The Telegraph, September 29, 2008

Lucknow, Sept. 28: A group representing farmers is planning a Chipko-like movement against the Uttarakhand government’s invitation to Tata Motors to set up a Nano plant in the state.

The company already runs a plant in Pantnagar, and chief minister B.C. Khanduri has offered it more land should it decide to shift the small-car project from Singur. [more]

The Kisan Kisani Abhiyaan, the group that is opposing the offer, said its protest would be modelled on the Chipko movement of the seventies and eighties when women embraced trees in the hill regions to prevent them from being felled for the construction of a dam. This time, the farmers will live on the land and embrace it. [more]

The Uttarakhand government’s move to allot 50 acres of agriculture land to Tata Motors for housing purposes has hit a rough patch with Agriculture Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat expressing opposition to the use of farm land for industrial or any other use.

“The agriculture land should be used only for agriculture purposes,” said Rawat expressing his strong opposition. Rawat said that a big chunk of land has fallen into the hands of land mafia in the state. [more]

The rampant poaching of leopards in the wilds of Uttarakhand is as alarming as the earlier revelation about vanishing tigers in protected areas, a development that forced the government to set up a special Tiger Task Force in 2005 for revamping the wildlife protection system. Some three dozen leopards are said to have been killed in Uttarakhand in the last few months. Elsewhere, too, leopards have been the target of animal hunters, as borne out by the recovery of 27 leopard skins from different parts of the country in the past two months. Some estimates place the total number of leopards annihilated in this period at as high as 120, with most incidents being reported from Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka. It seems to be the case that the increased attention given to guarding tigers has made poachers turn their focus to the leopard. [more]

Dehra Dun, Sept. 21: People in one of India’s most earthquake-prone zones had mastered the art of building multi-level buildings resistant to seismic movement about a thousand years ago, an engineering study of the structures has revealed.

Researchers have found that ancient four-storey and five-storey buildings in Rajgarhi district of Uttarkashi in Uttarakhand reflect a distinct and elaborate style of architecture that allowed them to survive devastating quakes.

Scientists believe the Koti Banal architecture — named after a village in the district — relied on stone-filled solid platforms and judicious use of wood, which offered special advantages over other materials during earthquakes. [more]

Lead Editorial
Garhwal Post, August 6, 2008

Anybody who has been confronted in the middle of the night by drunken cops, with their identification tags off, knows how difficult it is to deal with the situation. One can counter miscreants with maximum force and ‘extreme prejudice’ in such a situation, but one’s hands are bound when it comes to dealing with men in uniform.

Such is the authority and majesty of the uniform. However, in India, there is so much of corruption and such political misuse of the police force that the average citizen holds the cop in complete contempt. The cop is considered just someone who has to be got past; the most convenient way being exercise of influence or by greasing the palm. Politicians rise to power not through convincing argument but by a constant process of challenging the police force on various morchas. When the politician does come to power, the natural instinct remains that of hostility. Having braved the cop’s arrogance and lathi blows, the politician wants payback and on the street. [read more]

By Our Staff Reporter
Garhwal Post, August 6, 2008

Joshimath, 5 Aug: Scene one: On 26 March 1974, Gaura Devi with other women of Reni village in Chamoli Garhwal hogged worldwide attention by adopting a noble non-violent method of saving trees by hugging them and saying, “First cut us, before cutting down our trees.”

Scene two: The forest that made Reni famous worldwide now faces the hard test of time. This time, a hydropower project has emerged as a threat to Reni village and its forests.

Reni villagers have launched a movement against the Rishi Ganga Hydel Power Project. They have been staging demonstrations against the project since 2006. They allege that the blasting done for the project has ruined their peace. The blasting has resulted in erosion and the historic place from where the Chipko Movement gained fame is now in total neglect.

Bali Devi, former President of the Mahila Mangal Dal, rues, “We have requested the power company not to carry out blasting in the wee hours of the day. They do this at any time of the day, even as early as 4 a.m.”

