DRP News Bulletin,16 July 2018: Dam Safety Is Needed, Can We Depend On CWC Engineers Alone?

July 16, 2018July 30, 2018 SANDRPLeave a comment

India certainly urgently needs credible measures to achieve both structural and operational safety of dams. As the HINDUSTAN TIMES editorial emphasizes, we need much greater transparency, accountability and participation of independent, non government experts at every level of functioning of Dam Safety mechanism. Current Dam Safety Bill draft falls far short of that. This is also underscored by many of the news we bring in this July 16, 208 issue of DRP News Bulletin.

The Tamil Nadu CAG report, as Indian Express reports, has clearly said that the Chennai floods of Dec 2015 were majorly due to the wrong decision of dam operators to release 29000 cusecs of water for 21 hours, in violation of all safety norms, but no was punished for this wrong decision. The same has always been the case.

The Bulletin also brings the warning from, no less than Chief Minister of Assam to NEEPCO that if NEEPCO, the operator of the 405 MW Ranganadi Dam releases water from the dam without warning and when downstream areas are facing floods, they will have to bear the losses people suffer. Continue reading “DRP News Bulletin,16 July 2018: Dam Safety Is Needed, Can We Depend On CWC Engineers Alone?” →

DRP News Bulletin 12 March 2018 (Swami Gyan Swaroop Sanand To Go On Fast For Ganga)

March 12, 2018 SANDRP1 Comment

Swami Gyan Swarup Sanand (Prof G D Agarwal formerly) writes to Prime Minister on Feb 24 with three demands on Ganga and says if these are not satisfied by Ganga Dashera (June 22, 2018), he will go on fast unto death. The three demands are: 1. stop work on Vishnugad Pipalkoti, Singoli Bhawari and Phata Byung HEPs 2. Pass in Parliament the Draft Ganga protection act drafted by Just (retired) Girdhar Malviya headed committee and 3. Create a National Ganga follower committee whose permission will be necessary before taking any decision about Ganga. See the detailed blog by Arun Tiwari ji and link to the letter to PM. http://hindi.indiawaterportal.org/Swami-Sananda-open-letter-pm-modi-clean-ganga

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Tamil Nadu Rivers Review 2017: Despite Drought; Diversion of Rivers’ Waters To Private Companies

March 11, 2018March 14, 2018 SANDRPLeave a comment

This sixth compilation under Rivers Review series, presents situation of rivers in Tamil Nadu in the year 2017.

Tamirabarani River Opposition grows against Tamirabarani water to soft drink units In March 2017, various citizen groups submitted petitions to Collector M. Karuankaran, opposing the decision to supply huge quantity of water from the Tamirabarani to beverage manufacturing units in Gangaikondan Industrial area. They also asked the State Government to cancel the agreement with the soft drink manufacturing units on supplying the river water and make sincere efforts to revive the river. http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/tamirabarani-protest-intensifies-tirunelveli/article17457199.ece (The Hindu, 13 March 2017)

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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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South India Rivers Review 2017: More Water for Cities from Drying Rivers

March 10, 2018March 14, 2018 SANDRP4 Comments

This fourth rivers review presents developments related to rivers in States of South India including Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka.

Telangana Rivers 2017

Manair River Garbage polluting Manair river The shores are being polluted by the Municipal Corp of Karimnagar (MCK), which is dumping garbage generated from the town. Other private agencies such as chicken centres, hotels, private hospitals, mechanical shops and others too are also dumping garbage generated at their places into the river Manair. The State Govt had decided to develop the Manair front on the lines of Sabarmati river front development, which would spell further disaster for the river. http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/telangana/Garbage-polluting-Manair-river/article17113713.ece (The Hindu, 30 Jan. 2017)

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West India Rivers Review 2017: Governments, Industries Destroy Rivers

March 10, 2018March 14, 2018 SANDRP1 Comment

After review of North India and Maharashtra Rivers, SANDRP presents the development surrounding rivers in rest of West Zone: Gujarat, Goa, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan states in 2017.

