GANGA MAHASABHA
Save Ganga if you want to save the culture of india .
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Tuesday, January 10, 2023
GANGA MAHASABHA: Sinking town: Joshimath
Sinking town: Joshimath
Joshimath, Uttarakhand:
At Uttarakhand's "sinking town" of Joshimath, where more than 700 homes have developed cracks and residents are being moved to safety, banned drilling activity has resumed in the dead of night.
At 2 am early Wednesday, an NDTV team caught on camera stone-crushing and drilling in full swing in the mountains just outside Joshimath, near the highway that connects the area to the holy town of Badrinath.
Cranes were seen carrying stones from the spot after the crushers did their job. The noise from the drilling could be heard for over a kilometre but there was no one to stop the workers.
All construction work has been banned in and around Joshimath due to land subsidence, or the sinking of the surface, which has caused dangerous cracks in 721 houses in the town. Work on an all-weather road was also stopped.
Thousands of people are living in fear in the temple town that is known to be the gateway to Badrinath.
Massive cracks have appeared in buildings and roads because of years of construction activity and unplanned infrastructure building, including hydropower projects.
The planned demolition of the most damaged buildings, including two hotels and several houses, was blocked by angry residents and shop-owners who said they were not given any notice.
Besides hotels and business establishments, 678 homes are in danger, the Uttarakhand government has said.
Some 4,000 people have been moved to relief camps after a satellite survey.
Joshimath and its neighbouring areas have been sinking at the rate of 6.5 cm every year, satellite data reveals.
Post a commentMany local residents blame the hydroelectricity project of the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), alleging that the blasting of tunnels left the entire region unstable. The NTPC has denied the charge.
Tent city in Banaras
The Varanasi Development Authority (VDA) is reviving a proposal to establish a ‘Tent City’ on the sandy bed of the Ganges river on the opposite side of the ghats in the holy city.
“The ‘Tent City’ will allow its guests to enjoy the beauty of the mythological Kashi ghats both day and night. While it aims to reduce the burden on hotels, which opt for dynamic pricing due to increased footfall of pilgrims after the redevelopment of Kashi Vishwanath Dham opened in December, it will also be an attraction for locals by giving them a chance to get acquainted with Rann Utsav of Kutch and Konark Tent City,” said Deepak Agrawal, Division Commissioner and VDA Chairman.
Sharing their plan, the officials said that the “tent city” would emerge on an area of 100 hectares and would be equipped with “Swiss cottages” of three categories: Ganga Darshan Villas, premium tents and super luxurious.
Among all, Ganga Darshan Villas will be the grandest with a floor space of 900 square feet. It will be a riverfront air-conditioned living facility with king size bed, lounge, plunge pool, Rajwadi sofa set, dining table and other facilities.
Friday, August 22, 2014
The clean up of the River Thames
Fifty years after being declared biologically dead, the Thames has been hailed as an environmental success story. But how has the iconic river been transformed?
Saturday, May 10, 2014
Swami Sanand alleges Shankaracharya Swaroopanand's muth tried to slow poison him
Thursday, December 12, 2013
Religious heads to discuss bill on Ganga
The Central government had already declared Ganga as the national river and constituted National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) to address issues related to the holy river. Ganga Mahasabha has come up with a draft, proposing enactment of National River Ganga (Conservation and Management) Act-2012.
After toiling for months, the bill drafting committee head by Justice(Retd) Giridhar Malviya prepared a 14-page draft.
"The Ganga Mahasabha is going to hold a meeting of religious leaders of different faiths to discuss the drafted bill at NDMC convention hall near Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on November 21," said Acharya Jitendra, general secretary of Ganga Mahasabha. This organisation is committed for clean and unobstructed flow of Ganga.The letters and copies of the drafted bill are being sent to the religious leaders across the country, including Shankaracharya. After discussion, the draft will be submitted to the Central government to get it passed by the Parliament, he said.
"Though Ganga has been classified as the national river but it is yet to get the constitutional status. For this, there is a need of enactment of law by parliament," said Acharya, adding that taking an initiative in this regard, Ganga Mahasabha prepared the draft of the proposed Act with the help of noted persons from judiciary, environmentalists and scientists.
Justice (Retd) Malviya is the chairman of the bill drafting committee while other members are Swami Gyan Swaroop Sanand (noted environmentalist GD Agrawal), Justice (Retd) SS Kulshrestha, MC Mehta, lawyer, Supreme Court, Paritosh Tyagi, former chairman, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Arun Kumar Gupta, lawyer, High Court, Allahabad, Santosh Kumar, lawyer, Supreme Court and Govind Sharma, general secretary, Ganga Mahasabha.
The draft specifies that the very special features and unique status of the sacred Ganga in the culture and daily lives is recognised and river is at the very foundation and core of civilization. It is the best internationally known identity of Indian nation. Recognising the special place, the Union of India had designated Ganga as the national river and constituted National Ganga River Basin Authority for certain aspects of its management, under the Environmental Protection Act-1986. The instruments and arrangements made for this purpose have not proved adequate to render Ganga the special consideration as a national symbol, unique entity and cultural heritage, in the face of pressures from growing populations as also aspirations for economic, industrial, urban and other developments.
