Aghanashini

Ennore oil spill: Flora, fauna recover slowly
News this week Posted on 08 May, 2017 10:03 PM

Oil spill in Ennore has highly impacted the zone between Ennore and Marina beach

Oil sludge being manually removed from the rocky coast. (Image courtesy: The Indian Express)
Invite to 'Aghanashini River Festival', Eco Watch, Uttar Kannada, Karnataka
The objective of the festival is to emphasize the importance of Western Ghats, which, along with the rainforests of South America help maintain the ecological balance of Earth.
Posted on 21 Feb, 2014 02:53 PM

Eco-Watch, Centre for Environment & Sustainable Development, based in Bangalore, and more active in North Karnataka, is organizing the event, namely “Aghanashini River Festival” at Aghanashini village situated on the bank of the River‘Aghanashini’ in Kumta taluk, Uttara Kanada district.

Let the Western Ghats be 'damned': A presentation on how dam building affects the ecology and social structure of these biodiversity spots
The western ghats are being relentlessly and systematically dammed. Officials create confusing jargon, find legal loopholes and the environmental procedure is waved off. Posted on 29 Jan, 2013 03:19 PM

These global biodiversity hotspots in the country, extraordinarily rich in plant and animal species, are being submerged in the name of development and growth. An overview of the dams built and proposed in this area.

Living rivers, dying rivers: Rivers in the Western Ghats
The sixth lecture in the series titled "Living Rivers, Dying Rivers" was delivered by Parineeta Dandekar and Pandurang Hegde. Posted on 10 Feb, 2012 04:12 PM

River stories from Maharashtra: Many morals to learn 

Parineeta Dandekar’s presentation began with an account of some statistics related to Maharashtra, the third largest state in India. Regarding the state of water resources in Maharashtra, she noted that of the five river basin systems, 55 percent of the dependable yield is available in the four river basins (Krishna, Godavari, Tapi and Narmada) east of the Western Ghats. These four river basins comprise 92 percent of the cultivable land and more than 60 percent of the population in rural areas. 45 percent of the state's water resources are from west flowing rivers which are mainly monsoon specific rivers emanating from the Western Ghats and draining into the Arabian Sea.

With 1821 large dams and more in the offing, Maharashtra has the maximum dams in the country (35.7%). However, the proportion of gross irrigated area vis a vis the gross cropped area at 17.8 percent is much lower than the national average of 44.6 percent. The contradictions from the state, which is home to the highest number of dams, were discussed. In nearly 70 percent of the state’s villages (around 27,600 villages), water is either not available within 500 metres distance, or within 15 metres below ground level or when available is not potable (World Bank, Promoting Agricultural Growth in Maharashtra, Volume 1, 2003).

Dandekar discussed the World Bank funded Maharashtra Water Sector Improvement Project (MWSIP) initiated in 2005 whose main components were establishment, operationalisation and capacity building of Maharashtra Water Resources Regulatory Authority (MWRRA); establishment of river basin agencies in Maharashtra; and restructuring and capacity building of the Water Resources Department. The MWRRA Act (2005) has been amended, taking out the clause for equitable water distribution, and granting the Cabinet the rights to have the last say about water entitlements. This has led to a diversion of water for irrigation from the vulnerable, suicide-prone Vidarbha region to thermal power plants. According to Prayas, “entitlements of more than 1500 MCM have been changed from agriculture to industries and cities”.

 

Free flowing stretch of river Seetha Nadi in the Western Ghats (Source: SANDRP)
Saving some last remaining free flowing rivers
Parineeta Dandekar writes about the novel conservation reserves on Kali, Bedthi and Aghanashini in the Western Ghats. Posted on 24 Jan, 2012 06:38 AM

Guest post by: Parineeta Dandekar

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