Hydropower

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February 12, 2021
Need to revamp developmental planning in the Uttarakhand hills
The havoc points to the faultlines in the developmental planning of ecologically sensitive areas.
The glacial burst in Chamoli is nature’s way of telling the state not to play havoc with the local ecology. (Image: Down to Earth)
December 26, 2019
Centre holds green signal to Kalasa-Banduri project
Policy matters this week
The Mandovi river disputed between Karnataka and Goa (Source: IWP Flickr Photos)
December 19, 2019
Only one out of five river basins in the country resilient to climate change: Study
News this week
Narmada river in Madhya Pradesh (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
December 11, 2019
Locals reject social impact assessment report of Luhri II hydropower project
News this week
Sutlej river in Kinnaur, Himachal Pradesh (Image source: Sanyam Bahga, Wikipedia)
December 6, 2019
Holistic approach needed to clean the Ganga
A report by the India Rivers Forum highlights the need to focus further than the main stem of the Ganga river.
Distant snow clad mountains, the smaller hills and the Ganga river (Image: Srimoyee Banerjee, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0)
November 27, 2019
CGWB signs MoU for participatory groundwater management
Policy matters this week
An irrigation well at Randullabad, Maharashtra (Source: India Water Portal on Flickr)
Heavy rain and floods hit North India
News this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 22 Aug, 2019 12:00 PM

Rains wreak havoc in Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab

Following the southern states witnessing heavy rainfall and floods this monsoon, the northern parts of India are now also experiencing incessant rains.
Gori river in Uttarakhand in spate during 2013 floods (Source: Chicu Lokgariwar, India Water Portal)
Hydropower in the Himalayas: Potential and risks
Study highlights significant hydropower opportunities in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region.
Abid Hussain
Gopal K Sarangi
Anju Pandit
Sultan Ishaq
Nabir Mamnun
Bashir Ahmad
Muhammad Khalid Jamil
Posted on 21 Aug, 2019 11:01 PM

Worldwide, the demand for energy has risen significantly and quickly, leading to serious impacts on environmental sustainability and hindering global efforts to mitigate climate change. Hydropower, a leading renewable option has the additional benefits of water storage for agriculture and other uses.
Hydel project near Kullu (Image: Nadir Hashmi, Flickr Commons)
Beyond the death toll: The everyday violence of Assam’s floods
Mitul Baruah from Ashoka University narrates personal experiences of people affected by floods in Majuli, Assam.
Mitul Baruah
Posted on 19 Aug, 2019 12:53 PM

Floods are an annual phenomenon in Assam. They are as integral to the state as the Brahmaputra River is, and each monsoon, we are reminded that Assam exists (or is drowning). As I write this piece, Assam is slowly recovering from the first wave of flood this monsoon.
Floods in Majuli Assam. Photo credit: Mitul Baruah
Floods claim 227 lives; Centre proposes river basin management bill to check floods
News this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 14 Aug, 2019 01:37 PM

Southwest monsoon claims 227 lives
Rescue efforts underway during the floods in Chennai in 2015 (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
P Sainath: The water crisis is not caused by drought
Magsaysay award winner & founder-editor of PARI, P Sainath analyses India's water scarcity, the agrarian crisis & farmer suicides, before asking: what can we do about it?
India Development Review
Posted on 13 Aug, 2019 11:47 AM

P Sainath has been documenting stories from rural India for over three decades now.
Picture: The semi-arid regions of the Moyar-Bhavani River basin in Tamil Nadu. Picture credit: Prathigna Poonacha, Tanvi Deshpande; Indian Institute for Human Settlements from India Water Portal on Flickr. Picture used for representational purposes only
Jal Shakti Abhiyan hits ground rolling as India ranks 13th most water-stressed country in the world
News this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 08 Aug, 2019 01:29 AM

 Over 3.5 lakh water conservation measures taken up in a single month as nationwide Jal Shakti Abhiyan hits ground
India ranked 13th in the list of most water-stressed country in the world (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
Government undertakes 3D mapping of aquifers in all villages
Policy matters this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 07 Aug, 2019 11:07 PM

Government to 3D map aquifers in all villages
Groundwater drops to alarming levels. Illustration credit: KN Balraj. Source: India Water Portal on Flickr
Springing back to life
CHIRAG in Uttarakhand works with communities to revive local springs to achieve water security.
Aditi Sajwan
Water Practitioners Network
Posted on 25 Jul, 2019 12:48 PM

In popular imagination, steeped in consumer culture, the hills are exotic and aesthetically sublime places to find solace away from busy urban life. This kind of imagination conveniently ignores and de-contextualizes the hills and the problems they face today. The Himalayas, often known as the Water Tower of Asia, are revered because many of the world's important rivers originate from them.
Image source: Water Practitioners Network
Dibang hydel project gets approval
Policy matters this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 24 Jul, 2019 04:27 PM

Cabinet approves Dibang hydel project in Arunachal Pradesh
People protesting Dibang Hydropower Project (Source: SANDRP)
Gender in hydropower development: A long way to go
A study finds that hydropower organisations in India continue to maintain a culture of hierarchy, follow masculine norms and are insensitive to the needs of women and the marginalised.
Gitta Shreshta
Deepa Joshi
and Florian Clement
Posted on 22 Jul, 2019 04:44 PM

Large dams, back in the game?
Hirakud, India's oldest dam (Image source: India Water Portal on Flickr)
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