Gujarat Rivers

Dams, industrial pollution killing State Rivers In MoEF report, Gujarat ranks 4th among top 5 states with highly polluted rivers. Sabarmati is among Gujarat’s 20 most polluted rivers including Narmada and Mahi. Over Rs 200 cr has been spent to curb pollution in Sabarmati & Mindola rivers. This fund is the highest amount ever spent outside the Ganga river conservation project on which Uttar Pradesh has spent Rs 917.24 crore, West Bengal Rs 411.26 crore and Bihar Rs 216.46 crore. As per activist, Rohit Prajapati, industrial effluents are being released in big rivers like Sabarmati, Mahi and Narmada without being treated and big dams have been built on big rivers due to which the rivers are drying up and vanishing as a result, the condition of rivers in Gujarat is going from bad to worse. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/polluted-rivers-guj-ranks-4th/articleshow/62685910.cms (The Times of India, 29 Jan. 2017)

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North India Rivers Review 2017: Pollution Poisoning Lifelines

March 3, 2018March 14, 2018 SANDRPLeave a comment

In an effort to assess the situation of Rivers in 2017, SANDRP is presenting the compilation of key rivers related development in the country. The first part of this Rivers Review 2017 includes Northern States including Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi. The following parts will present separate accounts for Rivers in North East, West, East and South Zones. There will also be separate review reports on Ganga & Yamuna rivers.

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Dams · DRP News Bulletin

DRP News Bulletin 26 February 2018 (Banda People Also Protest Against Ken Betwa Link)

February 26, 2018 SANDRPLeave a comment

When Central Government is trying to push Ken Betwa link project terming it as beneficial for both Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, local people of Banda are now also protesting against it, in addition to the people of Panna that are already opposing it. On Feb. 13, 2018, the Ken Bachao Samiti comprising of farmers, citizens and social workers in Banda sat on a Dharna before district magistrate office. The group have also sent a memorandum to the President of India, demanding immediate cancelling of the project. Raising serious concerns over environmental and social of the linking project, they asked demanded proper impact assessment and public consultation and said the project wont be allowed to go forward. Indeed, as they have said, there has been no downstream impact assessment and people of Banda are likely to loose their river. https://www.livehindustan.com/uttar-pradesh/banda/story-demonstrate-against-ken-betwa-alliance-1800951.html (Hindustan Hindi,13 Feb. 2018)

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Failing CETP In Himachal’s Pharma Hub, Poisons River Sirsa & Villagers’ Lives

November 15, 2017November 12, 2019 SANDRPLeave a comment

Last month, on October 14th, around noon, there was a massive fish kill in the Sirsa River at Sitalpur, in Baddi, Solan district. Locals of the area who witnessed the event sent in these photographs and video of hundreds of dying rohu.

Photo and Video Credit: Pawan Bhardwaj, Baddi

Sirsa, a lifeline once, now spells doom

The Sirsa river in the Shiwalik foothills of Himachal, which flows into the Satluj, has been reduced to a drain carrying toxic industrial effluents of the Baddi Barotiwala Nalgarh Industrial hub, over the last ten years. The river has several villages located along its banks that have been impacted as a result of untreated effluents and toxic water being drained into it by more than 2000 industrial units in the region. The worst affected were the Gujjars, a pastoral community dependent on rearing cattle and buffaloes.

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Dams · DRP News Bulletin

DRP News Bulletin 13 November 2017 (EAC Defers To Clear Pancheshwar Dam But Ignores People’s Voices)

November 13, 2017 SANDRP1 Comment

The minutes of expert appraisal committee (EAC) shows that Environmental Clearance (EC) for the Pancheshwar Multipurpose Project has been deferred. The minutes were uploaded after 16 days of EAC meeting conducted on Oct 24, 2017. http://environmentclearance.nic.in/writereaddata/Form-1A/Minutes/09112017PCU6UH80Finalminutesof9thEACmeeting1.pdf

In the minutes, the EAC said that it would require to study the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report for the Nepal portion of the project to get a holistic view. It also directed the project proponent to obtain wildlife clearance as the project was located 300 metres from the Ascot Wildlife Sanctuary.

It is worth to mention that the Pancheshwar dam with a height of 315 meters is world’s second tallest dam proposed in ecologically sensitive region. Scores of media reports have underlined the unfair and politically influenced Environment Public Hearing (EPH) process, conducted during peak monsoon month in landslide ridden and disaster prone region. The venue of the EPH was also several kms away from villages going to be affected thus depriving the local people participation in essential decision making process. As a result the concerns and voices of villagers to have their voices heard. The EIA report of the project has also not mentioned several grave environmental issues of GOLFs events, cloud bursts, earthquakes etc in the catchment of the dam let alone the question of impact on endangered wildlife like Mahseer fish.

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