In the third month of South West Monsoon season 2025, we have been able to track at least 23 flood monitoring sites of the Central Water Commission (CWC) where the respective rivers have crossed their Highest Flood Level (HFL). These 23 sites are spread over 5 river basins -11 sites in Ganga basin, 9 sites in Indus basin & 1 each in Mahi, Godavari and Krishna basins.
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DRP 220925: India urgently needs National Silt Policy, Prudent silt management
(Feature Image: As the floodwaters recede, silt deposition has been observed in many parts of Mand area in Sultanpur Lodhi, Kapurthala.)
There are a number of stories this week and throughout the ongoing SW monsoon, where the key central figure is the same: Silt. This is true in case of reports about silting of dams, silting of rivers, illegal dumping of silt in rivers and dams, accumulated silt choking Punjab and Delhi rivers, and even a suggestion that what Indus Basin needs is silt management policy.
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DRP 150925: Flawed, dishonest Kalai-II HEP EIA
It’s heartening to see the Editorial in Arunachal Times (see below) about the flawed, dishonest, cut and paste Environment Impact Assessment report of the Kalai-II Hydropower project in Arunachal Pradesh. NEHR has written about this to the Anjaw district Deputy Commissioner and one hopes the DC has the courage to take appropriate action: Halt the public hearing and ask the project proponent to get a proper EIA done by a competent and honest consultant. WAPCOS Ltd, which has done the current flawed EIA has been known to do such flawed EIAs on numerous occasions in the past as we have written about it and also informed the MoEF, Expert Appraisal Committee on River Valley Committee, without any impact so far unfortunately.
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Sept. 2025: Six Killed in Luti Dam Flood Disaster in Chhattisgarh
(Feature Image: Damaged Sadsa Luti dam in Balrampur)
A flash flood disaster caused by a significant breach in Luti dam bund has killed six people while one remained missing in Dhaneshpur village near Vishram Nagar under Balrampur district of Chhattisgarh. Six of the flood victims are members of a single family living about 500 meter downstream from the dam area. About eleven villagers were swept away by strong current of waters. Some of them managed to save their lives by holding on to trees and swimming to their safety. Three persons also suffered injuries in this dam induced flood incident.
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DRP 080925: Will the higher judiciary Listen?
(Feature Image: Seraj valley in Mandi district of Himachal battered by extreme weather events in July 2025)
Well known environmentalist Manshi Asher through the following article is giving a very important message that everyone, particularly Judiciary needs to listen and act upon. While higher judiciary is rightly highly respected, its track record on acting on environmental issues is far from satisfactory and leaves a lot to be desired.
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DRP 010925: Punjab floods need independent inquiry
(Feature Image: Punjab WRD minister Barinder Kumar Goyal asserted that the timely release of water by the BBMB in June could have significantly reduced the damage caused by the floods.)
It is clear from the following details that the massive floods that Punjab experienced and parts continue to experience even now has a lot to do with the way Bhakra, Pong and Ranjit Sagar dams were operated. There was sufficient actionable information that was available to take advance water release action. Had these actions been taken, the proportions of the disaster could have been reduced. The risk of further floods remains considering the IMD forecast of heavy rains in catchments of these dams during the remaining weeks of SW Monsoon 2025.
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Vulnerable Nallahs in the Himalayas Need Urgent Attention
“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.
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DRP 250825: Threat of Dam Floods continue to be ignored
(Feature Image: The release of water from Pong Dam has brought devastation to Mand Bhograwan village in Kangra district, where the sudden rise in the Beas river has submerged several acres of fertile land and put houses at risk. Aug 17.)
Sudden release of large quantity of water from the dams has the potential of creating avoidable floods in the downstream areas as we could see last week in case of Ukai Dam water releases affecting Surat in South Gujarat, Ujani and Jayakwadi dam water releases in Maharashtra, Bhakra and Pong dam releases in Punjab and Himachal Pradesh, among others. In all these cases, we can show that earlier water release was warranted based on available information, considering the carrying capacity of the downstream river, but such action was delayed till either the dam was full before water started (e.g. Ujani and Jayakwadi) or too large water releases created avoidable flood impacts in case of Ukai Dam on Tapi River in South Gujarat and also in case of Bhakra and Pong dams. There were also extensive damages in Mirzapur and Chandauli districts of Uttar Pradesh due to sudden release of water from a number of dams including Chandra Prabha Dam, Ahraura dam and Jargo Dam among others.
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DRP 18 Aug2025: Sustainable Hydropower an Oxymoron?
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.
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Devastation at Chasoti: Underlining the vulnerability of Chenab Basin again
Last October, we were about 15 kms from Chasoti in the Paddar valley of Jammu when we met Dular Singh jee, Priest of Machail Mata Temple, accompanied by other members of the Temple Management Board. They were on their way to Mindhal Mata Temple also on the banks of Chenab in the neighboring Pangi Valley. Theirs was a journey upstream and ours was downstream. We talked of Chenab, floods, Mindhal and Machail Mata Yatra (pilgrimage) and beautifully carved wooden temples of this region.
And today, Dular Singh jee, who is just 3kms from Chasoti, tells me in voice choked with emotion, “I have not seen such a catastrophic flashflood in my life.” The flood that started around 12 noon on Aug 14 2025, devastating Machail Mata yatra and pilgrims at Chasoti. “Mata Rani sabki raksha kare”. (May the deity protect all). He is also worried about villages like “Hangu, Hanoti, Hamori and Bhajanu Nalla”.
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SANDRP 