In response to
the growing opposition to large dams, the Commission on Dams (COD)
was established by the eIEN South Asia Western Himalaya Kashmir in
2005. The Commission came into existance from a variety of
backgrounds, representing a broad spectrum of interests – including
governments and non–governmental organisations, grassroots people's
movements and academicians .The world economy has reached a point
where it needed to manufacture needs and desires and raise the level
of construction activities so that the capitalist class could
continue accumulating capital; the system had reached a point where
the appetites of capitalists exceeded the demand.
The Government of India allegedly ignored vital ecological and
safety aspects while deciding to build the Baglihar Dam solely on
the ground it was to be built in the sensitive and turbulent State
of Jammu and Kashmir.
“Scandalous Jaiprakash Associates Limited (JAL), the building
contractors of the Dam, has jeopardized the ecology and environment
while building the controversial Baglihar Dam,” .
Big dams, such as Baglihar may hurt environment in such a way that
major earthquakes could take place. Kashmir is prone to earthquakes
as the whole Himalayan region is seismologically fragile. Some
environmentalists associated with the Task Force of the Ministry of
Environment privately admit that no recognized seismologist is
associated with the Baglihar Project.
Dr. Vinod Gaur is the only seismologist of international repute who
is associated with the high level committee on dams, objected to the
construction of the Tehri Dam, but he has not opined on the Baglihar
Dam because this has become a very sensitive issue between the two
countries.
According to the Task Force sources the Government of India and
erstwhile State Government of Farooq Abdullah claimed that the
safety and environment aspects were not compromised in the
construction of the dam.
As per esro sources surveys were conducted by the builders of the
Dam themselves or by the persons who were on their payroll. Nobody
could raise fingers against the construction because the Dam was
decided to be built in a politically turbulent State. But since the
construction on the Dam is near completion, this issue has become
redundant.
It is noteworthy that the whole Himalayan region is fragile and
prone to earthquakes. The Kashmir Valley lies between the Pir Panjal
and Zaskur Thursts, and thus the whole region is prone to
earthquakes. Apart from the brief and regular tremors, moderate to
heavy earthquakes have hit almost all the regions of the State
including Baglihar village.
According to the ISD, the last earthquake occurred on November 20,
2002. An intensity of 6.3 was recorded on the Richter Scale. The
epicenter of the earthquake was the Gilgit-Astore region, and
tremors were felt up to Islamabad and Srinagar. Major landslides
were reported in Gilgit and Astore areas. More than 17,000 people
became homeless and at least 23 people were killed.
The worst ever earthquake took place on May 30, 1885 when at least
32,000 people were killed in the Wullar region and its adjacent
areas. It was recorded at 7.0 on the Richter Scale.
Whole Kashmir region, viz., from Gilgit, Chilas, Gilgit Wazarat,
Muzaffarabad, Poonch, Anantnag, Mirpur, Riasi, Udhampur, Jammu,
Kathua, Leh, Laddakh up to the tribal areas, is vulnerable to
earthquakes.
esro Associated Seismologists allege that the Environmental Impact
Assessment was not carried out properly for the Baglihar Power
Project due to security reasons. There are many questions that were
never answered either by the Central or the State Governments. The
life of the dam is dependent on the annual rate of sedimentation in
the reservoir and the total dead storage capacity.
It is a well-known fact that rivers in the hilly and mountainous
terrain carry an unusually high rate of silt because of glacial
factors and extensive soil erosion due to deforestation. The rate of
sedimentation will certainly rise at the Baglihar Dam. Thus the
actual life span of the dam may not be more than 30 to 40 years.
The life of the Baglihar Dam was originally assessed at over 100
years. But this is not true. The 100 years life span is assessed on
the basis of unconfirmed data of siltation of eight hectares/100
square kilometers just like authorities ‘assessed’ the life span of
the Tehri Dam. The actual siltation rate is 22 hecter meters/100
square kilometers. This may reduce the life span of the Baglihar
Dam”.
While building the Tehri Dam in the hilly Indian State of
Uttaranchal, the JAL is accused in the same manner. Like the
Baglihar Dam, the contract of the Tehri Dam was also given to the
JAL after ignoring many of these concerns.
Prakash Paranjape renouned environmentalist says that by building
the Baglihar Dam, the environmental and ecological conditions of
Pakistan, especially Sindh, would worsen. Sindh is already lagging
far behind in terms of development and would have to face more water
scarcity and drought. It is not a matter of India and Pakistan. I
look at it as a matter of environment and Sindh has been facing
water crisis for centuries. Baglihar Dam may worsen the situation.
More than 1.6 million people, 3,329 villages and 5.053 million
livestock have been badly affected by the drought like situation in
Sindh so far. Migration is going on at a big scale. Crops generally
fail due to sporadic and irregular rainfall, windstorms and
diminishing moisture content in soil. Baglihar Dam is not being
opposed like the Tehri Dam , because the matter of the Tehri Dam is
entirely different from that of Baglihar. The Baglihar Dam is being
built in Kashmir which is a very sensitive State. Everything
associated with Kashmir is automatically associated with nationalism
and patriotism. “Voh hamaari naak ka sawaal ban jaata hai” (It turns
into an instant issue of prestige).
eIEN South Asia
Western Himalaya Kashmir
COD KASHMIR
A cause supported by 1000 non-governmental organizations in 60 countries.
