Tag: Betwa

Madhya Pradesh Sand Mining 2018: Unprecedented Violence by Sand Mafia
Sand Mining

Madhya Pradesh Sand Mining 2018: Unprecedented Violence by Sand Mafia

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Madhya Pradesh is one of the worse affected states as far as illegal sand mining is concerned. Over the years unsustainable sand mining has caused great damage to Narmada and its tributaries. The Ken, Betwa, Sindh, Chambal and Son rivers which join Yamuna and Ganga rivers has also been facing severe threats from ongoing illegal sand extraction.

Even in 2018, there was no significant improvement in this regard. There were attacks on govt officials and media persons for exposing illegal sand mining. The state govt failed to stop the illegal sand extraction. 

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Uttar Pradesh Sand Mining 2018: Key NGT orders slap for MoEF
Sand Mining

Uttar Pradesh Sand Mining 2018: Key NGT orders slap for MoEF

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RIVERBED MINING REPORTS

Disturbed by mining, man jumps in front of CM convoy One can just imagine the distress and anguish building against State Govt inactions over illegal sand mining in common people. In an attempt to draw the state govt’s attention towards the illegal sand mining, a man on Dec. 29, 2017 jumped in front of CM Yogi Adityanath’s convoy in Lucknow.

The man identified as Shyamji Mishra wanted to draw the attention towards the illegal river bed being done in Sonebhadra “under the patronage of BJP’s Sardar legislator and BJP’s district president.” He had earlier tried to meet the CM Yogi Adityanath a couple of times, but unable to convey his message the man was compelled to take this step. http://indianexpress.com/article/india/watch-video-man-jumps-in-front-of-uttar-pradesh-cm-yogi-adityanath-convoy-in-lok-bhawan-lucknow-5005359/ (30 Dec. 2017)

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Bundelkhand: Overview of 2018 Monsoon
Dams · Monsoon

Bundelkhand: Overview of 2018 Monsoon

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Bundelkhand is known as a drought prone region. It is comprised of 7 districts of Uttar Pradesh and 6 districts of Madhya Pradesh. Monsoon rains are crucial. However for past several years, the region has faced deficit rains leading to water scarcity particularly for agriculture related activities. Let us the situation of of Monsoon rain in Bundelkhand this year.

Bundelkhand is part of Lower Yamuna Basin, for which IMD provides rainfall figures in its river basin wise rainfall maps. This basin received 785.4 mm rainfall in 2018 monsoon, 9% below  normal rainfall of 863 mm for this sub basin. IMD needs to provide rainfall figures for each sub basins, including Ken, Betwa, Dhasan etc.

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DRP News Bulletin 10 September 2018: NIDM Lecture on Role of Dams in Kerala Floods
Dams · DRP News Bulletin

DRP News Bulletin 10 September 2018: NIDM Lecture on Role of Dams in Kerala Floods

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National Institute of Disaster Management, Ministry of Home Affairs, Govt of India invited Himanshu Thakkar, Coordinator of SANDRP,  to speak on the topic at IHC on Saturday. At the packed hall with participants that included members from Central Water Commission, National Disaster Management Authority, Embassies, Media and Civil Society,  the speaker explained how unwise and  unaccountable operation of dams, violating all norms, hugely contributed to the proportions of the Kerala flood disaster. Giving the example of Idukki dam, he showed, how if the dam was operated as per rule curve,  its contribution to the floods could have been reduced by over 50%. Similar is the story of other dams in Kerala.

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DRP News Bulletin 6 August 2018 (2018 is Deficient Monsoon for Lakhs of Farmers)
Dams · DRP News Bulletin

DRP News Bulletin 6 August 2018 (2018 is Deficient Monsoon for Lakhs of Farmers)

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(Feature Image: IMD Sub-Division wise Weekly Rainfall Map 26 July – 1 Aug. 2018)

Amid news of monsoon being normal, farmers in several parts in the country have started facing irrigation water problems affecting sowing of Kharif crops. Apart from, insufficient rainfall, mismanagement of water resources is turning the situation grim for them.  

As per reports, water levels in Bhakra and Pong dams in Himachal has plunged to lowest in decades. As a result dam authority has issued advisory to lakhs of farmers in Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan to use water judiciously. Some official also said that the beneficiary states lacks efficient water management practices which is making the situation tough for them.

The Sri Ram Sagar Project in Telangana has no irrigation water. As per state water minister, a Rs. 1100 crore work was going on to renovate the dam. Meanwhile farmers of about 24 villages have started protest demanding irrigation water form SRSP for their standing crops. Given the tense situation, the State Govt has deployed heavy police forces to control farmers agitation.

At the same time, farmers in North Gujarat farmers have lost 40% of sown crops particularly in Ahmedabad, Morbi and Surendranagar. Non availability of Narmada waters have added to the problems. It is worth to mention that mismanagement of water during past four months in Narmada dam by the authority, has worsened the plight of farmers. Meanwhile, there are reports of furious Surendranagar farmers themselves opening the dam gates going against authority.

