Rivers, a unique campaign dedicated to indigenous communities striving to protect and preserve their rivers from a whole range of destructive anthropogenic activities. The Hydro Electric Projects (HEPs) are among key threats affecting rivers eco-system and riverine communities greatly, in multiple ways.

The resistance against destructive, unviable HEPs growing stronger in India. Over the past one year there has been several protests against hydro projects across the country particularly in Himalayan states. On the occasion of International Day of Actions for rivers celebrating people’s resistance, SANDRP has compiled top ten stories of such community led opposition during the year, along with relevant additional stories. .

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DRP News Bulletin

DRP 070322: As Tata celebrates century of Bhivpuri HEP operation, time to return the project to government and review it?

March 7, 2022February 21, 2026 SANDRPLeave a comment

On March 5, 2022, Tata Power celebrated 100 years of operation of the Bhivpuri hydropower project in Raigad district of Maharashtra. It is possibly right time to consider by the government to ask Tata Power to return all the hydropower projects of Tata Power in that region to the government. Tatas got the right to develop these projects under a colonial agreement that handed over the public resources of land, river and rights over the project benefits to a private company like Tatas almost for free, for the company to profit from these public resources. This arrangement should have been reviewed long back, but possibly it is right time to review it now. Possibly it will be a good move in the year when India celebrates Azadi ka Amrutmahotsav!

The project transfers water from drought prone, water deficit Krishna basin to high rainfall area of Konkan. And such disastrous transfer continues even in drought years. It is high time this is reversed and the water is allowed to flow in the Krishna basin. From this perspective, the project also needs to be reviewed if at all it should continue to operate and if so under what terms and conditions.

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Ramganga

Uttarakhand: Ensure safe disposal of Rural Road debris

March 6, 2022 SANDRPLeave a comment

Road connectivity is essential in accessing basic amenities and better life in remote hills of Uttarakhand. Particularly during medical emergencies when each and every minute counts, timely access to nearest road turns decisive factor for survival of grieving persons. For these reasons, many see road construction and connectivity as single point development agenda in rural Uttarakhand.

Syunsal village in Thailisain block of Pauri district is no exception and after years of struggle a 7 km long road is under construction here since first week of December 2021. The village is located in buffer zone of Dudhatoli reserve forest in Chauthan Patti which shares its border with Almora and Chamoli districts. The region is also birth place of several perennial streams forming Binnu river a tributary of Ramganga river.

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Ramganga

Uttarakhand: Burying Ramganga Streams under Road Muck

March 5, 2022March 5, 2022 SANDRP3 Comments

This pictorial report highlights how pristine streams in Uttarakhand have been facing destruction by irresponsible dumping of road construction debris and muck in rural areas.

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Rainfall

District wise Winter 2022 Rainfall in India

February 28, 2022 SANDRPLeave a comment

In the just concluded Winter Season 2022 (Jan 1 2022 to Feb 28 2022), as per India Meteorological Department (IMD), India received 44% above Normal Rainfall (it was 32% below normal rainfall in winter 2021 [i]. This is coming on top of almost normal (99.32% of normal rainfall) in SW Monsoon 2021 [ii] and 43.54% above normal rainfall in Post Monsoon season 2021 [iii].

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DRP News Bulletin

DRP 28 Feb 2022: Climate Change intensifying water cycle at double the predicted rate

February 28, 2022February 21, 2026 SANDRPLeave a comment

This should be worrying all water managers, particularly in monsoon driven climate like India. New Research by New South Wales University Science and published in Nature in Feb 2022, based on changes in salinity of sea, a new method, says that the climate change is intensifying the water cycle at more than double the predicted rate. This is also likely to have huge impact on the rainfall pattern and possible increase in frequency of high intensity rainfall events and storms, besides other impacts. This will also have impact on the Probable Maximum Precipitation and Probable Maximum Floods in the dam catchments, and would mean the current spillway capacity of many of our dams wont be adequate. All this also means increased frequency high intensity floods and disasters. Unfortunately, CWC or state dam managers in India are not even looking at these figures. India also needs to urgently take up research into all these aspects for assessing India specific impacts.

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Interlinking of RIvers · Ken Betwa Project

Ken Betwa Project shows why River Linking is non starter

February 26, 2022 SANDRPLeave a comment

A series of moves by the current Central Government, along with some of the state governments since March 2021 have tried to orchestra a push for the Interlinking of Rivers (ILR) in a manner somewhat similar to what happened in 2002 under the previous BJP government led by Shri AB Vajpayee. The 2002 effort did not achieve much on ground and the initiatives two decade later are unlikely to achieve any progress either.

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DRP News Bulletin

DRP 21 Feb 2022: UNVIABLE HYDRO STORIES FROM INDIA, BHUTAN, NEPAL, US

February 21, 2022February 21, 2026 SANDRP1 Comment

One of the key underlying theme of several stories this week is about more resounding evidence from several parts of the world including India (Kerala, Arunachal Pradesh, Kashmir, NHPC), Bhutan, Nepal, USA and Canada among others, that hydropower projects are no longer even economically viable, besides being socially and environmentally destructive and unacceptable. It is high time that our authorities wake up and realise this soon rather than spending massive amounts of scarce resources on such unviable projects that also work as force multipliers in the changing climate.

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Rivers

नदियां हमसे कुछ कहना चाह रही हैं, बशर्ते हम गौर से सुनें

February 20, 2022 SANDRP1 Comment

रुचिश्री, असिस्टेंट प्रोफेसर, भागलपुर विवि

साल 2006 की बात है। मैं छत्तीसगढ़ की शिवनाथ नदी के 22.6 किलोमीटर हिस्से के निजीकरण की खबर पर रिसर्च कर रही थी। एक सवाल सहज ही मेरे मन में कौंधा कि आखिर नदियां क्या हैं? महज पानी का स्रोत या जीवित इकाई? वे राज्य की संपत्ति हैं या किसी की निजी बपौती? या कहीं वे उस पर आश्रित लोगों की साझा संपत्ति व सांस्कृतिक धरोहर तो नहीं?

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Sand Mining

Riverbed Mining India 2021: 2 Bridges Collapsed, 23 Threatened

February 18, 2022 SANDRP1 Comment

Riverbed mining activities in India has not only been affecting river ecology, geo-morphology in multiple adverse ways but also leading to collapse of crucial infrastructures along rivers. This includes dams, barrages, bridges, drinking water projects, embankments etc. In 2021, there have been several of such incidents particularly damaging or threatening the bridges across the country most of which we have tried to compile here.

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