यह सचित्र रिपोर्ट इस बात पर प्रकाश डालती है कि कैसे उत्तराखंड में ग्रामीण क्षेत्रों में सड़क निर्माण दौरान उत्तपन्न मलबे को नियमों के विपरीत छोटी जलधाराओं, गदेरों में फेंक दिया जाता है जो नदी पर्यावरण तंत्र को तात्कालिक तौर पर नुकसान पहुँचाने के अलावा भविष्य में किसी बड़ी आपदा का कारक भी बन सकती है।
Continue reading “उत्तराखंड: सड़क मलबे में दफन होती रामगंगा की धाराएं”Tag: Uttarakhand
Celebrating hill women and their role in Springshed development and governance
Guest Blog by: Seema Ravandale
Abstract: The hill women share the special intricate and culturally nurtured connection to forest and water, which makes them better steward or owner of their resources. This demands their participation beyond the right-based “beneficiary” approach, recognizing their accumulated knowledge and resilient and adaptive capacities in recently contested discourse of Springshed development and governance in Indian Himalayan Region (IHR).
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Making Yamuna Flow Again
Guest Blog by Manoj Misra
It is no secret that the master key to Yamuna rejuvenation or for that matter any other perennial river is to make it flow as close to its natural flow pattern as possible. How to go about it is no rocket science but is no easy task either for we humans have burdened them with so many of our selfish stakes.
What flows in a river is not just water, but water enriched with energy, minerals, sediments, detritus and life, macro and microscopic plants and animals. It’s only such flow that enables and has enabled rivers over the millennia to fulfill various ecological (& social) functions like erosion and deposition of earth, meander and form floodplains, feed aquifers to replenish the ground water, host aquatic and riparian life forms, connect with the floodplain and its water bodies and complete the water cycle. (Feature image above: Dead Yamuna river at Panipat (Pic by Bhim SIngh Rawat))
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Unprecedented October 2021 Rainfall in Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand has seen unusual rainfall episode in the month of October 2021. The extreme rains during October 17 to 19 across the state and particularly at several places in districts under Kumaon division have been termed as highest rainfall in the recorded history as per Meteorological Circle (MC), Dehradun. This account is an attempt to document the historical rainfall events caused by combination of low pressure and western disturbance (WD) weather phenomena.
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Kerala and Uttarakhand floods in Oct 2021: Did the forewarnings help?
The October 2021 flood disasters in two ends of India, in Kerala and Uttarakhand have a lot common. Both happened after the end of normal dates of South West Monsoon 2021. In both cases it is repeat of earlier such disasters in respective states. In both cases, there were reports by expert reports warning about the disasters. In both cases the rainfall events were broadly along the lines warned by the climate scientists, but in both cases the state was ill prepared to cope with it. In both cases, inappropriate human interventions have worsened the disasters in major ways. And in both cases disaster management seems to be absent from ground. In both cases, more precise forecasts about the rainfall quantum and location would have helped. (Feature Image above is from The Hindustan Times, Oct 23, 2021)
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Uttarakhand: Cloud Bursts in SW Monsoon 2021
SANDRP has been compiling the extreme rainfall events termed as cloud bursts occurring during monsoon season in Himalayan states. This account brings out the status of such incidents in the state of Uttarakhand. We have already published details of at least 24 ‘cloud burst’[i] incidents in pre monsoon month of May 2021 in the state. In following parts, we would cover the other states in Western Himalaya.
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Open Letter to PM on Uttarakhand Hydro in Sept 2021
Open Letter to the Prime Minister, Minister of Environment and media on 09/09/2021:
Restarting seven under-construction hydro projects in Ganga Himalaya unjustified
Recently the MoEF&CC has recommended restarting the construction of seven under-construction HEPs in Uttarakhand namely Tehri II (1000 MW), Tapovan Vishnugad (520 MW), Vishnugad Pipalkoti (444 MW), Singoli Bhatwari (99 MW), Phata Byung (76 MW), Madhmaheshwar (15 MW), and Kaliganga II (4.5 MW). The news came as a shock to citizens, devotees and environmentalists who have been struggling since over a decade to preserve our national river Ganga and the Himalaya. The deeply felt concern over the fate of these two pivotal ecological systems and defining symbols of Indian culture, compel us to write this letter. Not the least, as a citizen, it is also our constitutional duty ‘to protect and improve India’s natural environment’.
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Uttarakhand: ‘Cloud Burst’ in Syunsal; Administration disinterested in rainfall monitoring
On September 7, 2021 a ‘cloud burst’ incident was reported in Syunsal village area of Patti Chauthan. The village is located in buffer zone of Dudhatoli reserve forest in Thailisain block of Pauri district forming borders with Almora and Chamoli districts.
As per villagers the incident occurred around 02.30 am early in the morning. There was heavy rainfall spell since evening of September 6 in the region. Post mid night loud thunders and lightening were also experienced but in the darkness of night, very little could be seen.
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Uttarakhand: ‘Cloud Burst’ in Chauthan, Disaster Preparedness Missing Again
Excessive rainfall in the intervening night July 28-29 2021 has impacted several villages in Chauthan Patti under Thailisain tehsil of Pauri district. Fortunately there has been no casualties reported however village & public infrastructure and also the crops have suffered huge damages.
While heavy downpour lashed out the large parts of the district, the villagers of Dumdikot also reported of a ‘cloud burst’ incident causing significant destruction. The village is located at the trijunction of Pauri-Chamoli-Almora districts border.
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June July 2021 District Wise SW Monsoon Rainfall in India
In the just concluded month of July 2021, India received 266.1 mm rainfall, that is 6.73% below normal July rainfall of 285.3 mm, as per India Meteorological Department (IMD). This is in contrast with June 2021 rainfall, that was almost 11% surplus over Normal rainfall. Not only that surplus has been wiped out by the July 2021 deficit, the overall June July 2021 rainfall now is 449 mm, or about 0.7% below normal rainfall of 452.2 mm, as per IMD.
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SANDRP 