Magsaysay award winner Rajendra Singh says the mafia working on hydropower projects in Uttarakhand is so powerful that even the government has no say in their execution.
Rajendra Singh, known around the country and the world as the Waterman of India, was in Uttarakhand in May last year and had warned that the rash of hydropower projects on the state’s many rivers were a “disaster waiting to happen”. The winner of the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award and the Stockholm Water Prize, also known as the Nobel Prize for water’, has for years been warning that no dams should be constructed on the rivers Alaknanda, Bhagirathi and Mandakani as they are located in areas that have steep slopes. Early morning on February 7, his worst fears came true. In this exclusive conversation with TOI’s Yeshika Budhwar, the Waterman talks about the tragedy, the possible immediate causes, and why carving out the mighty Himalayas is a bad idea.
How do you see the tragedy which struck Uttarakhand’s Chamoli recently?
We had informed the authorities concerned and all stakeholders that no dams should be constructed on the rivers Alaknanda, Bhagirathi and Mandakani as there are very steep slopes in the area and it is an extremely eco-sensitive zone. This region is also particularly prone to earthquakes, flash floods, cloud breaks, breaking of glaciers and irregular rain which is not the case in others places like Aravali or the Western Ghats. However, the rampant construction continued. The recent disaster was inevitable. In fact, it was not a natural disaster, but a man-made calamity.
How do you see the tragedy which struck Uttarakhand’s Chamoli recently?
We had informed the authorities concerned and all stakeholders that no dams should be constructed on the rivers Alaknanda, Bhagirathi and Mandakani as there are very steep slopes in the area and it is an extremely eco-sensitive zone. This region is also particularly prone to earthquakes, flash floods, cloud breaks, breaking of glaciers and irregular rain which is not the case in others places like Aravali or the Western Ghats. However, the rampant construction continued. The recent disaster was inevitable. In fact, it was not a natural disaster, but a man-made calamity.