GangaThe national river – Now a disappearing river

Ganga – Our national River“

”

“ The land of India is blessed, Himalayas are also blessed but the region in Himalayas where Ganga is born is especially blessed because this is the place where she exists in confluence with God.”

- 149, 39-40

Jawaharlal Nehru wrote in his will and testament:“The Ganga, especially, is the river of India, beloved of her people, round which are intertwined her memories,

her hopes and her fears, her songs of triumph, her victories and her defeats. She has been a symbol of

India's age-long culture and civilization, ever changing, ever flowing, and yet ever the same Ganga.”

Swami Vivekananda on the other side of the ocean wrote:“The Gita and the sacred waters of the Ganga constitute the Hinduism of the Hindus.

Last time I went to the West I also took a little with me, fearing it might be needed,

and whenever opportunities occurred I used to drink a few drops of it.

And every time I drank in the midst of the stream of humanity, amid that bustle of civilization, that hurry of frenzied footsteps of

millions of men and women in the west, the mind at once became calm and still as it were”

A matter of concern• Ganga is vanishing in her valley of origin –

bumper to bumper HEPs being constructed all over Uttarakhand in the last pristine stretch of the river

• Local impacts – fragile Himalayan ecosystem

• Impact of the already existing hydro-power projects

• Existing projects – overall feasibility

• Next steps

View of the Himalayan Basin –Water towers of Asia

Gangotri Valley

These are hydropower projects, aka “Run-of-the river schemes” beginning from Glacier lines, designed in a series, one following the other one, lined up bumper-to-bumper.

What is this so called “Run of the river” project?River from one exit is almost immediately diverted to the barrage of the following project where the river is diverted through the tunnel directed to a power house and after using it to move the turbines – it goes through 2nd exit – again diverted at the barrage of the following project

Free Flowing Ganga before Maneri

Just After Maneri Bhali(I)

Trapped in Maneri Bhali(I) reservoir.

Stagnant Ganga Water and dry river bed up to 14 km. downstream of Maneri bhali(I)

Ganga Trapped in Maneri Bhali(II) reservoir

Ganga After Maneri Bhali(II) –30Kms

The main river bed after maneri

– bhali 2

The complete diversion at the

barrage of Maneri-Bhali 2

Ganga is trapped in Tehri dam just after Maneri Bhali(II) in

46 km long reservoir

Koteshwar Dam (400 Mw)

The beautiful sangam of Alaknanda & Bhagirathi – Dev-Prayag – will be submerged with the

construction of Kotlibhel HEP

ALAKNANDA

AND

MANDAKINI

Bumper to bumper Run-of-the-river HEPs on Alaknanda, Mandakini & their tributaries

Srinagar Hydro power Project(330 Mw)

Barrage and reservoir site of Srinagar HPP

Submerging ‘Dhari Devi’ siddh peeth

Dried Alaknanda in Vishnuprayag

Dried river bed of Alaknanda after

Tapovan-Vishnugad hydro power project

Singoli-Bhatwadi(99Mw) on MandakiniThe barrage site

Vanishing Mandakini: Phata-Byung (76Mw)

20 kms from Kedarnath

Dams on Kali river

Himalayan Environment under threat

• Developing mountains ,deep gorges with fragile mountain slopes.

• Rich biodiversity and areas enriched by natural water springs .

• Highly hazardous landslide zone Earthquake prone zone – Seismic zone V.

• Retreating Gangotri glacier – stored water in reservoirs, raising temperatures in vicinity

• Himalayan snow trout - endangered –obstructed migration path

• Golden mahasheer – endangered – due to decreased water in Ganga

• Bear, goral, leopard, Himalayan Otter –being affected

• Home to many migratory birds

Current situation in Uttarakhand- Cloud bursts in Gangotri, Yamunotri , Alaknanda, Mandakini etc.

- Flash floods in Asi-Ganga – Gangotri valley

- 3 under-construction power projects completely washed away

-The cloud bursts are more catastrophic due to the hydro projects on the path of

the river. No considerations, whatsoever, are even proposed or thought of during

proposing the HEPs in areas of Uttarakhand

- Due to the extensive construction in the hills, our forests are literally being

skinned & due to this the land is rendered loose – increasing the frequency of

flash floods

- The project authorities fill up the reservoirs to the limit, sometimes beyond &

when they open the reservoir gates it causes flood downstream. Due to the filling

up of the reservoirs beyond the posted limit, the villages in the vicinity are at risk &

the areas are often submerged. The villagers then have to immediately tread uphill

in order to protect themselves

- In Alaknanda valley, forceful filling up of reservoir was seen in

the under-construction HEP – that almost drowned the entire

dhari village & even after repeated appeals to the company to

open the gates – they refused.

