Shillong

Meghalaya, one of the seven sisters of the beautiful northeast Indian states, means 'abode of the clouds' (megh - clouds, alaya - abode). Lush green paddy fields, swirling mists and the whisper of rain in every breath add to this serene landscape.

Aaranyak is a registered society working in the field of biodiversity conservation in North East India since 1989. Its strength lies in applied research in biological and social field and its thrust area of work is the North East India and Eastern Himalayas.

Organizers:

• Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)
• North Eastern Space Application Centre (NESAC)

Venue: North Eastern Space Application Centre (NESAC), Shillong

Guest Post by: Amitangshu Acharya The Umiam Lake Conservation - Stakeholder Dialogue and Future Strategies was held on 9th and 10th March 2009 in Shillong. The presentations and some videos from the conference can be viewed here -https://www.indiawaterportal.org/data/conf/ULC.html To give help learn more about the Lake Umiam in Shillong, here is a backgrounder about Lake Umiam and its importance to Shillong. You can join the discussion forum about Umiam Lake here https://www.indiawaterportal.org/Network/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3044 Umiam Lake ( also known as Barapaani) originated as an artificial reservoir for the Umiam Umtru Hydro Electric Power project, the first of its kind in the North East. For a long time, this project had supplied the bulk of its power needs to the State of Meghalaya. The state's love affair with this lake spans 43 years. With approximately 12,000 mm of rainfall each year and a catchment area of 221.5 sq km (almost double the size of Chandigarh) Umiam rarely saw any dry days. Until now, that is. For two years now, Shillong has confronted one of the worst power crises ever. The reason is not hard to imagine: Umiam doesn't have enough water. Officially, inadequate rainfall has been cited as the sole reason, and a correlation does exist between decreasing water levels (about 39 feet over 3 years) in the lake and lesser rainfall since 2005. And once the water level falls below 3150 feet, there can be no power generation. However, the question is, whether the role of rainfall is being overplayed while the other issues remains unaddressed.