DRP 070926: Protect Himalayan Region from Cascading Disasters

September 7, 2026September 7, 2026 SANDRPLeave a comment

(Feature Image: Hunge Bazar in Nuwakot, damaged by the Bhotekoshi floods. Source: Angad Dhakal/TKP)

In the wake of the Aug. 26 Nepal disaster, civil society groups in India have demanded urgent measures to protect people, mountains and rivers from increasingly complex and cascading disasters across the Himalayan region. The statement issued under the umbrella of People for Himalaya rightly appeals for high-altitude and trans-Himalayan areas to be treated as no-go zones for high-risk mega infrastructure projects, including large hydropower projects.

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Aug 2026: Failure to Manage Fly Ash Dams, Disposal in MP, UP & Chhattisgarh

September 5, 2026 SANDRPLeave a comment

(Feature Image: Collage showing in left Sasan UMPP’s damaged fly ash dyke, in centre NTPC’s Unchahar plant damaged fly ash pipeline and on right truck found dumping fly ash illegally in Korba. Source: Amar Ujala, Dainik Bhaskar, ETV Bharat)

There have been at least three incidents of leakages from fly ash dykes at Reliance’s Sasan UMPP in MP & NTPC’s Unchahar Plant in Raebareli, UP in Aug. 2026. All the three incidents have considerably affected nearby village and farmer communities in both the states. Notably, both projects have also experienced ash dyke related leakages and failures in the recent past, raising serious concerns over safety of the structures and safe disposal of the toxic fly ash.

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Dams, Rivers & People

DRP 310826: Nepal’s Rasuwa flood disaster: Is there a limit to Human Folly?

August 31, 2026August 31, 2026 SANDRPLeave a comment

(Feature Image: Map of Hydropower Projects and condition in Trishuli- Bhote Koshi Basin Map by SANDRP made with Google LLM)

Even as Nepal, Tibet, India and other countries whose citizens are in missing list following the Aug 26 2026 Rasuwa flood disaster for Nepal, and even as the full dimensions of the disaster are still unfolding, a Bloomberg journalist asked SANDRP a pertinent question. Seeing the major role played by operating and under construction hydropower projects in the disaster and the missing list of hundreds of people from such projects, he noted that deaths at disaster hit hydropower projects in Himalayas is a recurring story. During and after every such disaster, there is talk of learning lessons such projects, but there is little change in decision making process. His question was, is there a limit to human folly, beyond which we will see some genuine change?

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Assam · Dams, Rivers & People · Floods

DRP 170826: Assam Floods: Engineering alone cannot help

August 17, 2026August 17, 2026 SANDRPLeave a comment

(Feature Image: Drone image showing flood situation in Assam. Source: TNIE/ Credit ANI, July 26, 2026)

Among many analyses of the recent Assam Floods, three contrasting ones stand out to illustrate the limitation of supremely confident perspective that engineering alone will solve the problem. One of them is by Mitul Baruah and another one is on edit page of The Times of India on Aug 17 2026. The third one by Arupjyoti Saikia is published in Indian Express. The one in TOI does not look at cultural or historical aspects of floods in Assam, nor the uniqueness of unprecedented upper Assam floods & the reasons behind it. The analysis by Mitul Baruah, in contrast, takes into account all this and in fact comes from lived experience in Majuli. Arupjyoti Saikia, an environmental historian, takes historical perspective.

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Alaknanda · Climate Change · Disasters · Ganga · Himalayas · Hydro Disaster

Aug 2026: Eleven Killed in THDC’s Vishnugad-Pipalkoti HEP Tunnel Disaster

August 17, 2026August 26, 2026 SANDRPLeave a comment

(Feature Image: Rescuers using make shift raft made of plastic drums to search for the missing workers inside flooded Vishnugad-Pipalkoti HEP. Source: Amar Ujala/Aug. 14, 2026)

At least eight workers have been killed in a major disaster inside the tunnel of under-construction Vishnugad Pipalkoti Hydroelectric Project (HEP) on Aug. 13, 2026 in Uttarakhand. The incident occurring between 6:30 and 7:00 pm inside the project’s Tail Race Tunnel (TRT) near Mayapur area in Chamoli district, has also left 12 workers injured and two still missing. The rescued workers have sustained fractures and other trauma injuries and are currently under treatment. The disaster happened about 1.5 km inside the 3 km long TRT, being constructed between Durgapur to Siyasain area in Pipalkoti.

