On the `Natural or Man made Disaster' debate: https://indianexpress.com/article/india/kerala-floods-rains-disaster-western-ghats-report-5314873/
On Mon, Aug 20, 2018 at 5:32 PM, Premdas E.P. <[email protected]> wrote: > Dear Himanshu > > Also the dams in Mahrashtra, bordering Belgaum. Dam waters released from > Mahrashtra inundated villages in Belagum, as there is no inter-state > coordination. Even a medium sized dam in a small place called Maski (known > for the Ashoka Pillar with inscriptions of Ashoka) mindlessly inundated at > least 100 villages causing massive destruction. The waters were released > late in the evening, which inundated villages at 10.00 p.m.). > > Much more.... some of these are not even there as dams in the imagination > of the public. > > Regards > > On Fri, 17 Aug 2018 at 14:36, Himanshu Thakkar <[email protected]> > wrote: > >> THanks so much, Sasi, >> >> Very apt comments and useful. Indeed the destruction of catchment is the >> biggest reason and the capacity to manage the disaster is so abysmal. No >> lessons learnt form Uttarakhand in June 2013, Kashmir in Sept 2014, Chennai >> Dec 2015 and so many others. Kerala of Aug 2018, will I guess not be any >> different. The KSEB statements are clearly shocking, but even on >> electricity generation front, they have fallen as I wrote in the article. >> >> Premdas ji, When you say annual dam floods affair in N Karnataka and the >> Oct 2009 incident are about Upper Krishna backwaters? >> >> Himanshu >> >> On Fri, Aug 17, 2018 at 2:19 PM, Premdas E.P. <[email protected]> >> wrote: >> >>> The dam-induced floods are an annual affair in North - Karnataka also. >>> However, there is a grave silence around the issue. the great paradox is >>> that the dams are strongly argued for as a measure for flood control and to >>> harness water. we are made to believe that dams are temples, and not as >>> grave-yards. There is absolutely no coordination between who manage the >>> dam-sites and the down-stream authorities/departments. In 2009, when north >>> Karnataka (Raichur) got flooded, there was not even warning or news. the >>> water entered villages at night 10 (p.m.). Added to the misery, there was >>> no electricity since the previous 3 days and even cellphones were not >>> functioning as they were out of charge. >>> >>> The Kerala situation, unfortunate though it is, should now question the >>> dam-induced-disasters. >>> >>> Debates apart, suffering is real, and we should stand in solidarity with >>> people of Kerala. >>> >>> Premdas >>> >>> >>> >>> On Fri, 17 Aug 2018 at 14:10, KP Sasi <[email protected]> wrote: >>> >>>> What is even more devilish is that when they opened the waters from all >>>> the shutters, they said that there is no reason to worry since we have >>>> informed the concerned authorities that we are going to open all the >>>> shutters. But, where is the time or infrastructure to deal with the mess? >>>> >>>> On Fri, Aug 17, 2018 at 2:06 PM, KP Sasi <[email protected]> wrote: >>>> >>>>> Thanks, Himanshu. >>>>> >>>>> At one level, I agree that the floods created by Idukki dam could have >>>>> been avoided, since they waited and waited for the dam to be completely >>>>> filled before releasing water from all the shutters. The reason they told >>>>> the media was that they believed that the water level would go down in a >>>>> day or two. However, the dam itself has been responsible for creating >>>>> landslides and many other problems in the past. The pressure on the earth >>>>> in the region was more than the earth could bear. >>>>> >>>>> However, it is also important to understand that even if Idukki damage >>>>> could have been reduced, the overall disaster could not have been done >>>>> away >>>>> with. The role of deforestation on the uphills of all rivers have played a >>>>> major role. >>>>> >>>>> Today, we are looking at ways to handle a major disaster. But we >>>>> forget that