Nod for ₹240-crore works for improvement of dams

Works to be carried out on 16 dams, barrages and regulators under DRIP phase-II

The State government has given in-principle approval for carrying out works to the tune of ₹240 crore in Phase II of the Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP) on dams under the Irrigation Department.

The WB-aided project is aimed at enhancing the safety and operational performance of selected dams. Last year, the department had listed 16 dams, barrages and regulators managed by it for DRIP Phase II.

According to a proposal submitted by the department, ₹181 crore will be spent on rehabilitation and management planning for dams and associated appurtenances. A sum of ₹42 crore will cover institutional strengthening activities. A sum of ₹2 crore will cover project management activities.

DRIP II will cover 14 dams on which work had been started under the ongoing DRIP Phase I, besides the Pothundi and Maniyar dams.[Readmore]

Pakistan: China-backed hydropower projects irk locals, environmentalists

The public's growing dissatisfaction has triggered mass protests and destruction of public property time and again. Still, the problem is expected to worsen in the coming years as the mismatch between energy supply and demand in the country is projected to widen.

Prime Minister Imran Khan last week vowed to build the “biggest dam in Pakistan’s history” after he inaugurated the construction of the Diamer-Bhasha Dam in the Gilgit-Baltistan region. He said the project will benefit the people living in the area. “The decision to build this dam was taken 50 years ago. There can be no better site for constructing a dam; it is a natural dam,” the premier said. [Readmore]

Breach in Amreli’s Triveni Dam

Rajkot: Influx of water in Surajvadi River due to constant rain in the region caused a five feet breach in the Triveni Dam near Badhada in Amreli district on Saturday afternoon.

According to the Amreli district administration officials, the dam provides water to 10 villages including Bhadada, Navu Bhadada, Shantinagar, Jabal and Abrahampara. “Due to the breach in the dam, Surajvadi River is flowing from bank to bank,” said Jabal village sarpanch Bhupendra Khuman.[Readmore]

Indus dam project has Chinese footprint

The Diamer-Bhasha dam project is in Gilgit-Baltistan, which is ethnically closer to Kargil district of Ladakh. Its political context is constricting as China and Pakistan are connected through the Karakoram highway that traverses through the region. Its control lies with the federal government.

Pakistan has decided to go ahead with the 450 MW Diamer-Bhasha dam in the Gilgit-Baltistan area on the Indus river. Diamer-Bhasha dam is being jointly constructed by a Chinese state-run firm and a commercial entity of Pakistan’s military. A slew of infrastructural projects being pursued by China and Pakistan in the region, including the dam, are taking place in the context of reinforcement of the federal government’s impulse to continue the old structures of control and micro-management.[Readmore]

Protest against check dam at Thengaipattinam fishing harbour

Fishermen across the State have planned a black flag agitation on Friday demanding removal of a check dam in the Thengaipattinam fishing harbour in Kanniyakumari district.

They said that the dam being constructed to prevent salt water intrusion had led to sand accretion at the mouth, which resulted in deaths of several fishermen. “In the past few weeks alone two men died in separate incidents. From the time construction began in 2019, several deaths have happened. It is being constructed without the permission of the fishers. If the work is continued, the harbour would be destroyed. We don’t have enough space to anchor 700 mechanised boats and 4,000 traditional craft. They are not taking up work for our development,” said A. Sesadimai, president, Thoothur Deep Sea Boats Association. [Readmore]

Brahmaputra dams: A China-India political quagmire

The Brahmaputra River runs from its origin in western Tibet through India before flowing into the sea in Bangladesh. Photo: Pfly / WikiCommons

Both the 12th and 13th Five-Year Plans adopted by the Chinese State Council have called for large-scale expansion of hydropower projects in the southwest, including all three provinces of Tibet. The Yarlung Tsangpo (Brahmaputra River) is one of the main international rivers identified for hydropower expansion in Tibet. [Readmore]

Bhakra dam’s water levels brought down by 41 ft to prevent floods this year

Sources in the BBMB said water was released continuously downstream in summer months, irrespective of whether there was a demand for irrigation on several days, to create the space so as to prevent flooding during monsoons in Punjab.

O PREVENT a repeat of last year’s floods, the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) has created sufficient cushioning in the Bhakra dam by bringing its level down by 41 ft, ahead of monsoon season. However, the Punjab government’s much-needed project to canalise its rivers, which is aimed at preventing floods, is yet to see light of day.[Readmore]