Bay of Bengal

Evaluation of physico-chemical characteristics in groundwater using GIS – A case study of Chinnar sub-basin, Cauvery River, Tamil Nadu, India
This study uses GIS to assess the potability of groundwater and the spatial variation of groundwater parameters in Chinnar sub-basin, Tamil Nadu. Posted on 20 Jan, 2012 04:26 PM

The study found that the groundwater of the basin is extremely hard with total hardness, magnesium and potassium contents being above the permissible limits. Thirty nine out of 57 samples exceed the allowable limits for fluoride.

location map of Chinnar sub-basin and spatial distribution of ground water

Bangledesh's perspectives on Tipaimukh dam
This article by Md. Khalequzzaman deals with Bangladesh's position on the Tipaimukh dam. Posted on 18 Jan, 2012 11:33 PM

The Indian government and two other Indian authorities have signed an agreement on October 22, 2011 regarding construction of the Tipaimukh Dam.

Hydropower in the Northeast: Potential and harnessing analysis - A critique
This paper was commissioned as an input to the study “Development and Growth in Northeast India: The Natural Resources, Water, and Environment Nexus” by the World Bank. Posted on 15 Jan, 2012 11:41 PM

The main objectives of the hydropower study are as follows: 

  • An analysis of the hydropower potential in the Northeast and key elements of the strategy that should be followed for optimal realization of this potential 
  • An overview of the hydropower development options in the Northeast with regard to the water resources in the different river basins, including consideration of flood control and irrigationmap of the north-eastern states

Map of the north-east states

The unquiet river: An overview of select decisions of the courts on the river Yamuna
This report by Ritwick Dutta presents an overview of the legislation on the river Yamuna. Posted on 14 Jan, 2012 06:40 PM

The river has attained the distinction of being perhaps the river attracting the most judicial attention in india, after the Ganga. This report analyses the various laws and judicial decisions pertaining to the Yamuna and their effects on the river.Cover page of 'The unquiet river'

River Yamuna - Dying by default or by design: A public lecture on river Yamuna
This presentation by Peace Institute Charitable Trust is part of a lecture organised by Toxics Link as part of the Yamuna Jiye Abhiyaan and held at the India International centre in September 2007. Posted on 14 Jan, 2012 05:24 PM

It aims to inform, enlighten and suggest solutions to bring back the river Yamuna to a healthy and resilient state. 

slide showing factories on the banks of the Yamuna

Floods in Orissa: No lessons learnt – An article in EPW
This article on floods in Orissa shows how no lessons have been learnt yet. Posted on 06 Jan, 2012 02:26 PM

This article by Kishore C Samal in the Economic and Political Weekly (EPW) discusses how in the natural disater prone state of Orissa the authorities have not been able to draw up an effective disaster management plan and politicians continue to play politics with relief works. It argues that for dealing with these disasters and the relief and rehabilitation work that follows what is needed is the participation of the local community and functionaries of panchayati raj institutions, and coordination with national and international bodies.

Big dams and protests in India: A study of Hirakud dam – An article in EPW
This article by Arun Kumar Nayak in the Economic and Political Weekly (EPW) examines the movement against the construction of the Hirakud dam in Orissa. Posted on 06 Jan, 2012 12:29 PM

It is evident that the domestic resistance to the project was variously compromised by nationalist rhetoric, imperatives of state development and absence of transnational support. The Hirakud dam project has failed on all of its objectives – flood management, hydropower production, irrigation and navigation. Its socio-economic impact has been devastating.