none of the State Governments nor the Central Government are >>>>> really equipped to handle disasters. The disaster management set ups of >>>>> the >>>>> Governments have proven again and again to be inefficient. We have seen it >>>>> in Tsunami, we have seen it in various earthquakes and floods in India. >>>>> The >>>>> only repeated statement they would do to convince the media is that >>>>> `everything is efficiently managed'. However, this is not just a case of >>>>> `management' alone. It is also a case of a political philosophy on how the >>>>> Governments and the vested interests look at environment. >>>>> >>>>> On Fri, Aug 17, 2018 at 9:58 AM, Himanshu Thakkar <[email protected] >>>>> > wrote: >>>>> >>>>>> Thanks, Sasi, >>>>>> >>>>>> Hope you have seen this, which was written and published on Aug 10. >>>>>> https://sandrp.in/2018/08/10/idukki-releases-water-when- >>>>>> kerala-is-in-floods-could-this-be-avoided/ >>>>>> >>>>>> On Thu, Aug 16, 2018 at 11:42 PM, KP Sasi <[email protected]> wrote: >>>>>> >>>>>>> The God's own country is flooded. Human beings built dams and >>>>>>> released all the waters since the dams could not withstand the pressure. >>>>>>> Perhaps, at least this should be a lesson for those who still argue for >>>>>>> blocking rivers with large dams. The situation has become grave with >>>>>>> deforestation. Water would flow down in one go, flooding all over and >>>>>>> after >>>>>>> three months, there would be a shortage of water in all these regions. >>>>>>> People would be dependent on water tanks for their basic needs. The >>>>>>> immediate need is to generate help for this man made disaster. No God >>>>>>> can >>>>>>> stop a man made disaster even in God's Own Country. The long term >>>>>>> solution >>>>>>> is to find ways to close the mouths of the development fundamentalists, >>>>>>> working for profits of a section of people. It is clear that Kerala can >>>>>>> not >>>>>>> survive without protecting its environment. If we do not learn the right >>>>>>> lessons at least now, we never will. >>>>>>> https://countercurrents.org/2018/08/16/kerala-faces- >>>>>>> devastating-floods/ >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> -- >>>>>> Himanshu Thakkar >>>>>> >>>>>> South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers & People, >>>>>> c/o 86-D, AD block, Shalimar Bagh, >>>>>> <https://maps.google.com/?q=86-D,+AD+block,+Shalimar+Bagh,+Delhi+110088,+India&entry=gmail&source=g> >>>>>> Delhi 110088, India >>>>>> <https://maps.google.com/?q=86-D,+AD+block,+Shalimar+Bagh,+Delhi+110088,+India&entry=gmail&source=g> >>>>>> >>>>>> [email protected], [email protected] >>>>>> http://sandrp.wordpress.com/ >>>>>> www.sandrp.in >>>>>> www.facebook.com/sandrp.in >>>>>> https://twitter.com/Indian_Rivers >>>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>> >>> >>> -- >>> --------------------------- >>> *"The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways; the >>> point, however, is to change it".* *Karl Marx * >>> >>> http://jmschiguru.wordpress.com/ >>> https://www.facebook.com/jms.chiguru/ >>> >> >> >> >> -- >> Himanshu Thakkar >> >> South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers & People, >> c/o 86-D, AD block, Shalimar Bagh, >> <https://maps.google.com/?q=86-D,+AD+block,+Shalimar+Bagh,+Delhi+110088,+India&entry=gmail&source=g> >> Delhi 110088, India >> <https://maps.google.com/?q=86-D,+AD+block,+Shalimar+Bagh,+Delhi+110088,+India&entry=gmail&source=g> >> >> [email protected], [email protected] >> http://sandrp.wordpress.com/ >> www.sandrp.in >> www.facebook.com/sandrp.in >> https://twitter.com/Indian_Rivers >> > > > -- > --------------------------- > *"The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways; the > point, however, is to change it".* *Karl Marx * > > http://jmschiguru.wordpress.com/ > https://www.facebook.com/jms.chiguru/ > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
