Skip to main content

Film on Tehri dam highlights "failure" of judiciary to look into rehabilitation of oustees, ecological destruction

A new documentary on Tehri Dam, released in Delhi, has strongly raised the pitch in favour of dam free rivers, even as focusing on human and ecological crisis in the Himalayan region after the construction of dams such as Tehri, allegedly ruining the lives and livelihoods of local communities.
The documentary also highlights “irreparable” damage to ecology, environment and cultural values which were there for centuries.
Made by Narmada Bachao Andolar (NBA) activist Vimalbhai, and titled ‘Tehri 2015 – The Ten Years of Injustice’, it gives an account of “illegal” and “forced” land acquisitions, “violations” of environmental safety norms and “unfair” rehabilitation of displaced families that are still seeking justice even after 10 years of its commissioning.
Inaugurated by Justice Rajinder Sachhar, known for his minorities commission report of 2005, a function at the Constitution Club also saw the release of the book ‘Why Dams?’ by Vimalbhai, published by the National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM).
The book documents years of work done in dam affected regions of Uttarakhand and discusses the environmental degradation, displacement and loss of livelihoods of the people owing to building of large dams.
“Till now the problems arising in the Uttarakhand and Ganga Valley due of a large number of small and big dams has been overlooked for the unjust greed of electricity”, said Vimalbhai.
He said the Namami Ganga initiative of the Narendra Modi government talks “only about pollution and cleaning the River Ganga but runs away from issues raised by the construction of dams on Ganga.” Senior advocate Sanjay Parikh, fighting cases for people on Tehri Dam since 1992, was felicitated on the occasion.
Speaking on the occasion, Parikh said the judiciary has “failed to understand the real problems caused by large dams”. He added, “Tehri dam was environmentally not feasible, and hence was on the planning stage only for many years after which the government went straight to just build it.”
Parikh was pointed towards how rehabilitation of the oustees “has not been done, which refutes the claim of benefits to people from Tehri Dam”, adding, “The lack of social assessment and other devastation of cultural values because of displacement were missing in the prior assessment.”
In the panel discussion which followed, well-known social activist Medha Patkar of NBA, speaking on “Tehri dam and Dams of Ganga Valley”, called Tehri Dam “a part of series of planned violence on people’s lives, livelihoods and environment.” She added, “These atrocities are not considered anti-national whereas people raising voices for the justice are termed anti-national.”
“The government is playing a very dangerous role in diverting the people’s attention and defaming the real struggles to facilitate the natural resources in the hands of industries and rich people”, Patkar said, insisting that time has come not to “aspire for legal justice but for human Justice”.
Noted environmentalist Soumya Dutta said, the Ganga–Brahmputra river system brings” a lot of silt resulting in a very fertile soil deposition which has supported the agrarian system catering to food security majority of population of India, but ignoring this, the rivers are getting dammed, resulting in declining reservoir capacity, apart from its larger socio-environmental impacts.”

Comments

TRENDING

When Pakistanis whispered: ‘end military rule’ — A Moscow memoir

During the recent anti-terror operation inside Pakistan by the Government of India, called Operation Sindoor — a name some feminists consider patently patriarchal, even though it’s officially described as a tribute to the wives of the 26 husbands killed in the terrorist strike — I was reminded of my Moscow stint, which lasted for seven long years, from 1986 to 1993.

A sector under siege? War and real estate: Navigating uncertainty in India's expanding market

I was a little surprised when I received an email alert from a top real estate consultant, Anarock Group , titled "Exploring War’s Effects on Indian Real Estate—When Conflict Meets Concrete," authored by its regional director and head of research, Dr. Prashant Thakur. I had thought that the business would wholeheartedly support what is considered a strong response to the dastardly terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Operation Sindoor. 

Tracking a lost link: Soviet-era legacy of Gujarati translator Atul Sawani

The other day, I received a message from a well-known activist, Raju Dipti, who runs an NGO called Jeevan Teerth in Koba village, near Gujarat’s capital, Gandhinagar. He was seeking the contact information of Atul Sawani, a translator of Russian books—mainly political and economic—into Gujarati for Progress Publishers during the Soviet era. He wanted to collect and hand over scanned soft copies, or if possible, hard copies, of Soviet books translated into Gujarati to Arvind Gupta, who currently lives in Pune and is undertaking the herculean task of collecting and making public soft copies of Soviet books that are no longer available in the market, both in English and Indian languages.

A conman, a demolition man: How 'prominent' scribes are defending Pritish Nandy

How to defend Pritish Nandy? That’s the big question some of his so-called fans seem to ponder, especially amidst sharp criticism of his alleged insensitivity during his journalistic career. One such incident involved the theft and publication of the birth certificate of Masaba Gupta, daughter of actor Neena Gupta, in the Illustrated Weekly of India, which Nandy was editing at the time. He reportedly did this to uncover the identity of Masaba’s father.

Ahmedabad's civic chaos: Drainage woes, waterlogging, and the illusion of Olympic dreams

In response to my blog on overflowing gutter lines at several spots in Ahmedabad's Vejalpur, a heavily populated area, a close acquaintance informed me that it's not just the middle-class housing societies that are affected by the nuisance. Preeti Das, who lives in a posh locality in what is fashionably called the SoBo area, tells me, "Things are worse in our society, Applewood."

Environmental concern? Global NGO leads campaign urging banks to cut ties with Odisha steel project

A decade after the withdrawal of the South Korean multinational POSCO from Odisha following large-scale protests, questions remain about whether India-based JSW Steel, which took over the project, can successfully revive the 13.2 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) steel plant and coal-fired power plant. POSCO initiated the project in 2005 but exited in 2017 due to sustained local opposition.

Adani Group a key player in Indo-Israel defence cooperation: Tel Aviv daily

Said to be one of the most influential Israeli dailies, "Haaretz" (literally: News of the Land) has identified the Adani Group—known to be close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi—as one of the key Indian business houses engaged in defence cooperation with Israel. Pointing out that India supplied the Israeli military with Hermes 900 drones, the daily reported that this advanced aerial vehicle came off “the production line in a factory set up in Hyderabad, as part of the cooperation between the Israeli Elbit and India's Adani Group.”

Beyond Indus water treaty suspension: A 'nationalist' push despite harsh climate realities

The suspension of the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) appears to have pushed the middle classes, at least in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state, Gujarat, further towards what the powers-that-be would consider—a "positive" direction. As usual, during my morning walk, I tried talking with a neighbour about what impact it would have. Ignoring what is widely considered a "security lapse," this person, who had just returned after buying milk, compared the Modi move with Trump.

Despite Hindutva hold claim, 18% Hindus in US don't want to be identified with Hinduism!

Scanning through news items on the Google News app on my mobile — which is what I do almost every morning — I came across a story published on India.com, which I found somewhat misleading. The headline said, "Muslim population drops significantly in THIS country as over 25% Muslims leave Islam due to…, the country is…"