Fragile Himalayan Ecology

The seismic sensitive zones of

Uttarakhand

GIS-based Landslide Hazard Zonation

in the Bhagirathi (Ganga) Valley,

Himalayas – International journal of

Remote sensing

Not just the constructed dams even the process of construction has severe impacts in the vicinity

Impacts with Examples of some existing projects

Havoc created by Deforestation at the construction sites

A destroyed mountain slope between Loharinag and Pala

Condition of Gangotri Raj marg

The loose land in the

Bhukki - Salang villages

close to Asi-Ganga stand

as a threat.

Over 3000 trees have

uprooted & are ready to

add to the already

flooded Asi-Ganga any

moment

The smaller tributaries are vanishing

Loss of Water sources – at different sites of

dam construction – all over Uttarakhand

Completely dried tributary 16 km. downstream of M.B.(II)

Maikhanda Adit tunnel of Phata-Byung with waste water

School children of ‘Phata’ have lost their drinking water source

Case of Visnugad power project -Joshimath

Tapovan – Vishnugad project

where excessive tunneling has

caused cracks in houses

The usual myth that these local

projects generate local jobs –

is a complete farce.

The excessive blasting has

also caused loss of water

sources

Dried water sources – after effects of Maneri Bhali 2

Once enriched, now dried water sources in Deoli

Cracks in houses due to Heavy Blasting in seismic Zone-5

Heavy Damages in Houses due to blasting

Severe Impacts of the construction process – Case of Bhatwadi - 2010

-Even during the early phase

of construction of Loharinag-

Pala dam excessive blasting

that was done at Pala for

tunneling rendered the entire

area weak

-The following monsoons,

massive land-sinking was

seen in Bhatwadi, the

immediate vicinity of the

construction site

Collapsed house in Vishnuprayag –another example of land sinking due

to excessive blasting

Chai gaon - Joshimath

• The tunnels that are dug for the HEP construction render the mountains weak & fragile causing big cracks in houses, drying the fresh water sources in villages & pose an immediate threat to the village located above the tunnels.

Unstable Mountains-Under serious threat

Cracks in houses nearby villages of

Koteshwar due to Land-Sinking

Muck dumping in Bhagirathi

Muck dumping in

Alaknanda along the

site of construction of

Srinagar HEP

-Muck Dumping in Asi-

Ganga

-Due to this muck dumping

& cutting of trees, the muck

was blocked - a temporary

reservoir was formed &

recently during the

monsoons the water filled in

this make-shift reservoir

-Consequently with the

cloud-burst, the collected

water added to the woes &

caused severe damage

downstream – washing

away 3 under-construction

dams.

Feasibility of these projects

• The existing Maneri-Bhali 1 hydro power project of just 90MW, is working at almost half its efficiency since the last ten years. The reasons stated in the RTI are:

– Increased silt in the river during monsoons– Decreased flow during winters.

• The problem of silt is only going to increase in the near future owing to melting of the glaciers, how then can a upstream project of 600MW function when on the same river a 90MW is not running to its capacity.

• Dropping water levels: Ganga was flowing at half her normal capacity last year. The global climate change has already seen this in cases of several other rivers.

Similar trend all over HimalayasExcessive silt in Himachal – shutting up

of power plants

Decreased production of electricity

Local electricity requirementsOften the hydro-power projects are promoted under the pretext of

“Local energy requirements” when the fact of the matter is that no

electricity from the big projects is supplied locally.

