Nobody in the corridors of power really cares about destruction of nature. Money and politics count
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna's claim that Tehri dam saved Rishikesh and Haridwar by containing the flood waters of Bhagirathi, quite like the dreadlocks of lord Shiv reducing the momentum of Ganga's fall to earth, has raised the hackles of water warriors. He is merely parroting the assertion of Tehri Hydro Development Corporation officials. Conservationists trash the claim, pointing out that the preponderance of dams has caused extreme silting of rivers, thereby blocking their natural flow. Mr Himanshu Thakkar of South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People observes that the absence of this dam would have led to water level downstream rising earlier than June 18, but it would not have risen much higher than it did. Moreover, the peak floods of Bhagirathi and Alakananda occurred on different days, on June 16 and 17 respectively. How then did the dam save downstream areasIJ
Yamuna Jiye Abhiyaan convenor Manoj Mishra and Matu Jansangathan's Vimal Bhai are equally dismissive of the claim. They recall the devastation caused by floods downstream of the dam in September 2010, during heavy monsoon rains. In the present instance, monsoons have yet to really take off — the June spate owed to flash floods — and the dam was not full to the brim. When it is completely full, one can expect the worst as water is released downstream. Mr Thakkar describes the dam as “a ticking time bomb in the context of large earthquakes that is imminent in the State”, as seismologists are telling us.
He blames the mammoth 260.5 metres-high structure, on the confluence of Bhagirathi and Bhilangana, and submerging a 43 sq km area, also for precipitating landslides along the rim of the reservoir, thereby endangering nearby villages. He decries the complete failure of Central Water Commission, premier flood-forecasting body under Union Ministry of Water Resources, to warn of the disaster. Yet meteorological forecasts had warned of heavy rains.
The earthquake threat has been repeated numerous times by scientists, and recently voiced by Mr Dave Petley, Dean of Research and Global Engagement and Wilson Professor of Hazard and Risk at Durham University in the UK. The Himalayas being a very young mountain range, are still being pushed up. He cautions India to start preparing for “a large earthquake in a mountainous area”. But, given the irresponsible nature of planners and administrators, who ignored all pleas by conservationists for declaring river regulation zones and stopping constructions along river banks, this alert too is likely to be unheeded. A large swathe of the Himalayas, Kashmir, North-East and Rann of Kutch are categorised as Seismic Zone V, prone to earthquakes of extremely high intensity.
Mr Pentley ascribes the Kedarnath disaster to two factors. One, very heavy rainfall led to water, impounded behind moraine, glacial debris, breaking through, precipitating destructrive debris flow. And, two, a huge landslide triggered debris flow on another slope. They both hit the sacred town. He advises that development be restricted to safe places; deforestation stalled; and hydro-electric schemes be undertaken only with proper slope management. The disaster was magnified by lack of warning systems and evacuation routes.
As for Srinagar's flooding by the Alakananda, Mr Bharat Jhunjhunwala, resident of the town and a water activist, blames it on the debris left in the river precincts by the builder of the 90 ft-high dam by Alaknanda Hydro Power Co. ltd, a subsidiary of GVK, the Hyderabad-based company that supposedly has expertise in implementing hydropower projects. It is the same callous story everywhere, of debris left behind by builders and dam promoters, exacerbating floods. Some largely ureported havoc must be mentioned.
When the Alakananda, near Badrinath, flooded, custodians of the 400 MW Vishnuprayag hydro-electric project refrained from opening the sluice gates. Consequently, a two km-long reservoir formed upstream. Mounting water broke through the dam, decimating lamabagad village market. last year too, some shops were washed away. locals' demands for compensation were met with threats to file police cases by the dam authorities. The dam was constructed by Jaiprakash Power Ventures ltd — is also the builder of Tehri dam. It has stated that debris on the river bed has led to shutdown of power generation and barrage operations.
The dam has damaged Vishnuprayag, confluence of the Alakananda and Dhauliganga. NHPC-operated Dhauliganga project was shut down after water inundated it.
While he is silent on HEPs, the Chief Minister's belated decision not to allow construction on flood-prone and landslide-prone fragile river banks vindicates the green demand to declare river regulation zones at the earliest. The draft of the policy is pending since 2002.
Had it been translated into law then, the loss of life and property would have been significantly reduced. But does anyone care in the corridors of power, focussed obsessively on political and business machinations and high growthIJ