Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 73
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Code Context


        trigger_error($message, E_USER_DEPRECATED);

    }
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 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php.'
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deprecationWarning - CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311
Cake\Http\ServerRequest::offsetGet() - CORE/src/Http/ServerRequest.php, line 2421
App\Controller\ArtileDetailController::printArticle() - APP/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line 73
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Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
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Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
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Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Error/Middleware/ErrorHandlerMiddleware.php, line 96
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Http\Runner::run() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 51
Cake\Http\Server::run() - CORE/src/Http/Server.php, line 98

Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 74
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Code Context


        trigger_error($message, E_USER_DEPRECATED);

    }
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 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php.'
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deprecationWarning - CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311
Cake\Http\ServerRequest::offsetGet() - CORE/src/Http/ServerRequest.php, line 2421
App\Controller\ArtileDetailController::printArticle() - APP/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line 74
Cake\Controller\Controller::invokeAction() - CORE/src/Controller/Controller.php, line 610
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 120
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 94
Cake\Http\BaseApplication::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/BaseApplication.php, line 235
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\RoutingMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/RoutingMiddleware.php, line 162
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\AssetMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/AssetMiddleware.php, line 88
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Error/Middleware/ErrorHandlerMiddleware.php, line 96
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Http\Runner::run() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 51
Cake\Http\Server::run() - CORE/src/Http/Server.php, line 98

Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Code Context
            if (Configure::read('debug')) {

                trigger_error($message, E_USER_WARNING);

            } else {
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;The downstream impact of dams in the Brahmaputra river basin has been a major issue of concern in recent years in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh (AP), even as plans unfold to develop at least 135 large hydropower projects to produce approximately 57,000 MW of electricity in AP alone. The past three months have seen major developments on the issue. Both an Expert Committee of Academics and a House Committee of the Assam Legislative Assembly submitted reports in June and July 2010 respectively, raising serious questions on the viability of upstream mega dams, with the under construction 2000 MW Lower Subansiri project being particularly in focus.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;On August 12, the Rajya Sabha saw a lively discussion on the issue in response to a calling attention motion by MP from Assam, Birendra Prasad Baishya. On September 10, Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh held a public consultation on the issue in Guwahati as a follow-up to an August meeting with a delegation led by the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti, a major peasants&amp;rsquo; movement in Assam.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;Over the past few years, downstream impact concerns raised in the North-east include: loss of fisheries, changes in beel (wetland) ecology in the flood plains, impact on agriculture on the chapories (riverine islands and tracts), disruption of intricate socio-cultural linkages of indigenous communities with the river systems, increased flood vulnerability due to massive boulder extraction from river beds for dam construction and sudden water releases from reservoirs in the monsoons, dam safety and associated risks in this geologically fragile and seismically-active region.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;One of the key issues that has come up is the drastic daily variation in river flows, which will take place after these dams are commissioned, particularly in winter. For example, the average winter (lean season) flow in the Subansiri river in its natural state is about 400 cubic metres per second (cumecs). Both the ecology of the downstream areas and peoples&amp;rsquo; use of the riverine tracts in winter is adapted to this &amp;lsquo;lean&amp;rsquo; but relatively uniform flow of water through the day.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;After the commissioning of the 2,000 MW Lower Subansiri project, flows in the river in winter will fluctuate drastically on a daily basis from 6 cumecs for around 20 hours (when water is being stored behind the dam) to 2,560 cumecs for around 4 hours when the water is released for power generation at the time of peak power demand in the evening hours. Thus, the river will be starved for 20 hours and then flooded for 4 hours with flows fluctuating between 2 per cent and 600 per cent of normal flows on a daily basis.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;The flow during peak load water releases in the Subansiri river in winter will be equivalent to average monsoon flows and will cause a &amp;lsquo;winter flood&amp;rsquo;, drowning drier riverine tracts that are used by both people and wildlife on a daily basis in winter. The downstream livelihoods and activities likely to be impacted by this unnatural flow fluctuation in the Eastern Himalayan rivers include: fishing, flood-recession agriculture, river transportation and livestock rearing in grasslands for dairy-based livelihoods. But downstream communities are yet to be officially acknowledged as project-affected persons due to upstream dams.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;Flow fluctuations in rivers like Lohit, Dibang, Siang and Subansiri will severely impact breeding grounds of critically endangered grassland birds like the Bengal Florican, foraging areas of the endangered wild water buffalo, habitat of the endangered Ganges river dolphin and important national parks like Dibru-Saikhowa and Kaziranga.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;The natural flow pattern of a river is like its &amp;lsquo;heart beat&amp;rsquo; and alternate starving and flooding of these major rivers on a daily basis is a threat to the ecological and social security of the Brahmaputra floodplains. Comprehensive downstream impact assessment and public consent must be a mandatory part of the process which decides whether to grant or reject clearances to these dams.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Neeraj Vagholikar is a Panos South Asia Media Fellow (2010-11) and a member of the environmental action group, Kalpavriksh&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/font&gt;
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The downstream impact of dams in the Brahmaputra river basin has been a major issue of concern in recent years in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh (AP), even as plans unfold to develop at least 135 large hydropower projects to produce...&#039;,
	&#039;disp&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;font &gt;The downstream impact of dams in the Brahmaputra river basin has been a major issue of concern in recent years in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh (AP), even as plans unfold to develop at least 135 large hydropower projects to produce approximately 57,000 MW of electricity in AP alone. The past three months have seen major developments on the issue. Both an Expert Committee of Academics and a House Committee of the Assam Legislative Assembly submitted reports in June and July 2010 respectively, raising serious questions on the viability of upstream mega dams, with the under construction 2000 MW Lower Subansiri project being particularly in focus.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;On August 12, the Rajya Sabha saw a lively discussion on the issue in response to a calling attention motion by MP from Assam, Birendra Prasad Baishya. On September 10, Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh held a public consultation on the issue in Guwahati as a follow-up to an August meeting with a delegation led by the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti, a major peasants&amp;rsquo; movement in Assam.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;Over the past few years, downstream impact concerns raised in the North-east include: loss of fisheries, changes in beel (wetland) ecology in the flood plains, impact on agriculture on the chapories (riverine islands and tracts), disruption of intricate socio-cultural linkages of indigenous communities with the river systems, increased flood vulnerability due to massive boulder extraction from river beds for dam construction and sudden water releases from reservoirs in the monsoons, dam safety and associated risks in this geologically fragile and seismically-active region.