DRP News Bulletin 19 November 2018: India Rivers Week to focus on Ganga Rejuvenation during Nov 24-26, 2018

November 19, 2018November 19, 2018 SANDRPLeave a comment

The India Rivers Week 2018, in fifth year, will be held at WWF, Delhi during Nov 24-26, 2018. The focus of the IRW this time is: “Can India Rejuvenate Ganga?“. Shri Rajiv Ranjan Mishra, Director General of the National Mission for Clean Ganga will address the inaugural session with Chief Guest Shri Jairam Ramesh, former Union Minister, in Chair. The meeting will see over 150 people from all over India participate to discuss state of India’s rivers at the only meeting in India focussing exclusively on rivers.

The Annual River Lecture will be given by Prof Rajiv Sinha of Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur. The Bhagirath Prayas Samman award for the best work on River Conservation and the Anupam Mishra Medal for exemplary media work on River conservation will be given away by famous Chipco leader Shri Chandiprasad Bhatt.

Shri U P Singh, Secretary, Union Ministry of Water Resources has agreed to the chief guest at the concluding session on Nov 26, Monday. Started in 2014, the meeting is collectively organised by Yamuna Jiye Abhiyan, WWF-India, INTACH, Toxics Link, People’s Science Institute (Dehradun), Peace Institute and SANDRP.

For more information, please see: https://indiariversforum.org/2018/11/19/india-rivers-week-2018/. Follow IRW at: https://www.facebook.com/IndiaRiversWeek/ and https://twitter.com/IndiaRiversWeek

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Kerala: Dams Floods 2018: Follow Rule Curves to Avoid Flood Disasters

November 17, 2018November 21, 2018 SANDRPLeave a comment

Unprecedented Kerala deluge [1] that swept through the coastal state on the day of Independence day 2018 was most disastrous flood incident in the year. It has also been termed as one the worst flood in the state and reminded the people of July 1924 and July 1962 flood calamities. Many experts, several reports and studies have established the role of dams in worsening the deluge. According to reports, 35 out of the 46 dams within the state were opened for the first time in history [2]. All 5 overflow gates of the Idukki Dam were opened at the same time, for the first time in 26 years.

State Government Accepts Dams Role

Kerala is usually considered a flood-proofed [3] state with its undulating terrain. For a state that receives an annual average rainfall of nearly 3,000 mm, its natural landscape protects it from recurrent floods. Indeed, the Kerala flood has highlighted our poor dam management [4] system.

As per officials the crisis could have been contained [5] had the state “gradually released” water from at least 30 dams, in advance of high rainfall, adding that local authorities failed to foresee the imminent danger with high rain predictions. “Such floods have probably recurred after 100 years, exposing the State’s unprofessionally run reservoirs management system and unpreparedness on disaster mitigation and disaster resilience.

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Dams · DRP News Bulletin

DRP News Bulletin 27 August 2018: WRONG Management of DAMS Create FLOODS, Accept Officials and Experts

August 27, 2018August 27, 2018 SANDRP3 Comments

Accepting that reservoirs operation and flood management in India lack scientific supports, Madhavan Nair Rajeevan, Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences, in an interview has revealed that dams and water reservoirs need flood management systems that use scientific methods to understand when the time is right to open the gates.

“As per my understanding, no big reservoir has a decision support system. So we don’t know when to open them, how to open them… I am not attributing the Kerala floods to an individual. There is a common perception that in India most of the flood management systems are not supported by science… I am very sure we don’t have the decision support system and we need it.” https://indianexpress.com/article/india/not-just-kerala-no-scientific-dam-water-management-across-india-madhavan-nair-rajeevan-secy-earth-sciences-5322003/ (24 Aug. 2018)

In another interview he says that while Kerala records among the highest amounts of rainfall in the country, the State did not have a flood warning system in place. He added that while there were several sophisticated tools to anticipate extreme weather events, India still lacked a mechanism to effectively deploy them. https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/reservoirs-not-managed-using-a-scientific-decision-support-system-m-rajeevan/article24785253.ece (26 Aug. 2018)

Further in a detailed interview, he pitches for ‘decision support systems’ at dams, acknowledges the challenge of climate change, warn against repercussions of ‘fast-warming’ Indian Ocean. https://indianexpress.com/article/india/kerala-floods-m-rajeevan-ministry-of-earth-sciences-met-department-5324840/ (26 Aug. 2018)

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Dam Induced Flood Disaster · Dams

Idukki Dam releases water when Kerala is in Floods: Could this have been avoided?

