Massive plans are underway in Pakistan, India, Nepal and Bhutan to build several hundred dams in the in the Himalayan region, with over 150,000 Megawatts (MW) of additional capacity proposed in the next 20 years in the four countries. If all the planned capacity expansion materializes, the Himalayan region would have the highest concentration of dams in the world.
Here is the list of impact of damming and diversion of rivers :
1. Submergence of lands, homes, fields and forests on a large scale with displacement of lakhs of people. severe disruption the downstream flows, impacting agriculture and fisheries and threatening livelihoods of entire populations.
2. Degradation of the natural surroundings
3. As the entire region is seismically active these dams face high risks of catastrophic failures due to
earthquakes.
4. Climate change is resulting in the accelerated melting of glaciers and the depletion of the massive water
store of the region. Some of these dams – including the 3,000 MW Dibang project in India, the 1,000 MW Tala project in Bhutan, and the US$12.6 billion Diamer-Bhasha Dam in Pakistan – are among the world’s largest and most expensive planned dams.
5. In the Himalayas, melting glacier water will replenish rivers in the short run, but as the resource diminishes, drought will dominate the river reaches in the long term.
6. The sudden bursting of glacial lakes is another major concern for the safety of planned dams, and ultimately the rivers and peoples of the Himalayas. Glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) are a recent phenomenon. As glaciers in high-altitude regions such as the Himalayas melt, they can form large lakes behind temporary dams of ice and rock. When these moraine dams collapse, millions of cubic meters of water are released, resulting in massive flash floods.
Ganga Mukti Mahasammelan is being held today in Varanasi to save the Ganga
Here is the list of impact of damming and diversion of rivers :
1. Submergence of lands, homes, fields and forests on a large scale with displacement of lakhs of people. severe disruption the downstream flows, impacting agriculture and fisheries and threatening livelihoods of entire populations.
2. Degradation of the natural surroundings
3. As the entire region is seismically active these dams face high risks of catastrophic failures due to
earthquakes.
4. Climate change is resulting in the accelerated melting of glaciers and the depletion of the massive water
store of the region. Some of these dams – including the 3,000 MW Dibang project in India, the 1,000 MW Tala project in Bhutan, and the US$12.6 billion Diamer-Bhasha Dam in Pakistan – are among the world’s largest and most expensive planned dams.
5. In the Himalayas, melting glacier water will replenish rivers in the short run, but as the resource diminishes, drought will dominate the river reaches in the long term.
6. The sudden bursting of glacial lakes is another major concern for the safety of planned dams, and ultimately the rivers and peoples of the Himalayas. Glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) are a recent phenomenon. As glaciers in high-altitude regions such as the Himalayas melt, they can form large lakes behind temporary dams of ice and rock. When these moraine dams collapse, millions of cubic meters of water are released, resulting in massive flash floods.
Ganga Mukti Mahasammelan is being held today in Varanasi to save the Ganga