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;One of the key issues that has come up is the drastic daily variation in river flows, which will take place after these dams are commissioned, particularly in winter. For example, the average winter (lean season) flow in the Subansiri river in its natural state is about 400 cubic metres per second (cumecs). Both the ecology of the downstream areas and peoples&amp;rsquo; use of the riverine tracts in winter is adapted to this &amp;lsquo;lean&amp;rsquo; but relatively uniform flow of water through the day.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;After the commissioning of the 2,000 MW Lower Subansiri project, flows in the river in winter will fluctuate drastically on a daily basis from 6 cumecs for around 20 hours (when water is being stored behind the dam) to 2,560 cumecs for around 4 hours when the water is released for power generation at the time of peak power demand in the evening hours. Thus, the river will be starved for 20 hours and then flooded for 4 hours with flows fluctuating between 2 per cent and 600 per cent of normal flows on a daily basis.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;The flow during peak load water releases in the Subansiri river in winter will be equivalent to average monsoon flows and will cause a &amp;lsquo;winter flood&amp;rsquo;, drowning drier riverine tracts that are used by both people and wildlife on a daily basis in winter. The downstream livelihoods and activities likely to be impacted by this unnatural flow fluctuation in the Eastern Himalayan rivers include: fishing, flood-recession agriculture, river transportation and livestock rearing in grasslands for dairy-based livelihoods. But downstream communities are yet to be officially acknowledged as project-affected persons due to upstream dams.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;Flow fluctuations in rivers like Lohit, Dibang, Siang and Subansiri will severely impact breeding grounds of critically endangered grassland birds like the Bengal Florican, foraging areas of the endangered wild water buffalo, habitat of the endangered Ganges river dolphin and important national parks like Dibru-Saikhowa and Kaziranga.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;The natural flow pattern of a river is like its &amp;lsquo;heart beat&amp;rsquo; and alternate starving and flooding of these major rivers on a daily basis is a threat to the ecological and social security of the Brahmaputra floodplains. 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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;The downstream impact of dams in the Brahmaputra river basin has been a major issue of concern in recent years in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh (AP), even as plans unfold to develop at least 135 large hydropower projects to produce approximately 57,000 MW of electricity in AP alone. The past three months have seen major developments on the issue. Both an Expert Committee of Academics and a House Committee of the Assam Legislative Assembly submitted reports in June and July 2010 respectively, raising serious questions on the viability of upstream mega dams, with the under construction 2000 MW Lower Subansiri project being particularly in focus.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;On August 12, the Rajya Sabha saw a lively discussion on the issue in response to a calling attention motion by MP from Assam, Birendra Prasad Baishya. On September 10, Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh held a public consultation on the issue in Guwahati as a follow-up to an August meeting with a delegation led by the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti, a major peasants&amp;rsquo; movement in Assam.&lt;/font&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;Over the past few years, downstream impact concerns raised in the North-east include: loss of fisheries, changes in beel (wetland) ecology in the flood plains, impact on agriculture on the chapories (riverine islands and tracts), disruption of intricate socio-cultural linkages of indigenous communities with the river systems, increased flood vulnerability due to massive boulder extraction from river beds for dam construction and sudden water releases from reservoirs in the monsoons, dam safety and associated risks in this geologically fragile and seismically-active region.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;One of the key issues that has come up is the drastic daily variation in river flows, which will take place after these dams are commissioned, particularly in winter. For example, the average winter (lean season) flow in the Subansiri river in its natural state is about 400 cubic metres per second (cumecs). Both the ecology of the downstream areas and peoples&amp;rsquo; use of the riverine tracts in winter is adapted to this &amp;lsquo;lean&amp;rsquo; but relatively uniform flow of water through the day.&lt;/font&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;After the commissioning of the 2,000 MW Lower Subansiri project, flows in the river in winter will fluctuate drastically on a daily basis from 6 cumecs for around 20 hours (when water is being stored behind the dam) to 2,560 cumecs for around 4 hours when the water is released for power generation at the time of peak power demand in the evening hours. Thus, the river will be starved for 20 hours and then flooded for 4 hours with flows fluctuating between 2 per cent and 600 per cent of normal flows on a daily basis.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;The flow during peak load water releases in the Subansiri river in winter will be equivalent to average monsoon flows and will cause a &amp;lsquo;winter flood&amp;rsquo;, drowning drier riverine tracts that are used by both people and wildlife on a daily basis in winter. The downstream livelihoods and activities likely to be impacted by this unnatural flow fluctuation in the Eastern Himalayan rivers include: fishing, flood-recession agriculture, river transportation and livestock rearing in grasslands for dairy-based livelihoods. But downstream communities are yet to be officially acknowledged as project-affected persons due to upstream dams.&lt;/font&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;Flow fluctuations in rivers like Lohit, Dibang, Siang and Subansiri will severely impact breeding grounds of critically endangered grassland birds like the Bengal Florican, foraging areas of the endangered wild water buffalo, habitat of the endangered Ganges river dolphin and important national parks like Dibru-Saikhowa and Kaziranga.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;The natural flow pattern of a river is like its &amp;lsquo;heart beat&amp;rsquo; and alternate starving and flooding of these major rivers on a daily basis is a threat to the ecological and social security of the Brahmaputra floodplains. Comprehensive downstream impact assessment and public consent must be a mandatory part of the process which decides whether to grant or reject clearances to these dams.&lt;/font&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Neeraj Vagholikar is a Panos South Asia Media Fellow (2010-11) and a member of the environmental action group, Kalpavriksh&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/font&gt;
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The downstream impact of dams in the Brahmaputra river basin has been a major issue of concern in recent years in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh (AP), even as plans unfold to develop at least 135 large hydropower projects to produce...&#039;
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On September 10, Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh held a public consultation on the issue in Guwahati as a follow-up to an August meeting with a delegation led by the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti, a major peasants&amp;rsquo; movement in Assam.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;Over the past few years, downstream impact concerns raised in the North-east include: loss of fisheries, changes in beel (wetland) ecology in the flood plains, impact on agriculture on the chapories (riverine islands and tracts), disruption of intricate socio-cultural linkages of indigenous communities with the river systems, increased flood vulnerability due to massive boulder extraction from river beds for dam construction and sudden water releases from reservoirs in the monsoons, dam safety and associated risks in this geologically fragile and seismically-active region.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;One of the key issues that has come up is the drastic daily variation in river flows, which will take place after these dams are commissioned, particularly in winter. For example, the average winter (lean season) flow in the Subansiri river in its natural state is about 400 cubic metres per second (cumecs). Both the ecology of the downstream areas and peoples&amp;rsquo; use of the riverine tracts in winter is adapted to this &amp;lsquo;lean&amp;rsquo; but relatively uniform flow of water through the day.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;After the commissioning of the 2,000 MW Lower Subansiri project, flows in the river in winter will fluctuate drastically on a daily basis from 6 cumecs for around 20 hours (when water is being stored behind the dam) to 2,560 cumecs for around 4 hours when the water is released for power generation at the time of peak power demand in the evening hours. Thus, the river will be starved for 20 hours and then flooded for 4 hours with flows fluctuating between 2 per cent and 600 per cent of normal flows on a daily basis.