Zone in Uttarakhand The hydro-power projects Actual Energy Consumption in 2011-

2012 (As per RTI response received

from UPCL)

Uttarkashi Operational

1. Maneri Bhali 1 (90MW)

2. Maneri Bhali 2 (304MW)

Cancelled

1. Loharinag Pala (600MW)

2. Pala Maneri (480 MW)

3. Bhairon Ghati 1&2

Under Construction and proposed

1. Asi Ganga, etc.

48.76 Mus

Tehri Operational

1. Tehri Dam (1000 MW)

2. Koteshwar (400 MW)

Under construction

1. Kotlibhel 1A, 1B and 2 ( )

2. Tehri stage 2 (1000 MW), etc.

132.03 Mus

Pauri Srinagar (330 MW) etc. 115.57 Mus

Rudraprayag Under construction:

1. Singoli Bhatwadi (99 MW)

2. Phata-Byung (77 MW), etc.

28.26 Mus

Gopeshwar/Chamoli Under construction :

1. Vishnugad-Pipalkoti (444 MW)

2. Tapowan-Vishnugad (520 MW)

3. Alaknanda (300 MW), etc.

82.39 Mus

Garhwal region of Ganga-Himalayan

basin

More than 18,000 MWs estimated

capacity.

Total consumption ( 407.01 MUs ≈

46.46 MW)

A Reality Check• 50% of Uttarakhand’s electricity is consumed by a handful of factories

•The Public hearing carried out are farcical.•Many times the locals don’t receive intimation at all. Few planted people who arrive at the

scene, are made to sign – which is then used as official document for clearance.

• Case of Devsari Dam – where locals have opposed the public hearing time and again & yet

the authorities prompt fresh public hearings

•Environment ministry has become a clearing house. No project is ever rejected.

•There is a clear conflict of interest as the proponent of the project carries out the EIA

•Cost benefit analysis is absolutely flawed. Wrong projection of benefits and no talk

about environment, culture etc

•Maximum death & casualties were reported from village Jamak, under which the tunnel

for the Maneri Bhali runs. The irrigated & fertile fields that once grew many cash crops,

are now dry.

• Breeding of malarial mosquitoes is now rampant due to the stored water of reservoirs.

The fogging done to prevent the breeding of mosquitoes is leading to respiratory

disorders.

Despite of expert’s opposition Alkananda(300 Mw) got clearance near Badrinath

Environmental flow for the National River

• Constant bargain for an environmental flow• Environmental flow for A class rivers such as Ganga is actually her

natural flow. On such rivers, no projects or construction should be proposed or executed, in order to maintain the special water quality of the river.

• No laws to protect our national heritage• Decreased water flow (since most it will be tunneled) means

increased temperatures, loss of aquatic life & velocity. • Sustainability in light of ecological flow – cases of fraud flow in

Maneri Bhali every-time a committee came over for a visit• No valuation of the loss of natural habitat• Flawed cost benefit analysis – underrate cost & ignore many factors• As has been seen in the case of Maneri-Bhali, under the banner of

hydro power prjects, Ganga gets reduced into a mere rivulet.

Corruption – Committee visits

- Time & again different committee visits that have happened in different parts

of the Uttarakhand are always planted & schemed for a certain result

- During the visit of an expert committee that went in Uttarkashi at the time of

decision for Loharinag – Pala, water was intentially released in the main river

bed by the Maneri Bhali authorities only to show that there is an environmental

flow.

- During the recent visit of Sanchita Jindal committee by MoEF to Alakananda,

Dhari Devi – the project authorities, contractor lobby showed them around &

with the result the committee submitted a wrong report of assessing the

violations done.

- The committee members that just went to Alaknanda – Dhari Devi did not

even meet the locals & when the locals somehow caught hold of them – they

were so convinced with the project authorities false claims that the meeting was

therefore futile.

-

CULTURAL IMPACT:The dead need to petition for Ganga

jal for their last rites

Alternatives of electricity

No alternative of the Ganga

DESTROYING ENVIRONMENTFOR WASTEFUL CONSUMPTION

Conclusion• All the projects (proposed & under construction) in the

Ganga-Himalayan basin should be scrapped.

• Maneri Bhali project is barely producing 40 MW and drying up 14 Km of Ganga, belongs to eco-sensitive zone & is 30+ years old – this must be de-commissioned now.

• At least 60% of ecological flow from the existing projects must be released immediately & maintained at all times of the year. In a set-time frame steps to de-commission the projects must be taken.

• 150 kms from winter glacier line, must be declared as “Cultural-Eco-sensitive zones” - locals are given an incentive to protect the forests, the Ganga & the environment.

• A different view for Himalayas. – A fresh Himalayan policy must be structured