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COD
eIEN South Asia
Western Himalaya Kashmir
In response to the growing opposition to large dams, the Commission on Dams (COD) was established by the eIEN South Asia Western Himalaya Kashmir in 2005. The Commission came into existance from a variety of backgrounds, representing a broad spectrum of interests – including governments and non–governmental organisations, grassroots people's movements and academicians .The world economy has reached a point where it needed to manufacture needs and desires and raise the level of construction activities so that the capitalist class could continue accumulating capital; the system had reached a point where the appetites of capitalists exceeded the demand.
COD KASHMIR Reports
Rationale for Jammu & Kashmir State Power Sector
Resettlement and rehabilitation: Moving from an inadequate policy to a bad one
Hydropower: Clean Energy or Destroyer?
Baglihar Face of the Controversial Dam
Sawalkot Hydropower Project EIA Statement yet to be disseminated
Kishenganga HPP ; will driving out the more than 25,000 Dard Shin people
Face of the Controversial Baglihar Dam
The Government of India allegedly ignored vital ecological and safety aspects while deciding to build the Baglihar Dam solely on the ground it was to be built in the sensitive and turbulent State of Jammu and Kashmir.
“Scandalous Jaiprakash Associates Limited (JAL), the building contractors of the Dam, has jeopardized the ecology and environment while building the controversial Baglihar Dam,” .
Big dams, such as Baglihar may hurt environment in such a way that major earthquakes could take place. Kashmir is prone to earthquakes as the whole Himalayan region is seismologically fragile. Some environmentalists associated with the Task Force of the Ministry of Environment privately admit that no recognized seismologist is associated with the Baglihar Project.
Dr. Vinod Gaur is the only seismologist of international repute who is associated with the high level committee on dams, objected to the construction of the Tehri Dam, but he has not opined on the Baglihar Dam because this has become a very sensitive issue between the two countries.
According to the Task Force sources the Government of India and erstwhile State Government of Farooq Abdullah claimed that the safety and environment aspects were not compromised in the construction of the dam.
As per esro sources surveys were conducted by the builders of the Dam themselves or by the persons who were on their payroll. Nobody could raise fingers against the construction because the Dam was decided to be built in a politically turbulent State. But since the construction on the Dam is near completion, this issue has become redundant.
It is noteworthy that the whole Himalayan region is fragile and prone to earthquakes. The Kashmir Valley lies between the Pir Panjal and Zaskur Thursts, and thus the whole region is prone to earthquakes. Apart from the brief and regular tremors, moderate to heavy earthquakes have hit almost all the regions of the State including Baglihar village.
According to the ISD, the last earthquake occurred on November 20, 2002. An intensity of 6.3 was recorded on the Richter Scale. The epicenter of the earthquake was the Gilgit-Astore region, and tremors were felt up to Islamabad and Srinagar. Major landslides were reported in Gilgit and Astore areas. More than 17,000 people became homeless and at least 23 people were killed.
The worst ever earthquake took place on May 30, 1885 when at least 32,000 people were killed in the Wullar region and its adjacent areas. It was recorded at 7.0 on the Richter Scale.
Whole Kashmir region, viz., from Gilgit, Chilas, Gilgit Wazarat, Muzaffarabad, Poonch, Anantnag, Mirpur, Riasi, Udhampur, Jammu, Kathua, Leh, Laddakh up to the tribal areas, is vulnerable to earthquakes.
esro Associated Seismologists allege that the Environmental Impact Assessment was not carried out properly for the Baglihar Power Project due to security reasons. There are many questions that were never answered either by the Central or the State Governments. The life of the dam is dependent on the annual rate of sedimentation in the reservoir and the total dead storage capacity.
It is a well-known fact that rivers in the hilly and mountainous terrain carry an unusually high rate of silt because of glacial factors and extensive soil erosion due to deforestation. The rate of sedimentation will certainly rise at the Baglihar Dam. Thus the actual life span of the dam may not be more than 30 to 40 years.
The life of the Baglihar Dam was originally assessed at over 100 years. But this is not true. The 100 years life span is assessed on the basis of unconfirmed data of siltation of eight hectares/100 square kilometers just like authorities ‘assessed’ the life span of the Tehri Dam. The actual siltation rate is 22 hecter meters/100 square kilometers. This may reduce the life span of the Baglihar Dam”.
While building the Tehri Dam in the hilly Indian State of Uttaranchal, the JAL is accused in the same manner. Like the Baglihar Dam, the contract of the Tehri Dam was also given to the JAL after ignoring many of these concerns.
Prakash Paranjape renouned environmentalist says that by building the Baglihar Dam, the environmental and ecological conditions of Pakistan, especially Sindh, would worsen. Sindh is already lagging far behind in terms of development and would have to face more water scarcity and drought. It is not a matter of India and Pakistan. I look at it as a matter of environment and Sindh has been facing water crisis for centuries. Baglihar Dam may worsen the situation. More than 1.6 million people, 3,329 villages and 5.053 million livestock have been badly affected by the drought like situation in Sindh so far. Migration is going on at a big scale. Crops generally fail due to sporadic and irregular rainfall, windstorms and diminishing moisture content in soil. Baglihar Dam is not being opposed like the Tehri Dam , because the matter of the Tehri Dam is entirely different from that of Baglihar. The Baglihar Dam is being built in Kashmir which is a very sensitive State. Everything associated with Kashmir is automatically associated with nationalism and patriotism. “Voh hamaari naak ka sawaal ban jaata hai” (It turns into an instant issue of prestige).