August 10, 2018August 17, 2018 SANDRP14 Comments

Kerala is facing serious floods. Army, Navy, NDRF, neighbouring states are all out. Dozens of people have died, landslides happening, houses washed away, the whole machinery is out to deal with the crisis.

In this flood crisis, Idukki & Idamalayar two of the Kerala’s biggest dams along with about two dozen others, are releasing water, adding to the floods and the disaster. Why are Idukki and Idamalayar, both having live storage capacity above a Billion Cubic Meters, releasing water NOW, when whole of Kerala is facing floods due to recent excessive rains? Standard excuse: The dams are full and they have no option but to release the water, they cannot store more. But why did they wait to start releasing water till the dams are full and they are faced with TINA: There is No Alternative. This love to be in TINA situation seems like a disease affecting all dam operators.

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Dams

Kerala Rivers Review 2017 : Government Efforts Fail To Protect Rivers

March 11, 2018March 14, 2018 SANDRPLeave a comment

The fifth rivers’ review highlights status of Kerala rivers in the year 2017.

Rivers Pollution and Government Actions

Govt mulls severe punishment for agents of water pollution The state government on Feb. 2017 signaled its intentions to zero in on agents of pollution in water resources. The Pollution Control Board and Revenue Department officers swooped down on a private resort in Chinnakkanal, Idukki, for allegedly diverting sewage into a potable water source. Water Resources Minister Mathew T Thomas stated that his department has proposed amendments to the Kerala Irrigation and Water Conservation Act, 2003, to make punishments more severe. He also said that the govt was planning to have harsher measures in place to discourage people from polluting rivers and water bodies.http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/2017/feb/14/kerala-government-mulls-severe-punishment-for-agents-of-water-pollution-1570357–1.html (The New Indian Express, 14 Feb. 2017)

The state also planned to enact strong legislation for the conservation of rivers. http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/thiruvananthapuram/2017/sep/06/state-to-frame-strong-law-for-river-protection-1653026.html(The New Indian Express, 6 Sept. 2017)

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Dams · DRP News Bulletin

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

February 19, 2018February 20, 2018 SANDRP1 Comment

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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Dams

Urban Rivers – Moovattupuzha River in Kerala

December 9, 2017 SANDRPLeave a comment

– Guest blog by Shri N. Ramdas Iyer

This story from Moovattupuzha Town in Kerala is first in a series of online stories of urban rivers from across India. Please share your feedback and suggestions on the same (Read more in appendix). If you have any urban river stories or images that you might want to share, please send them to ht.sandrp@gmail.com and asid@veditum.org

The Moovattupuzha river which literally means the “river made of three streams”, these being the Thodupuzha river, the Kothamangalam river and the Kaliyar river, ran just through the backyard of my maternal grandparents’ ancestral home. The river lends its name to the town through which it flows. This shows the importance of the river in the life of the people living in the town of Moovattupuzha. Our house was located just on the banks of the confluence. The famous Puzha Kara Kavil Bhagawathi temple (meaning Bhagawathi on the banks of the river) is visited by a lot of people even now.

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Dams · DRP News Bulletin

DRP News Bulletin 08 May 2017 (Inspiring Tale: How Kerala Panchayat bring a dying river back to life)

May 9, 2017May 9, 2017 SANDRP1 Comment

The Kuttamperoor stream in Kerala, connecting the Pampa and Achankovil rivers, had been a nearly stagnant, shrunken cesspool of dumped waste and weeds for more than a decade. Some weeks ago, it was resuscitated as a flowing river, thanks to the will of the Budhanur gram panchayat in Alappuzha district, and the commitment of 700 local men and women who worked to bring the river back to life under the MGNREGA.

The Kuttamperoor was once a full 12 kilometres long and, at places, over 100 feet wide. The river originates from Achankovil at Ulunthi, near Mavelikkara, and flows through Ennackad, Budhanur, Kuttamperoor, Mannar, and Pandanad before merging with the Pampa at Nakkida near Parumala in Pathanamthitta district.

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