She claims that the houses in the village have suffered cracks and no government official and public representatives have visited to understand the problem.
The Rishi Ganga Hydro Power Project, being constructed on the confluence of Dhauli Ganga and Rishi Ganga - is facing the criticism of the villagers for its approach towards the environment. The villagers are demanding that the District Magistrate, Chamoli, visit the village and assess the ground reality and sufferings of the local people.

Reni, located 26 kms from Joshimath, is home to 36 families. The total population of the village is around 150.

The women fought for environment conservation in the 70s and now they have launched a similar agitation. “The power project has had an adverse effect on our village. The Mahila Mangal Dal planted hundred of trees. Our forests are facing degradation due to the project. The tunnel is passing under our village and we are feeling threatened,” said another villager.

Reni village launched a movement in the 70s to save its trees and now it is demanding better rehabilitation and environment conservation.

Ramnagar, 3 Aug: The Uttarakhand Parivartan Abhiyan has held a two day political meeting in Ramnagar. The main aim of the meeting was to build a political alternative in the state.
The Central Convener of the Abhiyan, PC Tiwari, addressed the meeting and said that the Congress, BJP and UKD were responsible for the poor condition of the state. There existed, at the present, a political vacuum in the state. So, the Abhiyan would participate in the coming Panchayat elections and try to establish a government of the people.

Prabhat Dhyani said that the Abhiyan would struggle with the help of democratic powers to change the faulty system in the state. Convener Pratap Singh said that the Abhiyan would participate not just in the Panchayat but also the Parliamentary elections, thereby building a new political alternative in the state.

The Uttarakhand Parivartan Abhiyan has adopted proposals at the meeting such as participation in the elections with the slogan of ‘Panchayat Nahi Gram Sarkar Chahiye’, to stop the exploitation of social and political activists, stop the big hydel projects, decentralisation of government for the establishment of three tier democracy. It would also ask the BJP government to issue a white paper on crime and accidents in the state.

Govind Lal Verma, Raghu Tiwari, Sudama Sarkar, Hem Chandra Joshi, Prem Shankar, Devendra Kumar, Koshal Pant, Piyushkant Viswas, Diwan Singh Bisht, Bachi Singh Bisht, Mukesh Bahuguna, etc., were present at the meeting.

To the Editor, The Garhwal Post,

Sir,

Today’s front page news should arouse every Uttarakhandi. Selling off Uttarakhand’s Hydro-Power houses is putting a knife into our very hearts so to say. Cheap power was the gift which these Power Stations have presented to Uttarakhandis. These were the perpetual gold-mines, which have benefited Uttarakhandis because of their very low generation cost @ 29 Paise or so.

It is incredible that a sane Government can think of privatising them. Cheap power will dissappear the moment private parties grab these stations.

This smacks of Grand Larceny - a colossal conspiracy to steal our precious resources. A public-spirited drive to prevent this happening spearheaded by The Garhwal Post is URGENTLY called for. I am sure a PIL could be filed to prevent this and simultaneously the present Government must be brought to account.

These form the heart of our economy from the time of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Dr. KL Rao. Such a cheap and perpetual source of power cannot be found anywhere in the country.

There is no doubt the Khanduri Government must be held to account. There must be interested private parties lobbying for this sell-off so it is a task for Garhwal Post to undertake investigative journalism. Mr. Arun Pratap Singh must go around UJVNL offices to find out more about the machinations.

These Hydro-Power Stations were the result of meticulous planning and diligent upkeep from the past so any attempt to sell them off for so-called refurbishment has to be thoroughly investigated. Every aspect of such a move must be scanned by experts. If the Khanduri Government is hell-bent on doing so it is also time the Congress stepped in to examine every aspect. Congress big-wigs must go deep into this.

If this sell-off is done it will be good-bye forever to Uttarakhand cheap power. Garhwal Post had published scathingly critical articles of Pro Bone Publico on the present Government’s so-called ‘New Power Policy’ sometimes in mid-December 2007. These must be read for insight into the machinations that prevail.

