Bay of Bengal

Resistance against the Polavaram dam - An EPW article
Displacement of the tribal population caused by the Polavaram dam under construction on the Godavari river in Andhra has led to substantial number of protests in recent years Posted on 19 Apr, 2011 11:02 PM

 

This EPW paper studies the various forms of resistance against the construction of Polavaram dam, and notes that the main feature of the struggles has been the involvement of people’s organisations due to the failure of traditional as well as statutory bodies, representatives and regional leadership of mainstream political parties.

The effects of agricultural water and landholdings to rural livelihoods in Indo-Gangetic basin – Research analysis by IWMI and ICAR with an emphasis on Bihar
Water use and landholding factors are widely acknowledged as major determinants of agricultural development and hence rural wealth in IGB basin and Bihar. Posted on 18 Apr, 2011 11:56 PM

IWMI PaperThe current research analysis by International Water Management Institute (IWMI) in cooperation with ICAR Resear

Vedanta’s red mud pond leaks into Vamsadhara river, Lanjigarh, Orissa - A Down To Earth report
Reports from Lanjigarh say a crack in the western part of the red mud pond of Vedanta Alumina refinery has leaked into the Vamsadhara river. Posted on 18 Apr, 2011 05:23 PM

This happened following a thunder burst on April 5.

According to Mahammad Ashlam of KBK Samachar, the local news agency, the downpour lasted 45 minutes and resulted in a huge run-off of the toxic waste into nearby water bodies from a crack in the pond wall of the one-million-tone refinery. Red mud or bauxite residue is a waste product of the alumina manufacturing process.

Let Pinder river flow free - Thousands gather in people's public hearing and vow to oppose the dam
"There is no place like our Pinder valley. What is Rs. 10- 20 lakhs to us? Have you ever thought about the lakhs worth of salt and grains that you have eaten from this land? Posted on 15 Apr, 2011 05:16 PM

 I pray to all my friends, brothers and sisters to not join the company in turning this valley into a monstrosity!” These are the powerful words by Narmada Devi from Village Padmallah that marked the flavor of a peoples' public hearing on the Devsari HEP.

This public hearing on the 3 April 2011 saw strength of 2000 people from all proposed Devsari HEP affected and surrounding villages of the Pinder valley. The hearing was organized by Bhu Swami Sangharsh Samiti and Matu Jan Sangathan and took place at the Sangam Maidan of Block Deval, Tehsil Tharali, District Chomoli, Uttarakhand. Public hearing at Deval was a peoples' response to the project proponent hearing at Chepdu on 20 January 2011.

 

 

Forest and environment clearance given to 7 new projects in Uttarakhand - Press release by MoEF
The Ministry of Environment and Forests has granted forest and environment clearances to seven projects in Uttarakhand. This meets a long-standing demand of the State. Posted on 15 Apr, 2011 05:01 PM


Members of Parliament from Uttarakhand had a meeting with the Hon’ble Minister for Environment and Forests to discuss the matter. The projects have been appraised and approved by the Ministry’s Environmental Appraisal Committees and the Forest Appraisal Committee, after which the decision has been taken.

The projects that have been cleared include:

  • Collection of stone, boulders and other minor minerals from 1497 ha area in river bed of Gola river till the end of next working season i.e. till 31.5.2012
Death of a river - On the Yamuna in Delhi - Article from Kafila
The Final scene in the epic tragedy of the Jamna is being enacted at these very moments. Posted on 15 Apr, 2011 08:52 AM

This was first presented as a paper in a seminar on “The River” organised by the Max Muller Bhawan on 11 and 12 December 2010. Photo credits: Gigi Mon Scaria, Himanshu Joshi and Sohail Hashmi.

Tonnes of fish die in Kelo river, Chattisgarh due to toxic industrial waste - Update from CGNetSwara
Savita Rath from Raigarh says when people went to take bath this morning in Kelo River they found many dead fish. Posted on 29 Mar, 2011 03:48 PM

After exploration she found that more than 3 ton fish have died in Kelo River in last one week.

Click here to read the entire article

Agitation on World Anti-Dam Day - No dam on river Pinder - Update from Ganga - Matu People's Organization
There have been continuous demonstrations by the people of the Pinder valley since January 20, 2011 against the Devsari HEP Posted on 29 Mar, 2011 03:12 PM

. On the occasion of the World Anti- Dam Day, on March 14, 2011 there was a large demonstration under the banner of Bhu- Swami Sangharsh Samiti and Matu Jansangathan in the three villages which served as venues for the drama of project ‘public hearings’. An effigy of the Land Acquisition Act was also burned by the people.

43 projects sanctioned under Mission Clean Ganga - MoEF press release
National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) is an empowered planning, financing, monitoring and coordinating authority for the Ganga River Posted on 22 Mar, 2011 12:44 PM

It's mandate is to ensure effective abatement of pollution and conservation of the river Ganga by adopting a holistic approach with the river basin as the unit of planning.

Patterns of diversity and conservation status of freshwater fishes in the tributaries of river Ramganga in the Shiwaliks of the Western Himalaya – A paper in Current Science
This paper is based on a short study to assess the species diversity and composition of freshwater fishes in three tributaries of Ramganga. Posted on 20 Mar, 2011 09:47 PM

 One tributary was within a protected area (PA; Corbett National Park); the other two were outside the PA (Lansdowne Forest Division). Cast nets were used for fish sampling, which was done from 9.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m.

×