DRP 021224: Why Ken Betwa Link should not go forward

December 2, 2024February 27, 2026 SANDRPLeave a comment

A detailed report this week based on extensive field visit and interview of the concerned persons shows once again why there is no justification for Ken Betwa Link starting from lack of hydrological justification: There is no credible evidence or are not credible figures proving that Ken has surplus water and Betwa is deficit. The project will actually facilitate export of water from drought prone Bundelkhand in addition to bringing massive adverse impacts and as a former Panna collector said, will keep the upstream Ken Basin area permanently backward. This was also proved during the SANDRP initiated Ken Yatra from Ken Yamuna confluence upstream to the origin of the river.

The whole exercise of getting clearances for the project has been an exercise in manipulations at each step of the way, including EIA, Public Hearings, EAC process, Environment Clearance, Forest Clearance, Wildlife clearance and gram sabha clearances. This is also true as this report shows, for the people to be displaced by the project. The scathing CEC (Central Empowered Committee appointed by the Supreme Court) report on its wildlife related issue has not even been considered by the Supreme Court. We hope the Supreme Court will soon consider this and put a stop to the mindless project.

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DRP News Bulletin

DRP 251124: Protest by Mothers Union against sand mining along Assam-Meghalaya border

November 25, 2024February 27, 2026 SANDRPLeave a comment

(Feature Image: Mother’s Union protest rally against sand mining. Image Source: Nagaland Post, 03 Nov 2024)

The ongoing protest by the Mother’s Union against sand mining in Dudhnoi River along the Assam Meghalaya border has brought to focus the serious implications of unsustainable sand mining, whether legal or illegal. The campaign has wide based support from the Garo Students Union, All Bodo Students Union, Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti and other groups.

The campaign has highlighted that due to use of motorized equipment to extract sand, the water level in the Dudhnoi river is dropping hugely, including during rainy season. The campaign has also pointed out that the forest, mining, transport and police departments have been allowing over loaded sand laden dumpers with or without proper challans.

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DRP News Bulletin

DRP 111124: URBAN RIVERS in focus this week

November 11, 2024February 27, 2026 SANDRPLeave a comment

(Feature Image: A man bathing with toxic foam in polluted Yamuna in Delhi. Image is taken by Anindya Chattopadhyay @ANINDYAtimes Deputy Photo Editor,The Times Of India, Delhi and shared on X by Somreet Bhattacharya @Somreetb on Nov. 06, 2024)

This week there is some interesting news about a number of Urban rivers including Pune Rivers, Musi (Hyderabad), Chennai Rivers, Budha Dariya (Ludhiana), Gomti (Lucknow). All the news underlines some serious existential issues for Urban Rivers and raising of voices about it by local communities, governments or legal authorities.

In fact, this is part of a trend that is going on for some years. This sounds like a positive development. But unfortunately, it is not. In fact, this is sign of deteriorating condition of Urban Rivers and increasing Urban footprint on our rivers, going far beyond the boundaries of the cities. Closer examination shows that in spite of some efforts from environmental groups, local communities, some elements in the governments and the courts, the condition of our Urban Rivers is getting worse, much worse than the state of our rivers in general. More worryingly, there are almost no success stories, except some temporary respites at some places.

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Yamuna River

Yamuna Manthan 061124: Save River from ‘Illegal’ Sand Mining

November 7, 2024 SANDRP1 Comment

(Feature: Members of Haryana Anti Corruption Society, Yamuna Nadi Mitra Mandli, Bhartiya Kisan Sangh, Yamuna Nagar raising concerns over unabated unsustainable riverbed mining in Yamuna in Gumthala Rao, Karnal on Oct 07, 2024.)

Large scale riverbed mining has become most underestimated and least discussed threat for Yamuna rivers. While increasing pollution has turned the river stretch between Delhi and Agra ecologically dead, the rampant sand mining has been severely damaging the Yamuna eco-system in upper and lower segments.

Presently, the mining menace is quite rampant in Paonta Sahib, Yamuna Nagar, Saharanpur, Karnal, Shamili, Panipat, Sonipat, Baghpat and Ghaziabad districts along the river in upper segment. Similarly, in lower segment the main stem of river as well as its key tributaries Chambal, Sind, Betwa, Ken have been bearing the burnt of unsustainable sand mining.

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DRP News Bulletin

DRP 041124: Study says Big Dams are costly gambles or frauds?

November 4, 2024February 27, 2026 SANDRPLeave a comment

(Feature Image: Lower Subansiri HEP dam. Source: PIB, June 2023)

An interesting study reported this week reveals Big Dams are costly gambles and explains why this is so. In fact, the explanations go on to reveal that this is by design, the costs are systematically under estimated and benefits are exaggerated, so the dams fail to provide the promised benefits. So Big Dams are actually not gambles, but frauds. They get away with all this due to lack of transparency and accountability in the governance, the study reveals.

