दिल्ली विधानसभा चुनाव प्रचार के दौरान यमुना नदी प्रदूषण एक महत्वपूर्ण राजनितिक मुद्दा बना। चुनाव जीतने के बाद स्वयं प्रधानमंत्री और भाजपा पार्टी के वरिष्ठ नेताओं ने ‘आप’ सरकार की हार के लिए यमुना की दुर्दशा को एक प्रमुख कारण बताया। साथ में यमुना को साफ करने की बात कही। ऐसे में क्या दिल्ली के नागरिक एक स्वच्छ बहती नदी की उम्मीद रख सकते हैं?
Continue reading “दिल्ली में नई सरकार: क्या अब निर्मल होगी यमुना?”Tag: River
Groundwater 2024: Top ten Actions by Governments
(Feature Image: A water conservation message painted on a wall in Dehradun. BS Rawat/SANDRP, May 2024)
The fourth part of annual overview covers the top ten actions taken by central and various state governments regarding conservation and recharge of groundwater India in 2024. The 1st part of the yearend round documents important studies and the 2nd part and 3rd part highlights reports on the proverbial toxic-berg, rising contamination and depletion of groundwater quality in India. The fifth part covers top ten judicial interventions dealing with groundwater issues during 2024.
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World Wetlands Day 2025: Ten Positive Stories from Urban India
(Feature Image: Dharmesh Barai, who leads the NGO Environment Life Foundation (ELF), began the “Mangrove Clean-Up Drive” on August 15. Source: TIE)
This compilation highlights ten positive efforts put in to protect the lakes, waterbodies and mangroves in urban India by individuals and environmental groups during 2024. The top ten stories come from five metros: Delhi (3), Mumbai (2), Bengaluru (2), Chennai (2) and Kolkata (1). We are sure such positive actions also happened in other cities in 2024, but we could not find them.
We have also compiled the top ten positive wetlands reports from the countryside here. Also see overviews on the worsening plight of Ramsar wetlands, deteriorating situation of wetlands in India in general and some important judicial interventions concerning protection and management of wetlands in the country that have taken place during the past one year.
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WWD 2025: Failing to Protect Wetlands for Common Future
(Feature Image: Machhi Talab in Dehradun chocked by solid waste, vegetion in May 2024. BS Rawat/SANDRP)
While we celebrate World’s Wetlands Day 2025 with theme of “Protecting Wetlands for Our Common Future”, the top ten reports from 2024 show that the plight of wetlands in India remains miserable making the future of the waterbodies and dependent people uncertain. While govts continue to be lethargic in identifying and notifying the wetlands in the country, the govts initiated developmental plans, projects are further making them vulnerable to extinction. Amid this the threats from encroachment, siltation, pollution and climate change are only increasing. Also see the first part of the overview highlighting the deteriorating situation of Ramsar wetlands in India.
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2024: Do Embankments save from floods or worsen the disasters?
(Feature Image: NDRF personnel conduct a rescue operation at a flood-affected area in Bihar’s Supaul district. Image Credit: PTI/Source Live Mint, Sept. 30)
India has seen several floods brought by breach of embankments during the 2024 monsoon. In Bihar, though the state has received deficit rainfalls, the overspilling of barrages and breaching of several embankments created widescale flood damages. Number of reports have again highlighted the ineffective and adverse role being played by flood protection structures in worsening the deluge impacts. The first part of the overview has covered dam induced flood incidents in the country during 2024 and third part has highlighted incidents of dam induced urban floods.
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2024: Dam Induced Floods in India
(Feature Image: Breach in the earth dam of Peddavagu project flooded several villages in Telangana & Andhra Pradesh on July 17, 2024. Source: DC)
India has seen several manmade flood disasters during the 2024 monsoon. The mismanagement of dams in Narmada valley including Bargi, and SSP inundated several dam affected villages despite adequate actionable advance warnings. The uninformed excess releases from DVC dams have led to flooding in large areas in West Bengal as repeatedly raised by the state government. The extensive floods in Tripura have revealed glaring loopholes in flood prevention and disaster management.
The floods in the year have also washed away or damaged several earthen dams, tanks in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan affecting human population, agricultural lands in their vicinity. Even during Northeast monsoon, the sudden releases from Sathanur and Veedur dams in Tamil Nadu created avoidable flood damage in downstream areas. Similarly, the states of Gujarat, Telangana, Haryana and Delhi have seen deluge due to mismanagement or breaches in the canals. The case of Narmada canal waters flooding large areas of Little Runn of Kutch is quite concerning.
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2024: Concerns about Pump Storage Projects
(Feature Image: Sharavathi valley in Sagar taluk of Shivamogga district.Credit: Deccan Herald)
The part 4 of annual overview on the dams and hydro projects covers the concerns about the Pump Storage Projects in India. The government push for Pumped Storage Projects in Western and Eastern Ghats has strongly been contested by communities and experts. Stories here show that these projects are already facing opposition in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan.
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2024: Accidents & Damages to Hydro & Dams in India
The annual overview highlights the damages and accidents affecting dams and hydro power projects in India during 2024. The highest number of such incidents happened in Himachal Pradesh. Incidents are also noteworthy from Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand among the Himalayan states. In addition, noteworthy dam disaster incidents in the year happened in Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. The previous overview on the issue can be seen by visiting the links 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020.
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Himachal Pradesh: ‘Cloudburst’ Incidents in SW Monsoon 2024
(Feature Image: Cloudburst ravaged Bagipul area along Kurpan khad in Kullu district. in Aug. 2024. Source: Aaj Tak)
We have been able to identify 27 reported incidents of ‘cloudburst’ in Himachal Pradesh during the SW monsoon 2024. A table with some basic information about these incidents can be seen here.
The ‘cloudburst’ incidents have been reported from all geographical areas of the state spanning 8 districts throughout the season beginning with May 12 in Gharshu village of Kinnaur to September 26 from Paonta Sahib area of Sirmaur. The maximum 18 of these incidents have occurred in areas close to glaciers or snow-clad mountains followed by 5 in middle segment of Himalaya and 4 in Shivalik range of the state.
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WFD 2024: MASS FISH KILL in Indian Rivers, Wetlands Continue…
Over the past several years Indian rivers, wetlands have been witnessing mass fish death incidents primarily due to decreasing flows, increasing pollution and other anthropogenic activities. As we celebrate World Fisheries Day 2024, SANDRP compiles the reports revealing mass fish kill incidents in our rivers and wetlands over the past one year across. The first part of year end analysis has covered positive development on fish, fisheries and fisherfolks and the second part has highlighted how fish and fisherfolks have been facing existential crisis on account of adverse impacts of developmental activities in the country.
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