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;The flow during peak load water releases in the Subansiri river in winter will be equivalent to average monsoon flows and will cause a &amp;lsquo;winter flood&amp;rsquo;, drowning drier riverine tracts that are used by both people and wildlife on a daily basis in winter. The downstream livelihoods and activities likely to be impacted by this unnatural flow fluctuation in the Eastern Himalayan rivers include: fishing, flood-recession agriculture, river transportation and livestock rearing in grasslands for dairy-based livelihoods. But downstream communities are yet to be officially acknowledged as project-affected persons due to upstream dams.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;Flow fluctuations in rivers like Lohit, Dibang, Siang and Subansiri will severely impact breeding grounds of critically endangered grassland birds like the Bengal Florican, foraging areas of the endangered wild water buffalo, habitat of the endangered Ganges river dolphin and important national parks like Dibru-Saikhowa and Kaziranga.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;The natural flow pattern of a river is like its &amp;lsquo;heart beat&amp;rsquo; and alternate starving and flooding of these major rivers on a daily basis is a threat to the ecological and social security of the Brahmaputra floodplains. 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                <strong>A dam serious problem by Neeraj Vagholikar</strong></h1>
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                <p align="justify"><font ></font></p><p align="justify"><br /><font >The downstream impact of dams in the Brahmaputra river basin has been a major issue of concern in recent years in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh (AP), even as plans unfold to develop at least 135 large hydropower projects to produce approximately 57,000 MW of electricity in AP alone. The past three months have seen major developments on the issue. Both an Expert Committee of Academics and a House Committee of the Assam Legislative Assembly submitted reports in June and July 2010 respectively, raising serious questions on the viability of upstream mega dams, with the under construction 2000 MW Lower Subansiri project being particularly in focus.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >On August 12, the Rajya Sabha saw a lively discussion on the issue in response to a calling attention motion by MP from Assam, Birendra Prasad Baishya. On September 10, Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh held a public consultation on the issue in Guwahati as a follow-up to an August meeting with a delegation led by the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti, a major peasants&rsquo; movement in Assam.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >Over the past few years, downstream impact concerns raised in the North-east include: loss of fisheries, changes in beel (wetland) ecology in the flood plains, impact on agriculture on the chapories (riverine islands and tracts), disruption of intricate socio-cultural linkages of indigenous communities with the river systems, increased flood vulnerability due to massive boulder extraction from river beds for dam construction and sudden water releases from reservoirs in the monsoons, dam safety and associated risks in this geologically fragile and seismically-active region.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >One of the key issues that has come up is the drastic daily variation in river flows, which will take place after these dams are commissioned, particularly in winter. For example, the average winter (lean season) flow in the Subansiri river in its natural state is about 400 cubic metres per second (cumecs). Both the ecology of the downstream areas and peoples&rsquo; use of the riverine tracts in winter is adapted to this &lsquo;lean&rsquo; but relatively uniform flow of water through the day.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >After the commissioning of the 2,000 MW Lower Subansiri project, flows in the river in winter will fluctuate drastically on a daily basis from 6 cumecs for around 20 hours (when water is being stored behind the dam) to 2,560 cumecs for around 4 hours when the water is released for power generation at the time of peak power demand in the evening hours. Thus, the river will be starved for 20 hours and then flooded for 4 hours with flows fluctuating between 2 per cent and 600 per cent of normal flows on a daily basis.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >The flow during peak load water releases in the Subansiri river in winter will be equivalent to average monsoon flows and will cause a &lsquo;winter flood&rsquo;, drowning drier riverine tracts that are used by both people and wildlife on a daily basis in winter. The downstream livelihoods and activities likely to be impacted by this unnatural flow fluctuation in the Eastern Himalayan rivers include: fishing, flood-recession agriculture, river transportation and livestock rearing in grasslands for dairy-based livelihoods. But downstream communities are yet to be officially acknowledged as project-affected persons due to upstream dams.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >Flow fluctuations in rivers like Lohit, Dibang, Siang and Subansiri will severely impact breeding grounds of critically endangered grassland birds like the Bengal Florican, foraging areas of the endangered wild water buffalo, habitat of the endangered Ganges river dolphin and important national parks like Dibru-Saikhowa and Kaziranga.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >The natural flow pattern of a river is like its &lsquo;heart beat&rsquo; and alternate starving and flooding of these major rivers on a daily basis is a threat to the ecological and social security of the Brahmaputra floodplains. Comprehensive downstream impact assessment and public consent must be a mandatory part of the process which decides whether to grant or reject clearances to these dams.</font></p><p align="justify"><font ><em>Neeraj Vagholikar is a Panos South Asia Media Fellow (2010-11) and a member of the environmental action group, Kalpavriksh</em></font></p><font ><p align="justify">&nbsp;</p><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif"></font></font>               </font>
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;The downstream impact of dams in the Brahmaputra river basin has been a major issue of concern in recent years in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh (AP), even as plans unfold to develop at least 135 large hydropower projects to produce approximately 57,000 MW of electricity in AP alone. The past three months have seen major developments on the issue. Both an Expert Committee of Academics and a House Committee of the Assam Legislative Assembly submitted reports in June and July 2010 respectively, raising serious questions on the viability of upstream mega dams, with the under construction 2000 MW Lower Subansiri project being particularly in focus.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;On August 12, the Rajya Sabha saw a lively discussion on the issue in response to a calling attention motion by MP from Assam, Birendra Prasad Baishya. On September 10, Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh held a public consultation on the issue in Guwahati as a follow-up to an August meeting with a delegation led by the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti, a major peasants&amp;rsquo; movement in Assam.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;Over the past few years, downstream impact concerns raised in the North-east include: loss of fisheries, changes in beel (wetland) ecology in the flood plains, impact on agriculture on the chapories (riverine islands and tracts), disruption of intricate socio-cultural linkages of indigenous communities with the river systems, increased flood vulnerability due to massive boulder extraction from river beds for dam construction and sudden water releases from reservoirs in the monsoons, dam safety and associated risks in this geologically fragile and seismically-active region.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;One of the key issues that has come up is the drastic daily variation in river flows, which will take place after these dams are commissioned, particularly in winter. For example, the average winter (lean season) flow in the Subansiri river in its natural state is about 400 cubic metres per second (cumecs). Both the ecology of the downstream areas and peoples&amp;rsquo; use of the riverine tracts in winter is adapted to this &amp;lsquo;lean&amp;rsquo; but relatively uniform flow of water through the day.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;After the commissioning of the 2,000 MW Lower Subansiri project, flows in the river in winter will fluctuate drastically on a daily basis from 6 cumecs for around 20 hours (when water is being stored behind the dam) to 2,560 cumecs for around 4 hours when the water is released for power generation at the time of peak power demand in the evening hours. Thus, the river will be starved for 20 hours and then flooded for 4 hours with flows fluctuating between 2 per cent and 600 per cent of normal flows on a daily basis.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;The flow during peak load water releases in the Subansiri river in winter will be equivalent to average monsoon flows and will cause a &amp;lsquo;winter flood&amp;rsquo;, drowning drier riverine tracts that are used by both people and wildlife on a daily basis in winter. The downstream livelihoods and activities likely to be impacted by this unnatural flow fluctuation in the Eastern Himalayan rivers include: fishing, flood-recession agriculture, river transportation and livestock rearing in grasslands for dairy-based livelihoods. But downstream communities are yet to be officially acknowledged as project-affected persons due to upstream dams.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;Flow fluctuations in rivers like Lohit, Dibang, Siang and Subansiri will severely impact breeding grounds of critically endangered grassland birds like the Bengal Florican, foraging areas of the endangered wild water buffalo, habitat of the endangered Ganges river dolphin and important national parks like Dibru-Saikhowa and Kaziranga.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;The natural flow pattern of a river is like its &amp;lsquo;heart beat&amp;rsquo; and alternate starving and flooding of these major rivers on a daily basis is a threat to the ecological and social security of the Brahmaputra floodplains. Comprehensive downstream impact assessment and public consent must be a mandatory part of the process which decides whether to grant or reject clearances to these dams.&lt;/font&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Neeraj Vagholikar is a Panos South Asia Media Fellow (2010-11) and a member of the environmental action group, Kalpavriksh&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/font&gt;
