Parineeta Dandekar

Parineeta Dandekar
1 dam, 2 projects, many fools?
Two different hydroelectric projects on a single dam built on the Nethravathi hide under the guise of a mini-hydel project and blatantly flout green norms. Is this another scam?
Posted on 22 Dec, 2013 05:49 PM

I was looking for Greenko’s 24.75 MW Perla Mini Hydel Project at Perla village near Bantwal, Mangalore. One would think that you wouldn't really have to search for a hydel project site given its size and scale but the villagers at Perla were puzzled when I asked them to take me there as the Project Design Document had noted the project location as Perla village.

AMR dam across Netravathi (Source: Jerry Pinto)
Damaged rivers, collapsing fisheries: Impacts of dams on riverine fisheries in India - Article by SANDRP
THis article looks at the devastating impacts of dams, barrages and hydrological modifications on the fisheries sector in India
Posted on 11 Oct, 2012 09:55 PM

More than 10.86 million Indians depend on rivers, wetlands, floodplains, estuaries, ponds and tanks for subsistence and market-based fisheries. Though the absolute contribution of riverine fisheries may not be huge in economic terms, it is a very crucial component in livelihood and nutritial security of the rural poor.

"Citizens need to engage in critiquing environment impact assessments": Report of a workshop on environmental flows, organised by Himmothhan and International Rivers at Dehradun
A primer on what, why and how of environmental flows - the reasons for declining flow of rivers and need for adequate water. Posted on 24 Jun, 2012 04:39 PM

What do we see our rivers as? Are they merely conduits for water that is to be used to its fullest extent? Or are they valued and revered ecosystems? The Himmotthan Society, Dehradun and International Rivers, U.S.A., hosted a discussion a workshop on ‘Environmental Flows’ at Hotel Madhuban, Dehradun on 08 June 2012 that sought to clarify the issues around these questions.

A Primer on the What, Why and How of environmental flows, authored by Dr. Latha Anantha (River Research Centre, Kerala) and Parineeta Dandekar (South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People, SANDRP) and published by International Rivers, was shared with the participants.  The presentations made during this workshop are presented in this article.A collage of images of the Jog falls before and after damming of the river

The legendary Jog falls are a shadow of their former self after damming (Courtesy: Dr.Latha Anantha)

Ignoring precaution, MoEF clears a project which has been categorically rejected by majority Standing Committee of the NBWL
MoEF, which holds the mandate of safeguarding country's environment, has given a completely unjustifiable wildlife clearance to the 1750 MW Demwe Lower Hydroelectric dam on the Lohit river in Arunachal Pradesh (http://www.moef.nic.in/downloads/public-information/Demwe_Lower_Hydroelectric_project.pdf), in face of severe opposition from civil society, experts across country and all the independent members of National Board for Wildlife. This shocking decision has come at the heels of one more such clearance given by MoEF to 300 MW Alkananda project in Uttarakhand, which has been rejected twice by FAC and given a negative recommendation by WII. Posted on 26 Feb, 2012 01:31 PM

Guest Post : Parineeta Dandekar and Himanshu Thakkar

Saving some last remaining free flowing rivers
Parineeta Dandekar writes about the novel conservation reserves on Kali, Bedthi and Aghanashini in the Western Ghats.
Posted on 24 Jan, 2012 06:38 AM

Guest post by: Parineeta Dandekar

"Meeting urban water challenges is matter of political will and priorities, not about technical solutions"
A brief report by Parineeta Dandekar on the World Water Week 2011 in Stockholm.
Posted on 17 Sep, 2011 08:55 AM

Guest post by: Parineeta Dandekar

This year's World Water Week in Stockholm explored water and sanitation challenges faced by urban areas as well as the water, sanitation and equity challenges posed by urban areas. We take a look at some of the presentations and discussions that took place, especially with reference to India and South Asia.

 
"It would be wise to look at the world from a water lens than a CO2 lens"- Prof. Malin Falkenmark (Photo: Parineeta Dandekar)
"It would be wise to look at the world from a water lens than a CO2 lens"- Prof. Malin Falkenmark (Photo: Parineeta Dandekar)

Forget Prometheus and remember Bhagiratha: Wrong and right thinking about rivers ' - Shri Ramaswamy Iyer s lecture at School of Environmental Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University (June 2011)
One of the foremost experts on water management in India Shri. Ramaswamy R. Iyer shares his view on Wrong and Right Thinking about our Rivers.
Posted on 22 Jun, 2011 09:55 AM

“Current economic philosophy exalts consumption and growth. If we are hypnotised by visions of 8% or 10% growth, we are bound to ‘demand’ more and more and still more water; and either government engineers or private companies and their engineers will come up with supply-side answers in the form of large projects which will cause even greater distress to the rivers”. 

Tehri Dam across Ganga . Source: haridwar.nic.in/ gangaji.htmTehri Dam across Ganga
Source: haridwar.nic.in/ gangaji.htm

I am very grateful to Prof. Sudha Bhattacharya for having invited me to this Seminar. I was not sure whether what I have to say would fit in well with the theme of this Seminar, but she persuaded me to say yes, and so here I am.

Taking action in India on downstream impact of dams - Report of the workshop held by International Rivers and Save Western Ghats Movement at Jog Falls, Karnataka in May 2011
India is on a large-dam building spree, with more than 5,100 large dams already blocking almost all of its important rivers, and more to come. Posted on 14 Jun, 2011 05:17 PM


Jog falls in Western GhatsJog falls in Western Ghats

 These dams have had a profound negative impact on communities and ecology upstream and downstream. While promised benefits of these dams (irrigation, hydro-power or flood control) have been overstated, numerous interrelated and complex negative impacts have simply not been studied or documented. Nonetheless, communities and ecosystems continue paying huge prices of these impacts.

Ram Nadi citizens in Pune, on a hunger strike to save their river
Ram Nadi, a small rivulet that flows through western parts of Pune, has provided water to the residents of Bhugaon town and parts of Pune in the past.
Posted on 11 May, 2011 08:16 AM


Citizen's uprising against encroachment and pollution of Ram Nadi, an urban river in Pune, Maharashtra
Local activists and citizens of Bavdhan (from where Ram Nadi flows) in Pune city, have staged a dharna and are on a hunger strike,
Posted on 25 Apr, 2011 11:37 AM

Forwarded to the portal by: Parineeta Dandekar

Citizen's uprising against encroachment and pollution of Ram Nadi, an urban river in Pune, Maharashtra