For those following the global debate on big dams over the decades know that there is nothing new here. A number of studies earlier exposed all this, including the Independent Review of the Sardar Sarovar Project instituted by the World Bank, the World Commission on Dams report, the India Country study done for WCD, among others.

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DRP News Bulletin

DRP 21×24: New Warnings from Studies about Global Water Changes

October 21, 2024February 27, 2026 SANDRPLeave a comment

(Feature Image (Screenshot): Atmospheric rivers occur all over the world, as this animation of global satellite data from February 2017 shows. Credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio)

A number of reports listed below this week throw fresh light on functioning of global water cycle, some of the findings should be seriously worrying. The studies show how the countries across the globe have water connections that go far beyond shared rivers, lakes and seas. And how these components of global water cycles are not only changing, but are under unprecedented stress and could take the global water cycles off balance.

Another study about atmospheric rivers that provides some of the largest high intensity rainfalls show that these rivers are shifting, which can have far reaching consequences for large sub-tropical areas, polar areas and others. For understanding their implications, more studies particularly focusing on shifting El Nino and La Nina streams are required.

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DRP News Bulletin

DRP 14×24: Big Dams, Long distance water will not solve Urban Water Crisis

October 14, 2024February 27, 2026 SANDRPLeave a comment

In a pointed article this week, Sachin Tiwale rightly writes that Mumbai does not need more dams, but needs to fix the distribution of more than enough water that it gets currently. Same is the case with highly capital and energy intensive 5^th stage of Cauvery Water Supply being inaugurated on Oct 16 by the Karnataka Chief Minister and Deputy CM for Bangalore, advertised through full page advertisements today (Oct 14) in newspapers in Bangalore.

What the India’s cities need is to exhaust the potential of local water resources, including rain water, local water bodies including rivers, groundwater recharge, recycle and reuse of treated sewage and also demand side measures, including fixing the distribution and reducing transmission and distribution losses. All of this needs attention through a National Urban Water Policy that will also fix the Urban Water Governance.

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DRP News Bulletin

DRP 07×24: Global Dam Safety Challenge in Changing Climate

October 7, 2024February 27, 2026 SANDRPLeave a comment

It is increasingly clear that Large Dams across the world are facing increasing challenge due to climate change. In recent years, we have already seen serious dam disasters in Australia, Brazil, Canada, India, Kenya, Libya, Nepal, Nigeria, Poland, Spain, Sudan and USA to name just a few.

All these are related to extreme rainfall events, which are going to only increase in intensity, frequency and spread. It is interesting that hydro industry platform has come out with this report highlighting this issue this week.

For a country like India, the third large dam builder in the world, this challenge is going to be even more daunting as we have been seeing the increasing number of dams related disasters in last few years. As we remember the Teesta 3 dam disaster a year ago, the nature and dimension of this challenge becomes even starker. This is also exemplified by the fact that the dam safety panel report about this disaster is not even out in public domain. And even now new theories are being proposed about what happened during the disaster.

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Yamuna River

Yamuna Manthan 031024: Threatened River Wetlands

October 3, 2024October 3, 2024 SANDRPLeave a comment

(Feature Image: Soor Sarovar Bird Sanctuary, along with the river Yamuna, is considered to be green lung of the Agra city. Source: ToI report Six-member committee to probe development of Agra Trade Centre in Soor Sarovar eco-zone. Nov. 01, 2018)

The waterbodies, lakes, wetlands in Yamuna basin continue to face damages and threats from many quarters, including concerned govt departments. In latest examples of this, there are reports of Uttar Pradesh govt’s plan to reduce the eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) of Keetham lake to zero. The wetlands also known as Sur Sarovar is a large ox bow lake formed by Yamuna River in Agra. It is a protected bird sanctuary and has been designated a Ramsar site in August 2020. In Sept. 2022, the Supreme Court had directed the govt to increase lake’s ESZ to 799 ha from 403 ha.

Similarly, the Uttar Pradesh govt departments have also been delaying process to notify Dhanauri wetlands as a Ramsar site in Greater Noida. The case is going on in NGT (National Green Tribunal) for the past many years. In the recent hearing held on Sept. 26, the NGT asked govt department to explain reasons behind delay in notifying the wetlands apart from directing it to remove water hyacinth chocking the wetlands. The next hearing will be held on Jan. 27, 2025.

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DRP News Bulletin

DRP 300924: Focus on River Studies

September 30, 2024February 27, 2026 SANDRPLeave a comment

Rivers are the most important ecosystems (eco here includes ecology and economy) and yet possibly least studied entities. Some news below this week about some river studies brings the focus on need to take up many more river related studies.

Most important aspect of river related studies is the need for credible, independent studies, not influenced by the needs of the governments. Otherwise, the government is likely to not only influence the study, but also decide not to make it public as they did in case of the studies related to Joshimath town and role of Chamoli disaster.

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