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The downstream impact of dams in the Brahmaputra river basin has been a major issue of concern in recent years in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh (AP), even as plans unfold to develop at least 135 large hydropower projects to produce...&#039;,
	&#039;disp&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;font &gt;The downstream impact of dams in the Brahmaputra river basin has been a major issue of concern in recent years in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh (AP), even as plans unfold to develop at least 135 large hydropower projects to produce approximately 57,000 MW of electricity in AP alone. The past three months have seen major developments on the issue. Both an Expert Committee of Academics and a House Committee of the Assam Legislative Assembly submitted reports in June and July 2010 respectively, raising serious questions on the viability of upstream mega dams, with the under construction 2000 MW Lower Subansiri project being particularly in focus.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;On August 12, the Rajya Sabha saw a lively discussion on the issue in response to a calling attention motion by MP from Assam, Birendra Prasad Baishya. On September 10, Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh held a public consultation on the issue in Guwahati as a follow-up to an August meeting with a delegation led by the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti, a major peasants&amp;rsquo; movement in Assam.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;Over the past few years, downstream impact concerns raised in the North-east include: loss of fisheries, changes in beel (wetland) ecology in the flood plains, impact on agriculture on the chapories (riverine islands and tracts), disruption of intricate socio-cultural linkages of indigenous communities with the river systems, increased flood vulnerability due to massive boulder extraction from river beds for dam construction and sudden water releases from reservoirs in the monsoons, dam safety and associated risks in this geologically fragile and seismically-active region.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;One of the key issues that has come up is the drastic daily variation in river flows, which will take place after these dams are commissioned, particularly in winter. For example, the average winter (lean season) flow in the Subansiri river in its natural state is about 400 cubic metres per second (cumecs). Both the ecology of the downstream areas and peoples&amp;rsquo; use of the riverine tracts in winter is adapted to this &amp;lsquo;lean&amp;rsquo; but relatively uniform flow of water through the day.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;After the commissioning of the 2,000 MW Lower Subansiri project, flows in the river in winter will fluctuate drastically on a daily basis from 6 cumecs for around 20 hours (when water is being stored behind the dam) to 2,560 cumecs for around 4 hours when the water is released for power generation at the time of peak power demand in the evening hours. Thus, the river will be starved for 20 hours and then flooded for 4 hours with flows fluctuating between 2 per cent and 600 per cent of normal flows on a daily basis.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;The flow during peak load water releases in the Subansiri river in winter will be equivalent to average monsoon flows and will cause a &amp;lsquo;winter flood&amp;rsquo;, drowning drier riverine tracts that are used by both people and wildlife on a daily basis in winter. The downstream livelihoods and activities likely to be impacted by this unnatural flow fluctuation in the Eastern Himalayan rivers include: fishing, flood-recession agriculture, river transportation and livestock rearing in grasslands for dairy-based livelihoods. But downstream communities are yet to be officially acknowledged as project-affected persons due to upstream dams.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;Flow fluctuations in rivers like Lohit, Dibang, Siang and Subansiri will severely impact breeding grounds of critically endangered grassland birds like the Bengal Florican, foraging areas of the endangered wild water buffalo, habitat of the endangered Ganges river dolphin and important national parks like Dibru-Saikhowa and Kaziranga.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;The natural flow pattern of a river is like its &amp;lsquo;heart beat&amp;rsquo; and alternate starving and flooding of these major rivers on a daily basis is a threat to the ecological and social security of the Brahmaputra floodplains. Comprehensive downstream impact assessment and public consent must be a mandatory part of the process which decides whether to grant or reject clearances to these dams.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;&lt;em&gt;Neeraj Vagholikar is a Panos South Asia Media Fellow (2010-11) and a member of the environmental action group, Kalpavriksh&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;font &gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&#039;,
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	&#039;title&#039; =&gt; &#039;A dam serious problem by Neeraj Vagholikar&#039;,
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;The downstream impact of dams in the Brahmaputra river basin has been a major issue of concern in recent years in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh (AP), even as plans unfold to develop at least 135 large hydropower projects to produce approximately 57,000 MW of electricity in AP alone. The past three months have seen major developments on the issue. Both an Expert Committee of Academics and a House Committee of the Assam Legislative Assembly submitted reports in June and July 2010 respectively, raising serious questions on the viability of upstream mega dams, with the under construction 2000 MW Lower Subansiri project being particularly in focus.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;On August 12, the Rajya Sabha saw a lively discussion on the issue in response to a calling attention motion by MP from Assam, Birendra Prasad Baishya. On September 10, Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh held a public consultation on the issue in Guwahati as a follow-up to an August meeting with a delegation led by the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti, a major peasants&amp;rsquo; movement in Assam.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;Over the past few years, downstream impact concerns raised in the North-east include: loss of fisheries, changes in beel (wetland) ecology in the flood plains, impact on agriculture on the chapories (riverine islands and tracts), disruption of intricate socio-cultural linkages of indigenous communities with the river systems, increased flood vulnerability due to massive boulder extraction from river beds for dam construction and sudden water releases from reservoirs in the monsoons, dam safety and associated risks in this geologically fragile and seismically-active region.&lt;/font&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;One of the key issues that has come up is the drastic daily variation in river flows, which will take place after these dams are commissioned, particularly in winter. For example, the average winter (lean season) flow in the Subansiri river in its natural state is about 400 cubic metres per second (cumecs). Both the ecology of the downstream areas and peoples&amp;rsquo; use of the riverine tracts in winter is adapted to this &amp;lsquo;lean&amp;rsquo; but relatively uniform flow of water through the day.&lt;/font&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;After the commissioning of the 2,000 MW Lower Subansiri project, flows in the river in winter will fluctuate drastically on a daily basis from 6 cumecs for around 20 hours (when water is being stored behind the dam) to 2,560 cumecs for around 4 hours when the water is released for power generation at the time of peak power demand in the evening hours. Thus, the river will be starved for 20 hours and then flooded for 4 hours with flows fluctuating between 2 per cent and 600 per cent of normal flows on a daily basis.