As a retired engineer I can say that this present move stinks of corrupt practices. It is nothing short of gross betrayal of our aspirations by this Government or what passes for it.

Yours faithfully,

Devesh ‘Darshan’ Pant,
Retired Deputy GM (of erstwhile UPSEB),
Consultant to the then Uttaranchal Government in early 2001,
Consultant Power to Administrative Reforms Commission of Uttarakhand ( ending Dec ‘07)

Tapping energy or sapping the Himalayas - report by Chandi Prasad Bhatt, eminent activist and environmentalist

A series of dams are being planned on the Ganga between the Gangotri glacier and Uttarkashi to generate hydropower. The government has an economic agenda that requires huge amount energy. Well, it can go ahead, but only after it has satisfied me on seven counts.

There should be a detailed, in-depth study of the geology and the structures, by a team of scientists whose credential is proven and who should be inducted from reputed research organizations. There should be an inventory of both active and old landslide deposits at the project sites. Sediments going to be flushed into rivers that are already sediment- laden must be estimated. This inventory will help assess the threat of inundation downstream.

For a long time now, I have been requesting a specific kind of study. The area the projects are coming up in has experienced two major earthquakes in the last decade. But, till today, except for some work related to an increase in landslides, it is still not known how these quakes changed the terrain. Thus, there should be a study that give us an insight into the nature and distribution of fractures and fissures prior to the earthquakes, and after. This is essential: we must avoid incidents like Bhenti and Varnawart, deadly landslides where entire villages were swept away.

Just to remind you, the area the projects are being planned in, called the main central thrust (MCT) of the higher Himalaya, is known to be very sensitive in terms of landform stability. A majority of landslides, flash floods and tremors occur in the vicinity of the MCT. If one travels from river Kali to river Tons, one can see both active and stabilized landslides distributed on the southern slope of the MCT zone. We are still grappling in the dark as to exactly when the fractures will lead to threshold perturbation.

We all know our engineers can make stable structures, using state-of-the-art technology. But how can they strengthen rocks that have been pulverized and are prone to small perturbation? Think of Chain village, near the Vishnuprayag project tunnel, which is showing signs of subsidence. Can engineers ensure the up-coming projects will not do the same to other villages?

I am told that the fragile reservoir rim area around Tehri dam has already become unstable. As a result, much sediment is getting into the reservoir from the slopes. What if something similar happens in the new proposed projects? Water discharge data are simply too scanty. I request our planners to remember the frightening experience with the Vishnuprayag project, where planners failed to anticipate the decrease in water discharge during the winter. Considering that the new projects are located in the higher Himalaya, where water discharge is largely modulated by seasonality, this aspect should be takenseriously. More so, mounting evidence suggests that Himalaya glaciers are receding at an alarming rate. If that happens, the future of these projects is going to be seriously affected. Have we thought about this?

We must realise that in spite of the rugged terrain, people living in the region still depend on agriculture. With the rise inpopulation, individual landholding has significantly reduced over the years. In addition, expansion of urban areas, road building activity and hydroelectricity projects have further marginalized the individual landholding in Uttarakhand.

In the last few years, there has been a significant increase in the number of proposed hydroelectricity projects in various river basins. A majority of these projects are run-of-the-river schemes, implying no major submergence is involved. But as we know, a sizeable number of productive agricultural fields is located proximal to the river beds which are irrigated through traditional canal system. Many such productive fields will be submerged forever. Have we estimated the consequences of depriving locals of their productive agricultural fields?

One more caveat. The impounding of water behind barrages is certainly going to change the micro-environment of the basin (at local scale). Down-stream, too, there will be reduced flow. We have no idea how these changes are going to affect the micro-biological and ecological environment. Do we know what we are doing to the Himalaya?

– Down To Earth Feature

The crowd reportedly consisted of former Uttarakhand chief minister Bhagat Singh Koshiyari’s supporters.

The demonstrators would leave for Delhi Sunday morning. “But the agitation would continue and Agarwal says he will continue his fast in the national capital though his health had deteriorated,” he said. [more]