Vyasi HEP dam reservoir on Yamuna turns into 'watery grave' for aquatic eco-system

By Bhim Singh Rawat*
Vyasi hydroelectric power (HEP) on Yamuna river is latest example of how the hydro power projects being pushed in the name of clean and green energy sources are failing on all fronts and proving a costly affair for the river, people and the nation.
The people who still think that the Run of the River (RoR) projects do not require a dam and cause no submergence of land; must visit the Vyasi HEP to witness the about 4 km long reservoir behind the 86-meter tall and 200-meter-long dam there.
The dam reservoir today has become a watery grave for the aquatic eco-system evolved around and accustomed to a free-flowing river.

For the fish in the river upstream of the dam, the river downstream the dam which once was their inherited territory is a forbidden space now.

Same is true for the riverine flora including native trees hundreds of which are still standing tall but lifeless along the dead pool of the Vyasi dam.

And yes, all the fertile farms and beautiful homes of Lohari a tribal village along the Yamuna bank are submerged in the same river which once nurtured them.

The villagers feel rooted out not just from the piece of land but from their long-lasting culture, customs and in essence from their very existence.

They struggled hard for months to get their legitimate screams be heard by the very government they elected and trusted. Dejected but determined they continue to stay close to the drowned habitats demanding land for land and defending their tribal status.

The children with lovely memories of their lost village now can’t help their eyes getting moist when they are asked where is their village.

Unaware of the cost they paid, some innocent young kids love to make toy houses, temple, school with stones and refused materials closed to their drowned birth place.

Yes, the government has started building shelters but not for the displaced but for the migrant workforce hired to build another monstrous dam Lakhwar in the upstream.

Locals say some Rs 3,200 crore contract has been given to L&T company for civil construction work and after monsoon the work on the 204 meter tall dam would start.

Back to the Vyasi HEP, the project is unable to produced 120 Mw (60X2) energy for which it was pushed over a decade costing about Rs. 1800 crore.

Now, the ‘visionary officials’ lament lack of sufficient flows in Yamuna for the gross under performance of Vyasi HEP and hide behind Lakhwar dam to correct all the wrong.

The giant 120 MW Vyasi HEP with a trail of destruction while in the making is nothing more than a show piece now. Fill the dam for half a day to run it in the other half at half the installed capacity appears to be the face-saving mantra the UJVNL has worked out.

And, once the roaring river now degraded into a feeble stream downstream the dam being fed by some 5 cumec of e-flows including the seepages.

Last year when the UJVNL started taming the river, downstream the dam dead fish could be seen spread over the riverbed, they used to thrive on. Same is going on but at lower scale to fresh water species rehabilitating the river downstream the Vyasi HEP dam which more than often is reduced into a flowless water channel.

And downstream the power station the hungry water rushes though the riverbed ready to erode the banks and the bed and swept away whoever ventures in thus making the riverscape a danger zone for fishermen, farmers, tourists and all.

An annoying siren blared out around noon hours and as the day passes more silt-free water is released into the river making it more aggressive.

One can witness the same river in three different forms – a dammed, a flowless and a raging river along a 20km long stretch between Lohari and Dak Pathar barrage courtesy the failed Vyasi HEP.

Habitats of people above the dam have been drowned and below the dam people have been put in a danger zone & in between the project lacks water to run at full capacity.

Meanwhile, focus is being shifted to Lakhwar to cover up for all the failures and threats of Vyasi HEP.
---
*Pix by the author. Source: South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People

Comments

Was Netaji forced to alter face, die in obscurity in USSR in 1975? Was he so meek?

By Rajiv Shah This should sound almost hilarious. Not only did Subhas Chandra Bose not die in a plane crash in Taipei, nor was he the mysterious Gumnami Baba who reportedly passed away on 16 September 1985 in Ayodhya, but we are now told that he actually died in 1975—date unknown—“in oblivion” somewhere in the former Soviet Union. Which city? Moscow? No one seems to know.

Love letters in a lifelong war: Babusha Kohli’s resistance in verse

By Ravi Ranjan* “War does not determine who is right—only who is left.” Bertrand Russell’s words echo hauntingly in our times, and few contemporary Hindi poets embody this truth as profoundly as Babusha Kohli. Emerging from Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, Kohli has carved a unique space in literature by weaving together tenderness, protest, and philosophy across poetry, prose, and cinema. Her work is not merely artistic expression—it is resistance, refuge, and a call for peace.

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.

Asbestos contamination in children’s products highlights global oversight gaps

By A Representative A commentary published by the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat (IBAS) has drawn attention to the challenges governments face in responding effectively to global public-health risks. In an article written by Laurie Kazan-Allen and published on March 5, 2026, the author examines how the discovery of asbestos contamination in children’s play products has raised questions about regulatory oversight and international product safety. The article opens by reflecting on lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, noting that governments in several countries were slow to respond to early warning signs of the crisis. Referring to the experience of the United Kingdom, the author writes that delays in implementing protective measures contributed to “232,112 recorded deaths and over a million people suffering from long Covid.” The commentary uses this example to illustrate what it describes as the dangers of underestimating emerging threats. Attention then turns...

India’s green energy push faces talent crunch amidst record growth at 16% CAGR

By Jag Jivan* A new study by a top consulting firm has found that India’s cleantech sector is entering a decisive growth phase, with strong policy backing, record capacity additions and surging investor interest, but facing mounting pressure on talent supply and rising compensation costs .

The kitchen as prison: A feminist elegy for domestic slavery

By Garima Srivastava* Kumar Ambuj stands as one of the most incisive voices in contemporary Hindi poetry. His work, stripped of ornamentation, speaks directly to the lived realities of India’s marginalized—women, the rural poor, and those crushed under invisible forms of violence. His celebrated poem “Women Who Cook” (Khānā Banātī Striyāṃ) is not merely about food preparation; it is a searing indictment of patriarchal domestic structures that reduce women’s existence to endless, unpaid labour.

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

Nalanda mahavihara By Rajiv Shah 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".

The price of silence: Why Modi won’t follow Shastri, appeal for sacrifice

By Arundhati Dhuru, Sandeep Pandey* In 1965, as India grappled with war and a crippling food crisis, Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri faced a United States that used wheat shipments under the PL-480 agreement as a lever to dictate Indian foreign policy. Shastri’s response remains legendary: he appealed to the nation to skip one meal a day. Millions of middle-class households complied, choosing temporary hunger over the sacrifice of national dignity. Today, India faces a modern equivalent in the energy sector, yet the leadership’s response stands in stark contrast to that era of self-reliance.

Beyond sattvik: Purity, caste and the politics of the Indian kitchen

By Rajiv Shah A few week ago, I was forwarded an article that appeared in the British weekly The Economist . Titled “Caste and cuisine: From honeycomb curry to blood fry: India’s ‘untouchable’ cooking”, it took me back to what I had blogged about what was called a “ sattvik food festival”, an annual event organised by former Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad professor Anil Gupta.

Search This Blog