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;The flow during peak load water releases in the Subansiri river in winter will be equivalent to average monsoon flows and will cause a &amp;lsquo;winter flood&amp;rsquo;, drowning drier riverine tracts that are used by both people and wildlife on a daily basis in winter. The downstream livelihoods and activities likely to be impacted by this unnatural flow fluctuation in the Eastern Himalayan rivers include: fishing, flood-recession agriculture, river transportation and livestock rearing in grasslands for dairy-based livelihoods. But downstream communities are yet to be officially acknowledged as project-affected persons due to upstream dams.&lt;/font&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;Flow fluctuations in rivers like Lohit, Dibang, Siang and Subansiri will severely impact breeding grounds of critically endangered grassland birds like the Bengal Florican, foraging areas of the endangered wild water buffalo, habitat of the endangered Ganges river dolphin and important national parks like Dibru-Saikhowa and Kaziranga.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;The natural flow pattern of a river is like its &amp;lsquo;heart beat&amp;rsquo; and alternate starving and flooding of these major rivers on a daily basis is a threat to the ecological and social security of the Brahmaputra floodplains. Comprehensive downstream impact assessment and public consent must be a mandatory part of the process which decides whether to grant or reject clearances to these dams.&lt;/font&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Neeraj Vagholikar is a Panos South Asia Media Fellow (2010-11) and a member of the environmental action group, Kalpavriksh&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/font&gt;
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The downstream impact of dams in the Brahmaputra river basin has been a major issue of concern in recent years in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh (AP), even as plans unfold to develop at least 135 large hydropower projects to produce...&#039;
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Both an Expert Committee of Academics and a House Committee of the Assam Legislative Assembly submitted reports in June and July 2010 respectively, raising serious questions on the viability of upstream mega dams, with the under construction 2000 MW Lower Subansiri project being particularly in focus.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;On August 12, the Rajya Sabha saw a lively discussion on the issue in response to a calling attention motion by MP from Assam, Birendra Prasad Baishya. On September 10, Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh held a public consultation on the issue in Guwahati as a follow-up to an August meeting with a delegation led by the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti, a major peasants&amp;rsquo; movement in Assam.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;Over the past few years, downstream impact concerns raised in the North-east include: loss of fisheries, changes in beel (wetland) ecology in the flood plains, impact on agriculture on the chapories (riverine islands and tracts), disruption of intricate socio-cultural linkages of indigenous communities with the river systems, increased flood vulnerability due to massive boulder extraction from river beds for dam construction and sudden water releases from reservoirs in the monsoons, dam safety and associated risks in this geologically fragile and seismically-active region.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;One of the key issues that has come up is the drastic daily variation in river flows, which will take place after these dams are commissioned, particularly in winter. For example, the average winter (lean season) flow in the Subansiri river in its natural state is about 400 cubic metres per second (cumecs). Both the ecology of the downstream areas and peoples&amp;rsquo; use of the riverine tracts in winter is adapted to this &amp;lsquo;lean&amp;rsquo; but relatively uniform flow of water through the day.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;After the commissioning of the 2,000 MW Lower Subansiri project, flows in the river in winter will fluctuate drastically on a daily basis from 6 cumecs for around 20 hours (when water is being stored behind the dam) to 2,560 cumecs for around 4 hours when the water is released for power generation at the time of peak power demand in the evening hours. Thus, the river will be starved for 20 hours and then flooded for 4 hours with flows fluctuating between 2 per cent and 600 per cent of normal flows on a daily basis.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;The flow during peak load water releases in the Subansiri river in winter will be equivalent to average monsoon flows and will cause a &amp;lsquo;winter flood&amp;rsquo;, drowning drier riverine tracts that are used by both people and wildlife on a daily basis in winter. The downstream livelihoods and activities likely to be impacted by this unnatural flow fluctuation in the Eastern Himalayan rivers include: fishing, flood-recession agriculture, river transportation and livestock rearing in grasslands for dairy-based livelihoods. But downstream communities are yet to be officially acknowledged as project-affected persons due to upstream dams.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;Flow fluctuations in rivers like Lohit, Dibang, Siang and Subansiri will severely impact breeding grounds of critically endangered grassland birds like the Bengal Florican, foraging areas of the endangered wild water buffalo, habitat of the endangered Ganges river dolphin and important national parks like Dibru-Saikhowa and Kaziranga.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;The natural flow pattern of a river is like its &amp;lsquo;heart beat&amp;rsquo; and alternate starving and flooding of these major rivers on a daily basis is a threat to the ecological and social security of the Brahmaputra floodplains. 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                <strong>A dam serious problem by Neeraj Vagholikar</strong></h1>
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                <p align="justify"><font ></font></p><p align="justify"><br /><font >The downstream impact of dams in the Brahmaputra river basin has been a major issue of concern in recent years in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh (AP), even as plans unfold to develop at least 135 large hydropower projects to produce approximately 57,000 MW of electricity in AP alone. The past three months have seen major developments on the issue. Both an Expert Committee of Academics and a House Committee of the Assam Legislative Assembly submitted reports in June and July 2010 respectively, raising serious questions on the viability of upstream mega dams, with the under construction 2000 MW Lower Subansiri project being particularly in focus.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >On August 12, the Rajya Sabha saw a lively discussion on the issue in response to a calling attention motion by MP from Assam, Birendra Prasad Baishya. On September 10, Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh held a public consultation on the issue in Guwahati as a follow-up to an August meeting with a delegation led by the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti, a major peasants&rsquo; movement in Assam.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >Over the past few years, downstream impact concerns raised in the North-east include: loss of fisheries, changes in beel (wetland) ecology in the flood plains, impact on agriculture on the chapories (riverine islands and tracts), disruption of intricate socio-cultural linkages of indigenous communities with the river systems, increased flood vulnerability due to massive boulder extraction from river beds for dam construction and sudden water releases from reservoirs in the monsoons, dam safety and associated risks in this geologically fragile and seismically-active region.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >One of the key issues that has come up is the drastic daily variation in river flows, which will take place after these dams are commissioned, particularly in winter. For example, the average winter (lean season) flow in the Subansiri river in its natural state is about 400 cubic metres per second (cumecs). Both the ecology of the downstream areas and peoples&rsquo; use of the riverine tracts in winter is adapted to this &lsquo;lean&rsquo; but relatively uniform flow of water through the day.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >After the commissioning of the 2,000 MW Lower Subansiri project, flows in the river in winter will fluctuate drastically on a daily basis from 6 cumecs for around 20 hours (when water is being stored behind the dam) to 2,560 cumecs for around 4 hours when the water is released for power generation at the time of peak power demand in the evening hours. Thus, the river will be starved for 20 hours and then flooded for 4 hours with flows fluctuating between 2 per cent and 600 per cent of normal flows on a daily basis.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >The flow during peak load water releases in the Subansiri river in winter will be equivalent to average monsoon flows and will cause a &lsquo;winter flood&rsquo;, drowning drier riverine tracts that are used by both people and wildlife on a daily basis in winter. The downstream livelihoods and activities likely to be impacted by this unnatural flow fluctuation in the Eastern Himalayan rivers include: fishing, flood-recession agriculture, river transportation and livestock rearing in grasslands for dairy-based livelihoods. But downstream communities are yet to be officially acknowledged as project-affected persons due to upstream dams.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >Flow fluctuations in rivers like Lohit, Dibang, Siang and Subansiri will severely impact breeding grounds of critically endangered grassland birds like the Bengal Florican, foraging areas of the endangered wild water buffalo, habitat of the endangered Ganges river dolphin and important national parks like Dibru-Saikhowa and Kaziranga.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >The natural flow pattern of a river is like its &lsquo;heart beat&rsquo; and alternate starving and flooding of these major rivers on a daily basis is a threat to the ecological and social security of the Brahmaputra floodplains. Comprehensive downstream impact assessment and public consent must be a mandatory part of the process which decides whether to grant or reject clearances to these dams.</font></p><p align="justify"><font ><em>Neeraj Vagholikar is a Panos South Asia Media Fellow (2010-11) and a member of the environmental action group, Kalpavriksh</em></font></p><font ><p align="justify">&nbsp;</p><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif"></font></font>               </font>
