Skip to main content

India's anti-dam groups "rope in" Copenhagen collective to insist: Big dams are obsolete, anti-environment

By Our Representative
In a sharp bid to bring in international pressure, the National Alliance of Peoples' Movements (NAPM), the apex body of tens of grassroots organizations across India, has organized a high-profile seminar to “examine” whether big dams are obsolete. The well-known world body campaigning against big dams, Beyond Copenhagen Collective, will be sponsoring it.
Other groups which will be participating in the seminar are well-known advoocacy groups such as Delhi Solidarity Group, Matu Jansangathan, Lokmaitri, and Manthan Adhyan Kendra. Titled “Are Dams Obsolete in Modern India?: Dams for Power and Water Management: Experience, Justice and Sustainability”, the seminar will be held in Indore on September 29-30, 2016.
Announcing the decision to hold the seminar, NAPM quotes Nitish Kumar, Bihar chief minister, as saying that the recent flood like situation in 12 districts ,including Patna, was “caused by huge siltation in river Ganga”, which a result of “silt being deposited in Ganga due to the construction of Farakka dam in West Bengal.”
Kumar insisted on August 21, “The only way to remove silt from the river is to remove the Farakka dam.” This stands in sharp contrast to Jawaharlal Nehru calling in 1963 Bhakra Nangal Project “the new temple of resurgent India”, and “symbol of India's progress”, suggests NAPM.
According to NAPM, while big dam proponents, including governments, advance the logic that they provide “multiple benefits in terms of vitally needed irrigation, 'clean' electricity and sometimes flood control services”, millions of displaced people have pointed to how they lead to “large scale human tragedy” and “ensuing violations of the fundamental human rights of the severely affected.”
NAPM says, “Government reports and judicial judgments prove that dams are one of the root cause of the disasters that are happening in India”, suggesting they lead to such devastations like the one which took place in 2013 in Uttarkhand. Yet, it regrets, “Financial institutions, national and international, have often found these big projects a 'good long term investment'.”
NAPM further says, these financial institutes suggest that these big dams may help overcome “threat of climate change from large scale fossil fuel burning for energy”, and hence are “sources of 'clean energy'.”
However, the fact is, it underlines, “The question of their emission of the greenhouse gas methane (from the submerged biomass, through anoxic decomposition), which is anywhere between 70-90 times as potent as carbon dioxide in the shorter term, has not been fully investigated or settled.”
Pointing out that the big dams in India – 4,877 in all, with 313 under construction – have traditionally been designed and built with the three major objectives of irrigation (with the logic that nearly 58% of Indian farm land is still un-irrigated), flood-control and power generation; yet says NAPM, their negative impacts are not looked into,
“The first two requires large water holding capacity, thus necessarily submerging large areas of forests and fertile farmlands along with villages and even towns (Sardar Sarovar on Narmada, Tehri of Bhagirathi, Hirakud on Mahanadi etc.)”, it says.
With the Indian economy focusing more on providing for the rising power demands of big industries and urban centres, NAPM says, “the trend has turned” to so-called “Run of the River projects” which allegedly have “comparatively lower submergence” targeted primarily towards “power generation (Nathpa-Jhakri, Karchham-Wangtoo, Baglihar, Dharasu etc.).”
Pointing out that the installed capacity of hydro-power in India has reached 42,800 MW (roughly 14% of the total installed electricity capacity in India of 304,000 MW), NAPM says, this is leading to ecological disaster.
“Getting the bigger 'gravitational head' or the height difference of intake and discharge of water, means that these are targeting the mountainous areas with high gradients, increasingly – the Himalayas”, says NAPM.
It adds, these additionally cause submergence of “pristine forests and farm land, inducing frequent and large landslides by the change of the moisture regime”, even as inviting earthquakes “by the enormous gravitational load on highly seismic geological terrain, and creating conditions for higher moisture-rainfall envelope in fragile mountain slopes.”

Comments

TRENDING

'Very low rung in quality ladder': Critique of ICMR study on 'sudden deaths' post-2021

By Bhaskaran Raman*  Since about mid-2021, a new phenomenon of extreme concern has been observed throughout the world, including India : unexplained sudden deaths of seemingly healthy and active people, especially youngsters. In the recently concluded Navratri garba celebrations, an unprecedented number of young persons succumbed to heart attack deaths. After a long delay, ICMR (Indian Council for Medical Research) has finally has published a case-control study on sudden deaths among Indians of age 18-45.

Savarkar in Ahmedabad 'declared' two-nation theory in 1937, Jinnah followed 3 years later

By Our Representative One of the top freedom fighters whom BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi revere the most, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, was also a great supporter of the two nation theory for India, one for Hindus another for Muslims, claims a new expose on the man who is also known to be the original proponent of the concept of Hindutva.

Reject WHO's 'draconian' amendments on pandemic: Citizens to Union Health Minister

By Our Representative  Several concerned Indian citizens have written to the Union Health Minister to reject amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR) of the World Health Organization (WHO) adopted during the 75th World Health Assembly (WHA75) in May 2022, apprehending this will make the signatories surrender their autonomy to the “unelected, unaccountable and the whimsical WHO in case of any future ‘pandemics’.”

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah*   The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual. 

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Our Representative Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Union Health Ministry, FSSAI 'fail to respond' to NHRC directive on packaged food

By Our Representative  The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has expressed deep concern over the adverse health effects caused by packaged foods high in salt, sugar, and saturated fats. Recognizing it as a violation of the Right to Life and Right to Health of Indian citizens, the quasi-judicial body called for a response from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) regarding its selection of front-of-pack labels aimed at providing consumers with information to make healthier choices.

Why is electricity tariff going up in India? Who is the beneficiary? A random reflection

By Thomas Franco*  Union Ministry of Power has used its power under Section 11 of the Electricity Act, 2003 to force States to import coal which has led to an increase in the cost of electricity production and every consumer is paying a higher tariff. In India, almost everybody from farmers to MSMEs are consumers of electricity.

SC 'appears to foster' culture of secrecy, does not seek electoral bond details from SBI

By Rosamma Thomas*  In its order of November 2, 2023 on the case of Association for Democratic Reforms vs Union of India contesting constitutional validity of electoral bonds, the Supreme Court directed all political parties to give particulars of the bonds received by them in sealed covers to the Election Commission of India. SC sought that information be updated until September 2023. 

British companies export 'deadly' asbestos to India, other countries from offshore offices

Inside a UK asbestos factory in 1994 before the mineral was banned By Rajiv Shah “The Sunday Times”, which forms part of the powerful British daily, “The Times”, has raised the alarm that though the “deadly” asbestos is banned in Britain, companies registered in United Kingdom, and operating from other countries, “are involved in shipping it to developing nations”, especially India. India, Brazil, Russia and China account for almost 80% of the asbestos consumed globally every year, it adds.