Similarly, lack of rainfall in Beed district which is part of Marathwada in Maharashtra has affected the rural population badly. In fact, the rainfall situation in a fourth of India, including Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, was in stark contrast to the rest of the country. Overall, the southwest monsoon in 2018 was only 2 % below normal by July, 27.

The southwest monsoon in Bihar was almost 40 % below normal till July 27 and the state was set to be formally declared ‘drought-hit’. It is worth to mention that the monsoon scenario seems less than reassuring, based on Skymet latest forecast and reading between the lines of IMD Aug. 3, press release.

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Overview of CWC Flood Forecasting Sites: North India
Dams · Floods

Overview of CWC Flood Forecasting Sites: North India

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Flood forecasting is an important activity during monsoon, considering the huge and increasing flood prone area, flood frequency, extent and flood damages. Accurate and timely flood forecasting can hugely help reduce the damages due to floods. Central Water Commission (CWC) is the only agency responsible for flood forecasting in India. To understand the CWC’s flood forecasting better, we have compiled the list of the various flood, inflow forecasting sites and flood monitoring sites in India.

In this compilation, we have given state wise list of CWC’s flood forecasting, flood monitoring and inflow forecasting sites, along with available details like rivers, sub basin, river basin, Warning level, Danger Level, High Flood Level, Full Reservoir Level, Maximum Water Level. As we see below, there are many gaps in this basic information for the sites that are part of CWC’s list.

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DRP News Bulletin 19 February 2018 (How Are We Treating Our Urban Rivers?)
Dams · DRP News Bulletin

DRP News Bulletin 19 February 2018 (How Are We Treating Our Urban Rivers?)

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In this comprehensive article Mumbai-based author Vaishnavi Chandrashekhar throws the light on the plight of Uraban Rivers. “Rivers and streams have borne the brunt of the recent urban explosion in India, a nation whose population has nearly doubled in the last 40 years to 1.35 billion. Unplanned growth has led to the use of water bodies as dumping grounds for sewage and industrial effluent. According to CPCB, 63 % of the urban sewage flowing into rivers (some 62 billion liters a day) is untreated.

In addition, riverbanks, wetlands, and floodplains have been claimed over time by infrastructure, slums, offices, and housing developments – all of which has narrowed natural river channels and distorted flow, greatly reducing the ability of India’s rivers to buffer flooding. It also has taken a toll on biodiversity. http://e360.yale.edu/features/dying-waters-india-struggles-to-clean-up-its-polluted-urban-rivers (Yale Environment 360, 15 Feb. 2018) 

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Madhya Pradesh Rivers Profile
Dams

Madhya Pradesh Rivers Profile

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About Madhya Pradesh

The state of Madhya Pradesh (MP) was bifurcated in the year 2000.  The total area of MP state is 3,08,245 sq. km. The state has been divided into 50 districts and 342 sub districts. The total human population of the state is 725.97 million. (2011 census) with a decadal growth rate of 20.3%. Key centres of growth are around the urban centres of Gwalior, Indore, Bhopal and Jabalpur.

Climate

It has a subtropical climate. Hot dry summer extends from April to June followed by monsoon from July to September and winter months (November to February) are cool and relatively dry. The average rainfall is about 1,370 mm and it decreases from east to west. Summer mean maximum temperature rises to about 42.5 deg C in northern parts and the average temperature during winters is as low as 10 Deg C again in the north while it varies from 10 – 15 deg C in the south. (Source: Gosain et al in Climate Change in Madhya Pradesh: A Compendium of Expert Views – II)

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Open Letter of Protest on Ken Betwa Project to MoEF
Dams · Interlinking of RIvers

Open Letter of Protest on Ken Betwa Project to MoEF

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Above: Part of proposed Ken-Betwa link submergence area (Photo by Joanna Van Gruisen)

To:

Shri. Anil Madhav Dave
Honourable Minister of State (Independent Charge),

Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MoEF&CC)

Indira Paryavaran Bhawan, Jor Bagh Road, New Delhi – 110003

May 2, 2017

Honourable Minister,

Please consider this joint letter (See PDF file with logos here: Letter to MoEF Ken Betwa 020517) from an informal coalition of environment and wildlife organisations as a collective note of protest against the proposed Ken-Betwa River Link Project. Continue reading “Open Letter of Protest on Ken Betwa Project to MoEF” →

Letter to MoEF Expert Appraisal Committee: Reject Ken Betwa Proposal
Interlinking of RIvers

Letter to MoEF Expert Appraisal Committee: Reject Ken Betwa Proposal

SANDRP5 Comments

August 21, 2015

To:

Chairman and Members,

Expert Appraisal Committee on River Valley Projects,

Union Ministry of Environment and Forests,

New Delhi

Subject: Concerns about Ken Betwa River Link Proposal

Respected Chairman and Members,

The agenda for the Aug 24-25, 2015 meeting of EAC includes the proposal to consider Environment Clearance for the Ken Betwa River Link Project in Madhya Pradesh. In that context, we would like to raise following concerns: Continue reading “Letter to MoEF Expert Appraisal Committee: Reject Ken Betwa Proposal” →