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;The downstream impact of dams in the Brahmaputra river basin has been a major issue of concern in recent years in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh (AP), even as plans unfold to develop at least 135 large hydropower projects to produce approximately 57,000 MW of electricity in AP alone. The past three months have seen major developments on the issue. Both an Expert Committee of Academics and a House Committee of the Assam Legislative Assembly submitted reports in June and July 2010 respectively, raising serious questions on the viability of upstream mega dams, with the under construction 2000 MW Lower Subansiri project being particularly in focus.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;On August 12, the Rajya Sabha saw a lively discussion on the issue in response to a calling attention motion by MP from Assam, Birendra Prasad Baishya. On September 10, Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh held a public consultation on the issue in Guwahati as a follow-up to an August meeting with a delegation led by the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti, a major peasants&amp;rsquo; movement in Assam.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;Over the past few years, downstream impact concerns raised in the North-east include: loss of fisheries, changes in beel (wetland) ecology in the flood plains, impact on agriculture on the chapories (riverine islands and tracts), disruption of intricate socio-cultural linkages of indigenous communities with the river systems, increased flood vulnerability due to massive boulder extraction from river beds for dam construction and sudden water releases from reservoirs in the monsoons, dam safety and associated risks in this geologically fragile and seismically-active region.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;One of the key issues that has come up is the drastic daily variation in river flows, which will take place after these dams are commissioned, particularly in winter. For example, the average winter (lean season) flow in the Subansiri river in its natural state is about 400 cubic metres per second (cumecs). Both the ecology of the downstream areas and peoples&amp;rsquo; use of the riverine tracts in winter is adapted to this &amp;lsquo;lean&amp;rsquo; but relatively uniform flow of water through the day.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;After the commissioning of the 2,000 MW Lower Subansiri project, flows in the river in winter will fluctuate drastically on a daily basis from 6 cumecs for around 20 hours (when water is being stored behind the dam) to 2,560 cumecs for around 4 hours when the water is released for power generation at the time of peak power demand in the evening hours. Thus, the river will be starved for 20 hours and then flooded for 4 hours with flows fluctuating between 2 per cent and 600 per cent of normal flows on a daily basis.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;The flow during peak load water releases in the Subansiri river in winter will be equivalent to average monsoon flows and will cause a &amp;lsquo;winter flood&amp;rsquo;, drowning drier riverine tracts that are used by both people and wildlife on a daily basis in winter. The downstream livelihoods and activities likely to be impacted by this unnatural flow fluctuation in the Eastern Himalayan rivers include: fishing, flood-recession agriculture, river transportation and livestock rearing in grasslands for dairy-based livelihoods. But downstream communities are yet to be officially acknowledged as project-affected persons due to upstream dams.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;Flow fluctuations in rivers like Lohit, Dibang, Siang and Subansiri will severely impact breeding grounds of critically endangered grassland birds like the Bengal Florican, foraging areas of the endangered wild water buffalo, habitat of the endangered Ganges river dolphin and important national parks like Dibru-Saikhowa and Kaziranga.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;The natural flow pattern of a river is like its &amp;lsquo;heart beat&amp;rsquo; and alternate starving and flooding of these major rivers on a daily basis is a threat to the ecological and social security of the Brahmaputra floodplains. Comprehensive downstream impact assessment and public consent must be a mandatory part of the process which decides whether to grant or reject clearances to these dams.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Neeraj Vagholikar is a Panos South Asia Media Fellow (2010-11) and a member of the environmental action group, Kalpavriksh&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/font&gt;
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The downstream impact of dams in the Brahmaputra river basin has been a major issue of concern in recent years in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh (AP), even as plans unfold to develop at least 135 large hydropower projects to produce...&#039;,
	&#039;disp&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;font &gt;The downstream impact of dams in the Brahmaputra river basin has been a major issue of concern in recent years in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh (AP), even as plans unfold to develop at least 135 large hydropower projects to produce approximately 57,000 MW of electricity in AP alone. The past three months have seen major developments on the issue. Both an Expert Committee of Academics and a House Committee of the Assam Legislative Assembly submitted reports in June and July 2010 respectively, raising serious questions on the viability of upstream mega dams, with the under construction 2000 MW Lower Subansiri project being particularly in focus.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;On August 12, the Rajya Sabha saw a lively discussion on the issue in response to a calling attention motion by MP from Assam, Birendra Prasad Baishya. On September 10, Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh held a public consultation on the issue in Guwahati as a follow-up to an August meeting with a delegation led by the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti, a major peasants&amp;rsquo; movement in Assam.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;Over the past few years, downstream impact concerns raised in the North-east include: loss of fisheries, changes in beel (wetland) ecology in the flood plains, impact on agriculture on the chapories (riverine islands and tracts), disruption of intricate socio-cultural linkages of indigenous communities with the river systems, increased flood vulnerability due to massive boulder extraction from river beds for dam construction and sudden water releases from reservoirs in the monsoons, dam safety and associated risks in this geologically fragile and seismically-active region.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;One of the key issues that has come up is the drastic daily variation in river flows, which will take place after these dams are commissioned, particularly in winter. For example, the average winter (lean season) flow in the Subansiri river in its natural state is about 400 cubic metres per second (cumecs). Both the ecology of the downstream areas and peoples&amp;rsquo; use of the riverine tracts in winter is adapted to this &amp;lsquo;lean&amp;rsquo; but relatively uniform flow of water through the day.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;After the commissioning of the 2,000 MW Lower Subansiri project, flows in the river in winter will fluctuate drastically on a daily basis from 6 cumecs for around 20 hours (when water is being stored behind the dam) to 2,560 cumecs for around 4 hours when the water is released for power generation at the time of peak power demand in the evening hours. Thus, the river will be starved for 20 hours and then flooded for 4 hours with flows fluctuating between 2 per cent and 600 per cent of normal flows on a daily basis.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;The flow during peak load water releases in the Subansiri river in winter will be equivalent to average monsoon flows and will cause a &amp;lsquo;winter flood&amp;rsquo;, drowning drier riverine tracts that are used by both people and wildlife on a daily basis in winter. The downstream livelihoods and activities likely to be impacted by this unnatural flow fluctuation in the Eastern Himalayan rivers include: fishing, flood-recession agriculture, river transportation and livestock rearing in grasslands for dairy-based livelihoods. But downstream communities are yet to be officially acknowledged as project-affected persons due to upstream dams.