himalayan blunder

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Page I of3 Dear Chairman SrnceI do not subscribeto Hindustan Timesthe request for submissions to the KosiFlood lnquiry Commission escapedby notice. However,my old friend Himanshu Thakkar's e- mail intimation gave me this opportunity . I have workedas a groundwater / environmental geologist in Bihar for for more than ten years from 1957 onwards and remainedin charge of GS/'s Drought work in Bihar during in 1965-66 ( Hope I have the years correctly! SrnceI don't have time enough , I am fonaarding an afticle of mine that was publishedin "Rear Window" of The Sundaylndian( Atn -14th.Sept.'1|) ( based on an interuiew) I I shallremain gratefulif this alsoconsidered as a feedback. TSI Flood Fury: KOSI : A HIMALAYAN BLUNDER Tampering with Himalaya, making dams and roads will causemajor floods in the future . **Subrata Sinha E I /irl The entire Kosi floodissuehas been understood in the wrongperspective. People are blaming rivers like Kosiand Teesta, but it is not the rivers that havegone haywire and caused this preventable and foreseeable disaster. The prime source of the problem liesin the Himalaya mountain chain. lf we playthe fool with the Himalayas, it will hit back. Tampering with the Himalaya affects everything in the Indo-Ganga-Brahmaputra basin: the bulk of our sub-continent. The government has damaged the Himalaya everywhere. Dams, border roads... wherever you haveborder roads, thereare landslides below that. Theselandslides in turn raise the river bedsby siltdeposition, causing devastating floods in the valleys. Yet, thereare lotsof existing and proposed dams and Hydelprojects from Uttaranchal to Arunachal, including Sikkim, and colossal dams are also under construction in Arunachal Pradesh, despite local resistance. l..l:i:till::vlltl'1ill,yill:rl;*!;1*]]Ii|l11ii.li'J]!*].f.:.j|.liii:iii:l,-rlliLt:lltl.||lr:..vilid' iill;ill1r.:l;irlqjl.ii|r*Ll*)lli:l.l;:;:l:;:.i'::ri1!llit-;:ll:l-':l..:i.ilrli:l':1*|r'ripilrc.lrt.rl*|ayanChain.ate,hrlg| ,jrt|tli:ltl;l!1.i;t:;:1l.iliiiii:l;:,.;i1..ir]]:l'li:li*;ttll.;l,iiil.}':i.:1rlrl:l;li|i;i,.;i;ld*;it0NV!y&nm i*ini:ils ,r\rijthl* if-i*ii*i* t*r;ii:rrr:nilv *r *xilerr:*ly s*n*itive systenn, pr*ns ta innunefablg q),lllrl;:::A*1 : -'. i,,. rll::r-j, 1..;l, i;'1,..;SilttrfllJ These mountains are basically sediments thatwere folded, crumpled, metamorphosed and heaved up fromthe Tethys Sea,when squeezed between the Deccan Plateau and the Asian mainland. Thusthe rocky material in these mountains are fragile and highly erosion prone. May I cornpare the Himalaya witha human head, and any interference akin to a thrombosis paralyses the entire body.Like the body, the country too has a huge river https ://www. mai Lnic. i n/uwc/webrnai l/popup.html ?nopop t6-03-2009

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Page 1: Himalayan Blunder

Page I of3

Dear Chairman

Srnce I do not subscribe to Hindustan Times the request for submissions to the Kosi Floodlnquiry Commission escaped by notice. However, my old friend Himanshu Thakkar's e-mail intimation gave me this opportunity . I have worked as a groundwater / environmentalgeologist in Bihar for for more than ten years from 1957 onwards and remained in chargeof GS/'s Drought work in Bihar during in 1965-66 ( Hope I have the years correctly!

Srnce I don't have time enough , I am fonaarding an afticle of mine that was published in"Rear Window" of The Sunday lndian ( Atn -14th.Sept.'1|) ( based on an interuiew) I

I shall remain grateful if this also considered as a feedback.

TSIFlood Fury:

KOSI : A HIMALAYAN BLUNDER

Tampering with Himalaya, making dams and roads wil l cause major f loods in the future

. **Subrata SinhaE I/irl

The entire Kosi f lood issue has been understood in the wrong perspective. People areblaming rivers l ike Kosi and Teesta, but it is not the rivers that have gone haywire andcaused this preventable and foreseeable disaster. The prime source of the problem lies inthe Himalaya mountain chain. lf we play the fool with the Himalayas, it wil l hit back.Tampering with the Himalaya affects everything in the Indo-Ganga-Brahmaputra basin: thebulk of our sub-cont inent.

The government has damaged the Himalaya everywhere. Dams, border roads... whereveryou have border roads, there are landslides below that. These landslides in turn raise theriver beds by silt deposition, causing devastating floods in the valleys. Yet, there are lots ofexisting and proposed dams and Hydel projects from Uttaranchal to Arunachal, includingSikkim, and colossal dams are also under construction in Arunachal Pradesh, despite localresistance.

l . . l : i : t i l l : : v l l t l ' 1 i l l , y i l l : r l ; * ! ; 1 * ] ] I i | l 11 i i . l i ' J ] ! * ] . f . : . j | . l i i i : i i i : l , - r l l i L t : l l t l . | | l r : . . v i l i d 'i i l l ; i l l 1 r . : l ; i r l q j l . i i | r * L l * ) l l i : l . l ; : ; : l : ; : . i ' : : r i 1 ! l l i t - ; : l l : l - ' : l . . : i . i l r l i : l ' : 1 * | r ' r i p i l r c . l r t . r l * | a y a n C h a i n . a t e , h r l g |

