Study links U’khand disaster to infra development
NEW DELHI: The Kathmandu based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) has said there is a link between the February 7 glacier breach disaster in Uttarakhand’s Rishi Ganga river with infrastructure development, particularly the construction of hydropower projects in the higher reaches of Himalayas.
In its analysis of the disaster published on March 3 titled “Understanding the Chamoli flood: Cause, process, impacts, and context of rapid infrastructure development”, the ICIMOD cites cryosphere experts, hydrologists, and climate scientists to arrive at the conclusion that hydropower projects, apart from amplifying disaster threaten environmental flows, water quality, and the health of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems.
The projects are also facing risks from climate crisis-related flow variations, extreme events, erosion and sedimentation, and glacial laker outburst floods (GLOFS)/ and landslides dammed outburst floods (LDOFS). A GLOF is a release of from a moraine- or ice-dam glacial lake due to dam failure. LDOF happens when a breach occurs in such dams as a result of erosion of the debris or landslide material, it added.
The analysis is significant because the Defence Geo-informatics Research Establishment under Defence Research and Development Organisation recently said the tragedy was not “immediately” a human induced disaster. “There is a need to look upon the demographic pressures in a systematic way but as far as this particular tragedy is conin our preliminary investigations the role of human activity is not the immediate cause. It [glacial breach] was far away from the area where several constructions [NTPC hydel power project in Tapovan and Rishi Ganga hydel plant] are taking place,” said Lokesh Sinha, director of DGRE.
But ICIMOD termed the area “a multi-hazard environment”. “Often these hazards are of a cascading nature with multiple hazards interconnected with a primary hazard trigger and a chain of secondary and tertiary hazmeltwater ards. Human interference in the mountain environment is rapidly increasing... The interplay between natural hazards with human settlements and infrastructure is an important aspect, which can significantly escalate the impact of events like the Chamoli flood,” it added.
A cascading disaster is a common phenomenon observed in the Hindu Kush Himalaya region and one of the prominent recent examples is the Uttarakhand flood of 2013, which started with heavy rainfall and caused a chain of events including landslides, flash floods, and the Chorabari lake outburst and debris flow, the analysis said adding that “similar hazard events or in combination with other geophysical processes can damage several hydropower stations, which can be further exacerbated with future floods...”
“What does high reaches mean? If experts are saying building hydropower projects in the higher reaches of Himalayas is not suitable what does that mean. Building hydropower projects below the snowline is recommended. Of course, climate change led glacial melt or other changes affect hydropower procerned jects but it’s not the other way round. Hydropower is essentially clean energy and doesn’t degrade local ecology,” argued VK Kanjlia, former secretary of the Central Board of Irrigation & Power.
There are 105 existing hydropower projects (≥ 40 MW each) with an installed capacity of 37 GW, 61 projects (≥40 MW) currently under construction (39 GW), and 890 projects (≥10 MW) in various stages of planning (242 GW) in the Karakoramhimalaya region. Most of the existing hydropower projects were built in the past three decades. Now projects are moving upstream where the exposure to mountain hazards is high.
The ICIMOD has concluded that the Chamoli flood was not caused by GLOF as there were no significant glacial lakes in the area. The flood was triggered by a massive rockslide just below Ronti peak. The energy of the fall melted the ice creating the source of flood. The disaster and related debris flow are likely to have caused damage to four hydropower projects along the Rishi Ganga, Dhauliganga and Alaknanda river path. The tragedy has, so far, claimed 70 lives.
CHANDIGARH: Punjab’s Jalandhar administration imposed a night curfew from Saturday to tackle the recent surge in coronavirus cases in the district.
The night curfew will remain in place in the district from 11 pm to 5 am, said Deputy Commissioner
Ghanshyam Thori.
He said the order will be effective from Saturday till further directions. Jalandhar on Friday had reported the maximum 134 fresh cases in the state. There are a total of 856 active cases in Jalandhar as of now, according to a medical bulletin.
Punjab has been witnessing a surge in the number of COVID-19 cases for nearly four weeks.
Last month, the Punjab government had authorised deputy commissioners to impose night curfew in hot spots.