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;Flow fluctuations in rivers like Lohit, Dibang, Siang and Subansiri will severely impact breeding grounds of critically endangered grassland birds like the Bengal Florican, foraging areas of the endangered wild water buffalo, habitat of the endangered Ganges river dolphin and important national parks like Dibru-Saikhowa and Kaziranga.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;The natural flow pattern of a river is like its &amp;lsquo;heart beat&amp;rsquo; and alternate starving and flooding of these major rivers on a daily basis is a threat to the ecological and social security of the Brahmaputra floodplains. 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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;The downstream impact of dams in the Brahmaputra river basin has been a major issue of concern in recent years in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh (AP), even as plans unfold to develop at least 135 large hydropower projects to produce approximately 57,000 MW of electricity in AP alone. The past three months have seen major developments on the issue. Both an Expert Committee of Academics and a House Committee of the Assam Legislative Assembly submitted reports in June and July 2010 respectively, raising serious questions on the viability of upstream mega dams, with the under construction 2000 MW Lower Subansiri project being particularly in focus.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;On August 12, the Rajya Sabha saw a lively discussion on the issue in response to a calling attention motion by MP from Assam, Birendra Prasad Baishya. On September 10, Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh held a public consultation on the issue in Guwahati as a follow-up to an August meeting with a delegation led by the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti, a major peasants&amp;rsquo; movement in Assam.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;Over the past few years, downstream impact concerns raised in the North-east include: loss of fisheries, changes in beel (wetland) ecology in the flood plains, impact on agriculture on the chapories (riverine islands and tracts), disruption of intricate socio-cultural linkages of indigenous communities with the river systems, increased flood vulnerability due to massive boulder extraction from river beds for dam construction and sudden water releases from reservoirs in the monsoons, dam safety and associated risks in this geologically fragile and seismically-active region.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;One of the key issues that has come up is the drastic daily variation in river flows, which will take place after these dams are commissioned, particularly in winter. For example, the average winter (lean season) flow in the Subansiri river in its natural state is about 400 cubic metres per second (cumecs). Both the ecology of the downstream areas and peoples&amp;rsquo; use of the riverine tracts in winter is adapted to this &amp;lsquo;lean&amp;rsquo; but relatively uniform flow of water through the day.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;After the commissioning of the 2,000 MW Lower Subansiri project, flows in the river in winter will fluctuate drastically on a daily basis from 6 cumecs for around 20 hours (when water is being stored behind the dam) to 2,560 cumecs for around 4 hours when the water is released for power generation at the time of peak power demand in the evening hours. Thus, the river will be starved for 20 hours and then flooded for 4 hours with flows fluctuating between 2 per cent and 600 per cent of normal flows on a daily basis.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;The flow during peak load water releases in the Subansiri river in winter will be equivalent to average monsoon flows and will cause a &amp;lsquo;winter flood&amp;rsquo;, drowning drier riverine tracts that are used by both people and wildlife on a daily basis in winter. The downstream livelihoods and activities likely to be impacted by this unnatural flow fluctuation in the Eastern Himalayan rivers include: fishing, flood-recession agriculture, river transportation and livestock rearing in grasslands for dairy-based livelihoods. But downstream communities are yet to be officially acknowledged as project-affected persons due to upstream dams.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;Flow fluctuations in rivers like Lohit, Dibang, Siang and Subansiri will severely impact breeding grounds of critically endangered grassland birds like the Bengal Florican, foraging areas of the endangered wild water buffalo, habitat of the endangered Ganges river dolphin and important national parks like Dibru-Saikhowa and Kaziranga.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;The natural flow pattern of a river is like its &amp;lsquo;heart beat&amp;rsquo; and alternate starving and flooding of these major rivers on a daily basis is a threat to the ecological and social security of the Brahmaputra floodplains. Comprehensive downstream impact assessment and public consent must be a mandatory part of the process which decides whether to grant or reject clearances to these dams.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Neeraj Vagholikar is a Panos South Asia Media Fellow (2010-11) and a member of the environmental action group, Kalpavriksh&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/font&gt;
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The downstream impact of dams in the Brahmaputra river basin has been a major issue of concern in recent years in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh (AP), even as plans unfold to develop at least 135 large hydropower projects to produce..."/>
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                <strong>A dam serious problem by Neeraj Vagholikar</strong></h1>
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                <p align="justify"><font ></font></p><p align="justify"><br /><font >The downstream impact of dams in the Brahmaputra river basin has been a major issue of concern in recent years in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh (AP), even as plans unfold to develop at least 135 large hydropower projects to produce approximately 57,000 MW of electricity in AP alone. The past three months have seen major developments on the issue. Both an Expert Committee of Academics and a House Committee of the Assam Legislative Assembly submitted reports in June and July 2010 respectively, raising serious questions on the viability of upstream mega dams, with the under construction 2000 MW Lower Subansiri project being particularly in focus.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >On August 12, the Rajya Sabha saw a lively discussion on the issue in response to a calling attention motion by MP from Assam, Birendra Prasad Baishya. On September 10, Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh held a public consultation on the issue in Guwahati as a follow-up to an August meeting with a delegation led by the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti, a major peasants&rsquo; movement in Assam.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >Over the past few years, downstream impact concerns raised in the North-east include: loss of fisheries, changes in beel (wetland) ecology in the flood plains, impact on agriculture on the chapories (riverine islands and tracts), disruption of intricate socio-cultural linkages of indigenous communities with the river systems, increased flood vulnerability due to massive boulder extraction from river beds for dam construction and sudden water releases from reservoirs in the monsoons, dam safety and associated risks in this geologically fragile and seismically-active region.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >One of the key issues that has come up is the drastic daily variation in river flows, which will take place after these dams are commissioned, particularly in winter. For example, the average winter (lean season) flow in the Subansiri river in its natural state is about 400 cubic metres per second (cumecs). Both the ecology of the downstream areas and peoples&rsquo; use of the riverine tracts in winter is adapted to this &lsquo;lean&rsquo; but relatively uniform flow of water through the day.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >After the commissioning of the 2,000 MW Lower Subansiri project, flows in the river in winter will fluctuate drastically on a daily basis from 6 cumecs for around 20 hours (when water is being stored behind the dam) to 2,560 cumecs for around 4 hours when the water is released for power generation at the time of peak power demand in the evening hours. Thus, the river will be starved for 20 hours and then flooded for 4 hours with flows fluctuating between 2 per cent and 600 per cent of normal flows on a daily basis.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >The flow during peak load water releases in the Subansiri river in winter will be equivalent to average monsoon flows and will cause a &lsquo;winter flood&rsquo;, drowning drier riverine tracts that are used by both people and wildlife on a daily basis in winter. The downstream livelihoods and activities likely to be impacted by this unnatural flow fluctuation in the Eastern Himalayan rivers include: fishing, flood-recession agriculture, river transportation and livestock rearing in grasslands for dairy-based livelihoods. But downstream communities are yet to be officially acknowledged as project-affected persons due to upstream dams.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >Flow fluctuations in rivers like Lohit, Dibang, Siang and Subansiri will severely impact breeding grounds of critically endangered grassland birds like the Bengal Florican, foraging areas of the endangered wild water buffalo, habitat of the endangered Ganges river dolphin and important national parks like Dibru-Saikhowa and Kaziranga.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >The natural flow pattern of a river is like its &lsquo;heart beat&rsquo; and alternate starving and flooding of these major rivers on a daily basis is a threat to the ecological and social security of the Brahmaputra floodplains. Comprehensive downstream impact assessment and public consent must be a mandatory part of the process which decides whether to grant or reject clearances to these dams.</font></p><p align="justify"><font ><em>Neeraj Vagholikar is a Panos South Asia Media Fellow (2010-11) and a member of the environmental action group, Kalpavriksh</em></font></p><font ><p align="justify">&nbsp;</p><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif"></font></font>               </font>