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Dams, Rivers & People

DRP 100826: State of Dam Safety Affairs in India

August 10, 2026 SANDRPLeave a comment

(Feature Image: Idukki dam in Kerala. Credit: Reju Arnold/ Source: The Week)

The two important developments over the past week have once again highlighted the worrying state of dam safety affairs in India. Firstly, the information shared by Union Jal Shakti Minister on Aug. 03, 2026 in Parliament has revealed that the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) has updated Emergency Action Plans (EAPs) for only 735 of the country’s 6,598 completed and operational specified dams as of July 30, 2026.

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Climate Change · Dams, Rivers & People · Himalayas · Hydro Disaster

DRP 030826: Eight Disasters Hit Himalayan Hydro Projects in Six Weeks

August 3, 2026August 14, 2026 SANDRPLeave a comment

(Feature Image: Flash flood in Chenab valley on July 06, 2026 buried several vehicles at Kwar HEP site in Kishtwar. Source: NDTV)

Over the past one and a half months of the 2026 monsoon season (since June 24), at least eight (& counting) major accidents and disasters have affected hydropower and dam projects across the Himalayan region. In addition, two recurring landslide lakes have emerged as significant hazards that are either linked to HEP construction activities or have the potential to impact downstream hydropower infrastructure. Notably, these incidents span the Teesta, Brahmaputra, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, Sutlej and Yamuna basins underlining that almost no major Himalayan river basin remains untouched by recurring hydro-related disasters.

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Climate Change · Himalayas · Hydro Disaster · Ravi River

July 2026: Workers Injured by Rockfall near Chamera-III Dam Site in Ravi Basin

July 31, 2026 SANDRPLeave a comment

(Feature Image: Rockfall at Chamera III dam site in Chamba on July 24, 2026. Source: Amar Ujala)

A rockfall at the dam site of the 231 MW Chamera-III Hydro Project narrowly averted a major tragedy on July 24, 2026. The incident occurred close to the dam construction area around 6 PM near Kharamukh on the Pathankot–Bharmour NH in Chamba dist, Himachal Pradesh.

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Dams, Rivers & People · Urban Rivers

DRP 270726: Urban Rivers Need Ecological Restoration, Not Concrete, Cosmetic Fixes

July 27, 2026July 27, 2026 SANDRPLeave a comment

(Feature Image: Vrishabhavathi river in Bengaluru. Credit: Deccan Herald)

Despite sustaining cities with water supply, groundwater recharge, flood moderation, biodiversity, livelihoods and cultural services, India’s urban rivers continue to deteriorate, as highlighted by several reports this week. The Yamuna in Delhi remains the starkest example – ecologically dead across long stretches due to unchecked sewage inflows, shrinking flows and relentless floodplain encroachment. Similar stories are unfolding across the country, with Mumbai’s Mithi, Hyderabad’s Musi, Chennai’s Cooum, Bengaluru’s Vrishabhavathi, Ahmedabad’s Sabarmati, Vadodara’s Vishwamitri, Jaipur’s Dravyawati, Nasik’s Godvarai, Pune’s Mula-Mutha amd several other urban rivers increasingly reduced to sewage drains or heavily degraded waterways.

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Himalayas · Hydro Disaster · Teesta

July 2026: 25 Workers Killed in NHPC Teesta-VI HEP Tunnel Disaster in Sikkim

July 24, 2026 SANDRPLeave a comment

(Feature Image: Joint rescue and recovery operation at Teesta VI HEP tunnel site in Samardung, Sikkim: Image credit: PTI/Source: ETV Bharat)

The methane leak and explosion disaster on 20 July 2026 inside the under-construction ADIT-III tunnel of NHPC’s 500 MW Teesta Stage-VI Hydroelectric Project (HEP) at Samardung in South Sikkim claimed the lives of all 25 trapped workers, making it one of the worst tunnel accidents in India’s hydropower sector.

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