Guest Blog by by Nivedita Khandekar
This story from Nag River in Nagpur is second in the series of online stories of urban rivers from across India. Please share your feedback and provide us with suggestions (read more in appendix). If you have any urban river stories or images that you might want to share, please send them to firstname.lastname@example.org and email@example.com.
With an area of little over 200 sq kms, Nagpur, the geographical centre of India, is a lucky city to have 11 lakes and two rivers within municipal limits. Nag Nadi – which lends its name to the city – is the main river along with the other, Pili Nadi; the two later merge and further join the Kanhan river near the city outskirts.
It has always been believed that the river starts as an outflow from the western weir of Ambazari Lake in west Nagpur. In 1998, a bunch of researchers went to further explore the catchment of the lake and found the actual origin of the river is up north of the lake at a place called Lava, more than 25 kms from this western weir.
– Guest blog by Shri N. Ramdas Iyer
This story from Moovattupuzha Town in Kerala is first in a series of online stories of urban rivers from across India. Please share your feedback and suggestions on the same (Read more in appendix). If you have any urban river stories or images that you might want to share, please send them to firstname.lastname@example.org and email@example.com
The Moovattupuzha river which literally means the “river made of three streams”, these being the Thodupuzha river, the Kothamangalam river and the Kaliyar river, ran just through the backyard of my maternal grandparents’ ancestral home. The river lends its name to the town through which it flows. This shows the importance of the river in the life of the people living in the town of Moovattupuzha. Our house was located just on the banks of the confluence. The famous Puzha Kara Kavil Bhagawathi temple (meaning Bhagawathi on the banks of the river) is visited by a lot of people even now.
Protests and controversies around Pancheshwar Multipurpose Project (PMP) are only growing louder and wider. While Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) Rivers Valley Project in unnecessary hurry considering the project tomorrow (05 Dec. 2017) http://environmentclearance.nic.in/writereaddata/Form-1A/Agenda/2811201745T4GD5I10thAgendaEACHydro05122017.pdf
Villagers and local groups people also continue raising their concerns and objections against 5040 Mw dam project. Today, scores of villagers, environmental groups including regional political party have protested at Jhulaghat in Champawat, Pithoragarh, Almora and in Delhi demanding EAC to listen to the voices of local people and groups.
The Chairman and members,
The Expert Appraisal Committee,
River Valley Projects,
Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, Govt of India,
Jor Bagh, New Delhi 110 003
Sub: Urgent submission regarding the Environmental Clearance for the proposed 5040 MW Pancheshwar Multipurpose Project in Uttarakhand and Nepal.
Dear Chairman & Members of the Expert Appraisal Committee,
This is to bring to your notice, and to place on record, some serious concerns related to the Environmental Clearance of the proposed 5040 MW Pancheshwar Multipurpose Project. The concerns are both, on Points of Order, as well as observations on and serious flaws in the Environmental Impact Assessment report submitted by WAPCOS.
On the evening of November 29, 2017, a shutter of Krishnagiri Reservoir Project[I] (KRP) dam in Krishnagiri district, Tamil Nadu has breached sounding flash flood alarm in downstream areas. The Collector C. Kathiravan has also put five districts of Krishnagiri, Tiruvannamalai, Dharmapuri, Vellore, and Villupuram on high alert following the sudden breach. The disaster management and rescue department have been called in to assess the situation. Leading a high level expert team Murugu Subramaniam Chief Engineer (CE) Public Works Department (PWD) responsible for operation and maintenance of the dam has also inspected the site which was followed by M Thambidurai. Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha.
Krishnagiri KRP Dam First Door Damage Viral Video
Interestingly KRP dam project is listed in the Central Water Commission’s national registry of large dams. It is also covered under Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP) and there was an Emergency Action Plan (EAP) workshop at the dam site only in 2016. Surprisingly, the incident has occurred just a year after all the 8 shutters were repaired at a cost of ₹1.10 crore reports The Hindu.[II]
The flash flood would impact the downstream villagers particularly riverbed farmers. As the dam was storing water for rabi crops, the breach is also bound to affect dependent farmers. Worsening the situation further, India Meteorological Department (IMD) has warned of heavy rains in the state due to ongoing cyclone Ockhi.
In fact, the KRP dam breach has raised many questions and issues which need to be answered and addressed immediately.
The 2017 Bhagirath Prayas Samman (BPS) awards and the inaugural Anupam Mishra Medal for the exemplary media work on rivers were announced at a packed hall at INTACH on Nov 25, 2017, the India Rivers Day 2017, and given away by Supreme Court Judge, Honourable Justice Madan Lokur. The BPS award in organisation category has been awarded to Meenachil Nadee Samrakshana Samithi of Kerala and in individual category to Mahavir Singh of Rajasthan. The AMM has been awarded to Arati Rao, who has used her multiple talents, including writing, photography and arts with focus on rivers.
The BPS awards were started in 2014, the inaugural year of India Rivers week, and this is the fourth year of the awards. The details about each awardee of this year are given below. Read More