Until dams do us part

Until dams do us part

Article:

1. Executive Director, Nityata River Otter Conservancy, highlighted that India’s policy on dams has to be urgently reviewed.

Important facts:

2. The tragedy in Kerala has highlighted the damages of excess water accumulation in dams.

3. The opening of the gates of the Idukki dam, caused the Periyar river to discharge excess water.

4. Dams store million of tonnes of fresh water in large reservoirs, submerging prime forests, villages, farms, and livelihoods.

5. Around 47,00 large dams built since 1947 have cumulatively displaced post-Partition.

6. Dams have displaced the poorest of India’s people in favour of richer farmers and urban residents, often with little or no compensation.

7. Kerala and Tamil Nadu have battled over the safety of the Mullaperiyar dam.

8. According to the India Water Portal, there are over 100 dams in India which are over a century old, and more than 500 large dams which are around 50-100 years old.

9. The reservoir-induced seismicity (RIS) from the weight of the reservoir has resulted in earthquake in various parts of the country:  of the 75 cases of RIS reported worldwide, 17 have been reported from India.

10. According to data provided by the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disaster, the instances of extreme weather have gone up from 71 in the 1970s to about 224 in the 1990s and 350 in the first decade of the millennium.

11. In the second decade, Uttarakhand, Odisha, Chennai, and now Kerala and Kodagu district have all been hit.

12. Author provides the following suggestions:

• Need to provide greater urgency to review India’s policy on dams and to act on decentralized alternatives that involve water recycling and reuse.
• The immediate task is to critically review every dam in the country, stop building new ones and establish sound safety protocols.