Dharali Disaster in Uttarakhand: Amplified by Human Causes

August 9, 2025August 19, 2025 SANDRP1 Comment

The frightening debris-laden flash flood disaster at Dharali town along Kheer Gad-Bhagirathi river just 20 km downstream of Gangotri at around 1.30 pm on Tuesday, Aug 5 has demolished over 40 buildings, with scores (68 as on Aug 13 as per the Dehradun-based State Emergency Operation Centre) of people, including nine army jawans, reported missing (the numbers could go up as per several geologists) and at least five dead. The ground zero is still largely inaccessible four days after the disaster. While the full details of what caused the disaster are still a bit uncertain, what is clear is that the warning signs were present, they were ignored and a number of human causes amplified the proportions of the disaster. The scene of the disaster was similar to what we saw in Chamoli in Feb 2021 when ice and debris laden stream destroyed two hydropower projects killed over a hundred people.

As geologists said, the disaster was waiting to happen, but our governance did not seem to know.

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The Moon River: People’s Story of Chenab

April 15, 2025April 17, 2025 SANDRPLeave a comment

Chenab, which translates as the Moon River is the largest of the five tributaries of River Indus. It flows for about 974 kilometers from the High Himalayas of Lahaul to the forests of Jammu and Kashmir and onto the plains of Pakistan. Its main tributaries in India include Miyar, Marusudhar and Tawi. In the vast plains of Punjab in Pakistan, it is met by Jhelum, Ravi and Sutlej to form the mighty Panjnad before it meets the Indus. Its catchment, spread across 67,430 km2, is shared between the two countries.

Chenab is Chandrabhaga (Crescent Moon) in its headwaters. It was the River Asikni in Rigveda, and the Acesines for the ancient Greek. From sparse mountain settlements of Lahaul to the bustling urban centers of Sialkot, more than 10 million people live and prosper along the Chenab. Hydropower projects operational and under constructions on the river have an installed capacity of more than 5000 MW (Central Electricity Authority 2024), and its canals irrigate hundreds of thousands of acres in Pakistan and India (Shakir et al).

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Dam Safety · Hydro Disaster

2024: Climate Change, GLOF impact on Safety of Hydro, Dams in India

January 6, 2025January 11, 2025 SANDRPLeave a comment

(Powerhouse of a hydro project ravaged by cloudburst induced flashflood in Sutlej basin Shimla, Himachal Pradesh in Aug 2024. Image Source: Social Media)

This 2024 annual overview focusses on important reports highlighting the safety and sustainability issues of the hydro and dam projects in India in 2024 in the context of Climate Change, including Glacier melt and GLOFs. The compilation shows that the climate change driven extreme weather events have become significant threat for the structural safety of these projects.

This is even more relevant in inherently vulnerable areas like the Himalayas and Western Ghats from the point of view of seismic activity, young erosion prone mountain, flash floods, avalanches and landslides. Here the impact of climate change effects like more intensified hydrological cycles, cloud bursts, reduction in snow fall, glacier melts and GLOF (Glacier Lake Outburst Flood) increase the vulnerability including landslide dams and avalanche dams.

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