Living rivers, dying rivers: Bagmati river in Nepal
The fifth lecture in the ten-part series titled "Living Rivers, Dying Rivers" was delivered by Dr. Ajaya Dixit and Dr. Dipak Gyawali. Posted on 05 Jan, 2012 06:07 PM

Bagmati river in Kathmandu: From holy river to unthinkable flowing filth

Bagmati river, Nepal (Source:Bagmati Action Plan 2009-2014)

Ajaya Dixit initiated his presentation with a general account of how rivers shape the landscape and how riverine ecosystems have nurtured society and kept civilisations vibrant, cultured and creative. Dixit went on to discuss the basin characteristics of the Bagmati, a tributary of the Kosi that rises in the Shivapuri hills, north of the Kathmandu valley. Around fifteen percent of the basin area (3700 sqkm) lies in Nepal, while the remaining is in India. The average annual rainfall in the basin is 1400 mm and is more than 2000 mm in the hills. Bagmati is a seasonal river with rainfall and springs as its main source. Its mean flow is 15.6 cubic metre/second and low flow is 0.15 cubic metre/second in April.

Kathmandu lies in the Upper Bagmati basin and studies suggest that an ancient lake called the Paleo-Kathmandu lay within the Kathmandu valley as a lacustrine formation. Early settlers lived in lower slopes and used springs and river in the upper reaches. When they moved to the valley floor, they built dongia dharas, which are stone water spouts fed by the unconfined aquifers and delivered water through surface channels. Even today, dongia dharas dated back to 1500 years exist. The state built canals (raj kulo) tapped the upper stretches of the rivers close to the mountains. Rivers and irrigation helped recharge aquifers and ponds.

However, rising urbanisation has damaged these ancient artifacts. Over the last sixty years Kathmandu has expanded massively and its population has increased from 0.41 million in 1951 to 2.6 million in 2011. The city has a huge transient population aside from this, reducing it to a concrete nightmare. Seismologists suggest that Kathmandu is a rubble city in the making. Though the Bagmati river flow has not changed significantly in the last seventy years, the character of the river has been transformed significantly during the period 1970 to 1990. The river has been canalised while the dumping of the city’s garbage into it continues. Dixit identified a plethora of problems faced by the river such as upstream water diversion for drinking water needs, disposal of untreated liquid waste, disposal of solid waste, river jacketing for roads and commercial activities, sand mining and physical encroachment.

The state of the river is an outcome of the current approach to waste management particularly liquid waste management. Three types of waste water namely yellow water flux, grey water and yellow black flux are being generated and flowing water is being used as a vehicle to dispose these. The idea of a water based disposal system e.g. flush toilet embedded in Victorian engineering has led to a technological lock-in with the result that the notion of a natural hydrological cycle has undergone a fundamental transformation.

All the same, the bulk of the load in the river is biological though there are some factories releasing effluents. In the last 20 years some of them have been closed or relocated and the river now stands a chance of being salvaged.

  

 

Bagmati River at Pashupatinath Temple (Source:Wikipedia)
Interdisciplinary approach to water management: From the uplands to the coast - The Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna Basin
The Climate of Coastal Cooperation explores finding a balance between the needs for development and safeguarding the environment. Posted on 30 Dec, 2011 11:04 AM

In this paper, Jayanta Bandopadhyay explains the need for an interdiscipliinary framework for water resource management. He states that this framework needs to include ecological, social, economic and institutional perspectives. These perspectives are essential to facilitate cooperation over the management of transboundary rivers.

Map of the GBM catchment area

National Alliance for People s Movements condemns arrest and harassment of anti-dam protesters in Assam
NAPM demands scrapping of big dams in Brahmaputra River Valley. Posted on 28 Dec, 2011 12:10 PM

Content courtesy: National Alliance for People's Movements

On the 26 December, 2011, at 2:15 am, Assam Police in collusion with other security forces swooped down on the protesters at Ranganadi who have been blockading the Highway since December 16 and thwarting state’s attempt to carry turbines and dam materials to project site of Lower Subansiri Dam. Nearly 200 people have been arrested and earlier also security forces have been harassing the protestors. In past too, Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti fighting against the big dams on Brahmaputra have faced government’s ire and often been attacked and jailed. NAPM stands in solidarity with KMSS and other students groups of the region who have been consistently opposed to the big dams in highly sensitive seismic zone. We condemn the sustained action and harassment of KMSS and their activists and targeting of Akhil Gogoi for constantly opposing the destructive development policies and corruption of the government machinery.