On the water front
A one-week delay in the monsoon’s arrival has laid bare the precariousness of India’s water situation. The images of thousands of Chennai residents running after water tankers were telecast by BBC and
Central Water Commission (CWC)
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Deviation From the Originally approved Plan
Joint panel to inspect Karcham Wangtu project. A joint committee comprising representatives of the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), the Central Water Commission (CWC) and the state government will
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Floods claim 100 lives in State
GUWAHATI, July 5 – The flood-related death toll has shot up to 100 in the State this year. So far, 16 people are reported to have been missing from 11 districts. Of the 27 districts of the State, 21 are
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Hydro power plants facing the blues
At a time when coal supply constraints are keeping thermal power generation capacity under-utilised, hydropower producers, too, are facing the heat. Reservoir levels are down to 16 per cent from 27 per cent last year, setting the alarm bells ringing for hydropower generators. If rainfall fails, the situation could turn grim. Some initial impact has already started appearing. In the Nathpa Jhakri hydro power station, run by Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd (SJVN), in Himachal Pradesh, low rains have already affected power generation.
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Stress on scientific river management
Stressing the need for scientific river management to effectively control the annual menace of floods and erosion in the State, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today said that the State Government was in touch
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Special funds for Assam: PM
Guwahati: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said Assam’s erosion problem will be included in the list of the country’s natural disasters, a move that will enable the state government to spend central relief funds (CRF) to tackle the issue. Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said Tuesday that the move will also enable the state to receive more central funds to tackle the problem and also extend financial help to people affected by erosion.
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Jaya opposes Kerala plan to build dam acrosss Siruvani River
Taking strong exception to Kerala government's plan to construct a dam across Siruvani River at Attapadi, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa on Thursday asked the Centre not to accord it technical clearance as it 'violates' the final order of Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal. In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, she asked him to advise Kerala not to proceed with the proposed Attapadi irrigation scheme or any other scheme on the river Siruvani in violation of the Tribunal's final order.
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Central body to verify claims of Delhi, Haryana
Delhi has been accusing Haryana of curtailing its water supply, Haryana is adamant that Delhi is getting its full share, both have offered their records as proof to back their respective claims, but the Upper Yamuna River Board, which has been asked to verify these records, has turned to the Central Water Commission to investigate and come out with the truth. Part of the Union Water Resources Ministry, UYRB's mandate is to regulate the water sharing agreement of allocated water between the riparian States of the Yamuna. Unable to break the deadlock between the two States, the UYRB has now decided to rope in the Central Water Commission.
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More water than normal, but last year was better
As the country awaits the spread of the monsoon, the water level in 84 major reservoirs crucial for irrigation and power generation is running below the levels of last year. Reservoirs in Karnataka, Maharashtra
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680 dams on river Ganga, tributaries?
Does the ministry of water resources plans to construct 680 big and small dams on the Ganga and its tributaries? An RTI filed by water activist Bharat Jhunjhunwala in 2010 revealed that the Uttarakhand government planned to construct 557 dams across the Ganga and its tributaries. The website of the Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd (UJVNL) reveals plans to construct another 290 dams. While going through these two lists, Dr Ravi Chopra, director of the Dehra Dun-based People’s Science Institute, said, “One hundred and thirteen dams were common in both lists while another 117 dams that were in the pipeline had not been listed in the RTI.”
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Kharif Farming Could Come a Cropper on Long Dry Spells
A prolonged dry spell in most parts of India is hurting the sowing schedule for paddy, a major kharif crop, raising the country’s anxiety about monsoon rains, as parched fields urgently need moisture to