, j r t | t l i : l t l ; l ! 1 . i ; t : ; : 1 l . i l i i i i i : l ; : , . ; i 1 . . i r ] ] : l ' l i : l i * ; t t l l . ; l , i i i l . } ' : i . : 1 r l r l : l ; l i | i ; i , . ; i ; l d * ; i t 0NV !y&nm

i* ini: i ls ,r\ri j thl* if- i*i i*i* t*r; i i :rrr:nilv *r *xilerr:*ly s*n*it ive systenn, pr*ns ta innunefablgq ) , l l l r l ; : : : A * 1 : - ' . i , , . r l l : : r - j , 1 . . ; l , i ; ' 1 , . . ; S i l t t r f l l J

These mountains are basically sediments that were folded, crumpled, metamorphosed andheaved up from the Tethys Sea, when squeezed between the Deccan Plateau and theAsian mainland. Thus the rocky mater ia l in these mountains are f ragi le and highly erosionprone. May I cornpare the Himalaya with a human head, and any interference akin to athrombosis paralyses the entire body. Like the body, the country too has a huge river

https ://www. mai L nic. i n/uwc/webrnai l/popup.html ?nopop t6-03-2009

Page 2: Himalayan Blunder

Page 2 of3

network l ike the veins and arleries, and a 'thrombosis' affects the entire country.

'll:* r*r::r'r* t"]f f.riri*r:r i*i'li'lr itiirffiiay* ir, l:il *r"r**nily hy il gigantic monsoon, which no othef,hlghr:r***tnin *n3'wh*r* r*i** si";ff*f* li ;s a bim**al *y*t*nr: it pours for twp rnonths and the {egl* f th*y*e l l i * f t .h i ; ; I *n r * i * ry , , } l t * r * } }y ' fh* r * igmngs ivser0$ |aLduf lngMf*rg*t that *r*sj*n h*pp*l"is th* y**r r"*und. h*enu*e the sleqp slopes of the mountains aredry *ncl ****r:rc l**s*" iilh*n th* n*xt r*in* r*me. ihese dqposits acrc$$ sameatlhqg*fi lt*$ *r rrvL:i*ts iur;: i: l* d*'.vn, l,vtlfr d*v**l*tir"ig **nseEUences.

There is another major misconception. People need to underqtand that rivers l land Kosi are part of the same integrated system, with a huge, connected alluvial bas-in. lt isnot as if the rivers are completely cut off from each other, So any action on ArcjXqpgglelheother, but few realise this singular point. Then there are the qven rnO{Cl dengercU$embankments. The Kosi f lood happened when such an embenkmenl1y-as burst by surgingwaters. Embankments interfere with the natural playground of the mighty rivers. !n betrryeqnany two embankments, there is silt deposition, which raises lhe fryef !eg!q, so the next t imeduring mon$oon, the chances go up of a more devastating flqad_than plgyious ones. Wehave repeatedly warned the governments. I did so as Director, Land Usjl Board in WestBengal but to no avai l .

One must understand also that water finds its own course; it ig€ ja$fe{rucjple AtXatUe.Humans have to live with it The latest report is that the Koslfloqdlvatefg hqvelaund lhetlway into the Ganga through a new channel. That wil l tremendously increase the flow inGanga as well as Hooghly rivers. As its stands, overland flow during the monsoon goes intothe ocean. I apprehend that the entire Rajarhat industrial belt wil l act as a wall and force theflow from up the valley into Bangladesh and Kolkata. Similarly Singur and its adjoiningindustrial spread shall compel the Hooghly and other rivers to change course. AnotherTeesta-Kosi situation may be triggered then. There are floods in the northeast now. Theadditional danger there is, being in the foothil ls of the Himalaya, most of the erosion leavesbehind coarse sediments - pebbles and boulders raising the river beds even higher, andalso increasing the force of the water. Besides, recently started surface water irrigation inareas with massive unconfined aquifers wil l lead to permanently waterlogging.

i lr i ihr: vrr>: *l rr f l i . i j lel{j r i i i : lai:{i brrrrg l:r: i l i t:: Arurrrchal l-rrallesh, near the syqtqlig!bend ol$ell lff lglgyqs."tr**r"s h** h**n n* *xt**:rr:ph!* *:nrth*uxk* in th* !*{imalaynn mqq1tAln bellfot decades;!:ui s*rrcr*i *f l****r t*l*nsity h** **;:p*r:**. &llnny stinntist feel that the s*isrnic gap:lhe!i**r$ **tv;**r"l i i fr ' ,r l:,: ; ' '1r'.f1,;,r.: i 'r r*'; i*it ir:g i11n *l* *pi**ntre iS 1QV-V,Sle$lng. l l the "big*:ln;" {: i l fJ-r**. l l i* l ,r i ' i ,"{ ":, .:n.+" .,1,.. r j lrast*r ,S* in th*r* a g*lutioIl Yes: gA }aqklA nqlg1e.li*vrv* ih* *g*-*ir:i x;ll**lti;r*l liv*lif:*** *y*i*nr r,viri*h saluteg hQl&ei* qWfilhfnlfnqAnd*cirnv*s n*l*tt ltrr; t* h*r wlsh**. lJp in lf i* i- '{ irnalay;}, g* for extensive watershedrnfril;i!}*flr*rt *yst*n:* xt th* p**pl*'* **;al*. not g*vcrnmcnlAlqg_ale-fhig will completely*h*ng* th* ***r ;af . { . , ; J l i - ] vf iL l t* l :1, :* i l jv* t i j tnarcund.

*" l '$1f i :*r i l l -1f i r iSi

Wi;r;iis* tr*nri:*t *{ [,4]*]ilF - ilnv. &pp.il*n:n":itt**s f*r Rivcr valley & Hydel Projects

https://www.nT ai l.nic.in/uwc/webmai l/popup. htn-rl ?nopop 16-03-2009