The chapter 1 of the draft covers title, coverage, basic regulations and definitions. The Act shall be titled as the National River Gangaji (Conservation and Management) Act of 2012 (NRGA in short). The chapter 2 outlines the national and state authorities for Ganga, including the constitution of National River Ganga Authority (NGRA), an apex body at national level and State Ganga Boards (SGBs) at state level.
The chapter 3 explains the field implementation of the exercises for restoration, conservation and protection of the holy river, keeping in mind that Ganga is not just a common property but a divine entity and nobody, not even governments can be allowed to exploit and misuse it or its contents.
The chapter 4 specifies the offenses in respect of breach/contravention of the objectives/provisions of this Act and the penalties/punishment for these, while Chapter 5 speaks about miscellaneous things like funds and power to make rules.
The enactment of the Act is essential as the existing arrangements for the protection and conservation of the holy river failed to serve the purpose, said Acharya, adding that despite spending crores of rupees, no improvement was noticed in the health of Ganga, rather its condition continued to deteriorate.
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
1. Haridwar
2. Varanasi
3. Bodhgaya
4. Rishikesh
5. Amritsar
Monday, December 9, 2013
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Cow poaching in Holy city Varanasi
Retrain engineers, not the Ganga
I have been grappling with these issues for the past few months. But now that the committee (of which I was a member) on the hydropower projects on the Ganga has submitted its report, let me explain how I see the way ahead.
I have been grappling with these issues for the past few months. But now that the committee (of which I was a member) on the hydropower projects on the Ganga has submitted its report, let me explain how I see the way ahead.
The Ganga in the upper reaches has been an engineer's playground. The Central Electricity Authority and the Uttarakhand power department have estimated the river's hydroelectric potential at some 9,000 MW and planned 70-odd projects on its tributaries. In building these projects, the key tributaries would be modified - through diversion to tunnels or reservoirs - to such an extent that 80 per cent of the Bhagirathi and 65 per cent of the Alaknanda could be "affected".
Most of the proposed projects are run-of-the-river schemes, which are seemingly benevolent compared to large reservoirs and dams - only if the project is carefully crafted to ensure that the river remains a river and does not turn into an engineered drain.
Many projects were planned and were being carried out along the Ganga so that one project would divert water from the river, channel it to the point where energy would be generated and then discharge it back into the river. But the next project would be built even before the river could regain its flow. So, the river would simply, and tragically, dry up over entire stretches.
Energy generation was the driver - indeed, the only obsession. The plan was based on using up all the water in the dry season to produce energy. In this way, the river would have stopped being a river. It would have become one massive dam. It would have died.
In the committee, we discussed various options for ecological flow (e-flow) - why and how much should be left in the river for needs other than energy. The hydropower engineers argued for 10 per cent ecological flow, which they said they could "accommodate" in project design without huge loss of energy generation. The Wildlife Institute of India, commissioned to look at ecosystem and fish biodiversity needs, suggested between 20 per cent and 30 per cent e-flow in different seasons.
I said this was inadequate. In most stretches, the lean flow (from November to April) was less than 10 per cent of the high monsoon flow. Leaving just 30 per cent would mean a trickle. It was not acceptable. I proposed 50 per cent e-flow at all times. But, clearly, this was unacceptable to the other side - completely and absolutely.
My colleagues at the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) decided to do some number crunching. The committee had been provided, on repeated requests, hydrological data of 24 constructed and proposed projects. My colleagues took these data and analysed the impact on energy generation and tariff in different e-flow regimes. They found that in the 50 per cent e-flow scenario there was substantial impact on the amount of energy generated and, therefore, on the tariff. But if we modified this a little and provided for a little extra water for energy generation in the high-discharge season, but kept the 50 per cent e-flow for the lean season, the results changed dramatically.
In this case, the reduction in energy generation was not substantial. Therefore, tariffs were comparable. The reason was simple: the projects actually did not generate much energy in the lean season. The plant load factor, project after project, showed that even in the unrestricted scenario (e-flow of 10 per cent or less) there was no water to produce energy in the lean season. We suggested that mimicking river flow was the best way to optimise energy generation. The river had enough to give us, but only if we put the river first and our needs next.
Based on this, our proposal was to provide 30 per cent e-flow for six months (May to October) and 50 per cent for six months (November to April). But, as expected, this analysis did not suit the hydropower side. The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Roorkee, also a member of the committee, was asked to review the analysis.
The games started. IIT-Roorkee, represented by its Alternative Hydro Energy Centre, disputed our conclusions. We asked why? No data were provided on the method of estimation. But hidden in the background sheets provided by IIT-Roorkee were data from two projects of hydrological flow used to disprove our figures. We checked. We found, to our shock, that figures of flow had been modified; suddenly there was no water in the river in the first place, so a higher e-flow regime would naturally mean lower energy generation. We checked again. We found that even levelised tariff figures had been "changed" from what was provided earlier to the committee.
A round of data contest began. In my next article, I will tell you how the matter was resolved (or not). But let me leave you with this thought: rivers should not be trained; it's Indian hydropower engineers who need retraining.