One of the key issues that comes up from the reports this week is regarding Punjab and Himachal Pradesh having greater say in operation of Bhakra and Pong dams during the monsoon. Particularly since when these dams are mismanaged as it happened once again during the SW Monsoon 2025, leading to the dams contributing to worsening the flood disaster in Punjab. The demand is legitimate, considering that these two states are the ones that will be positively or negatively affected when the Bhakra and Pong dams are properly or improperly operated during monsoon.
Continue reading “DRP 290925: Should Punjab & HP not have decisive say in Operations of Bhakra & Pong dams during Monsoon?”Tag: Dams
Lippa Villagers Blame Kashang HEP for Artificial Lake in Sutlej Basin
(Feature Image: Sept. 07, 2025 pics showingg houses submerged in artificial lake in Lippa village)
It has been over three weeks since an artificial lake formed in Lippa village under Pooh division of Kinnaur district in Himachal Pradesh has not been breached fully. The lake was formed after flashflood in Pajer nullah in Sutlej river basin on Sept 4, 2025 which blocked the flow of Kerang stream. Subsequently, first floors of about 5 homes were submerged in the lake water. The deluge also damaged 5 irrigation channels, 2 potable water sources & several apple plants.
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Rivers Crossing the Highest Flood Levels in Aug 2025
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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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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Aug 2025: Ravi Flood Damages Madhopur Barrage Gates in Punjab
(Feature Image: 2 gates of the Madhopur Barrage washed away on Aug 27, flooding parts of Pathankot & Gurdaspur.)
A severe flood spell in Ravi river has damaged at least three flood gates of Madhopur barrage in Pathankot district of Punjab. The incident occurred in the evening of Aug 27, 2025 amid an effort to open the jammed gates of the barrage. The situation became critical after 2.12 lakh cusecs of water discharged from the upstream Ranjit Sagar Dam (RSD) dangerously increased the flood level at the barrage on Aug. 26.
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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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Aug 2025: Yamuna Flows Blocked at Syana Chatti in Uttarakhand
(Feature Image: Buildings submerged in artificial lake following blockage in Yamuna river at Syana Chatti)
Blockage of Yamuna flows has resulted in formation of an artificial lake in the Yamuna river on August 21, 2025 at Syana Chatti in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand. The lake is a result of debris and mud floods in Kupada khad (Garh gaad) after the rains in the morning. The water level in the lake dipped in the afternoon and increased again following fresh debris slide from the stream without any rain activity around 04:30 pm.
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SANDRP 