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<font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3">The downstream impact of dams in the Brahmaputra river basin has been a major issue of concern in recent years in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh (AP), even as plans unfold to develop at least 135 large hydropower projects to produce approximately 57,000 MW of electricity in AP alone. The past three months have seen major developments on the issue. Both an Expert Committee of Academics and a House Committee of the Assam Legislative Assembly submitted reports in June and July 2010 respectively, raising serious questions on the viability of upstream mega dams, with the under construction 2000 MW Lower Subansiri project being particularly in focus.</font>
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<font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3">On August 12, the Rajya Sabha saw a lively discussion on the issue in response to a calling attention motion by MP from Assam, Birendra Prasad Baishya. On September 10, Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh held a public consultation on the issue in Guwahati as a follow-up to an August meeting with a delegation led by the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti, a major peasants&rsquo; movement in Assam.</font>
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<font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3">Over the past few years, downstream impact concerns raised in the North-east include: loss of fisheries, changes in beel (wetland) ecology in the flood plains, impact on agriculture on the chapories (riverine islands and tracts), disruption of intricate socio-cultural linkages of indigenous communities with the river systems, increased flood vulnerability due to massive boulder extraction from river beds for dam construction and sudden water releases from reservoirs in the monsoons, dam safety and associated risks in this geologically fragile and seismically-active region.</font>
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<font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3">One of the key issues that has come up is the drastic daily variation in river flows, which will take place after these dams are commissioned, particularly in winter. For example, the average winter (lean season) flow in the Subansiri river in its natural state is about 400 cubic metres per second (cumecs). Both the ecology of the downstream areas and peoples&rsquo; use of the riverine tracts in winter is adapted to this &lsquo;lean&rsquo; but relatively uniform flow of water through the day.</font>
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<font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3">After the commissioning of the 2,000 MW Lower Subansiri project, flows in the river in winter will fluctuate drastically on a daily basis from 6 cumecs for around 20 hours (when water is being stored behind the dam) to 2,560 cumecs for around 4 hours when the water is released for power generation at the time of peak power demand in the evening hours. Thus, the river will be starved for 20 hours and then flooded for 4 hours with flows fluctuating between 2 per cent and 600 per cent of normal flows on a daily basis.</font>
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<font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3">The flow during peak load water releases in the Subansiri river in winter will be equivalent to average monsoon flows and will cause a &lsquo;winter flood&rsquo;, drowning drier riverine tracts that are used by both people and wildlife on a daily basis in winter. The downstream livelihoods and activities likely to be impacted by this unnatural flow fluctuation in the Eastern Himalayan rivers include: fishing, flood-recession agriculture, river transportation and livestock rearing in grasslands for dairy-based livelihoods. But downstream communities are yet to be officially acknowledged as project-affected persons due to upstream dams.</font>
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<font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3">Flow fluctuations in rivers like Lohit, Dibang, Siang and Subansiri will severely impact breeding grounds of critically endangered grassland birds like the Bengal Florican, foraging areas of the endangered wild water buffalo, habitat of the endangered Ganges river dolphin and important national parks like Dibru-Saikhowa and Kaziranga.</font>
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<font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3">The natural flow pattern of a river is like its &lsquo;heart beat&rsquo; and alternate starving and flooding of these major rivers on a daily basis is a threat to the ecological and social security of the Brahmaputra floodplains. Comprehensive downstream impact assessment and public consent must be a mandatory part of the process which decides whether to grant or reject clearances to these dams.</font>
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<font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3"><em>Neeraj Vagholikar is a Panos South Asia Media Fellow (2010-11) and a member of the environmental action group, Kalpavriksh</em></font>
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<font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3">The downstream impact of dams in the Brahmaputra river basin has been a major issue of concern in recent years in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh (AP), even as plans unfold to develop at least 135 large hydropower projects to produce approximately 57,000 MW of electricity in AP alone. The past three months have seen major developments on the issue. Both an Expert Committee of Academics and a House Committee of the Assam Legislative Assembly submitted reports in June and July 2010 respectively, raising serious questions on the viability of upstream mega dams, with the under construction 2000 MW Lower Subansiri project being particularly in focus.</font>
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<font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3">Over the past few years, downstream impact concerns raised in the North-east include: loss of fisheries, changes in beel (wetland) ecology in the flood plains, impact on agriculture on the chapories (riverine islands and tracts), disruption of intricate socio-cultural linkages of indigenous communities with the river systems, increased flood vulnerability due to massive boulder extraction from river beds for dam construction and sudden water releases from reservoirs in the monsoons, dam safety and associated risks in this geologically fragile and seismically-active region.</font>
</p>
<p align="justify">
<font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3">One of the key issues that has come up is the drastic daily variation in river flows, which will take place after these dams are commissioned, particularly in winter. For example, the average winter (lean season) flow in the Subansiri river in its natural state is about 400 cubic metres per second (cumecs). Both the ecology of the downstream areas and peoples&rsquo; use of the riverine tracts in winter is adapted to this &lsquo;lean&rsquo; but relatively uniform flow of water through the day.</font>
</p>
<p align="justify">
<font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3">After the commissioning of the 2,000 MW Lower Subansiri project, flows in the river in winter will fluctuate drastically on a daily basis from 6 cumecs for around 20 hours (when water is being stored behind the dam) to 2,560 cumecs for around 4 hours when the water is released for power generation at the time of peak power demand in the evening hours. Thus, the river will be starved for 20 hours and then flooded for 4 hours with flows fluctuating between 2 per cent and 600 per cent of normal flows on a daily basis.</font>
</p>
<p align="justify">
<font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3">The flow during peak load water releases in the Subansiri river in winter will be equivalent to average monsoon flows and will cause a &lsquo;winter flood&rsquo;, drowning drier riverine tracts that are used by both people and wildlife on a daily basis in winter. The downstream livelihoods and activities likely to be impacted by this unnatural flow fluctuation in the Eastern Himalayan rivers include: fishing, flood-recession agriculture, river transportation and livestock rearing in grasslands for dairy-based livelihoods. But downstream communities are yet to be officially acknowledged as project-affected persons due to upstream dams.</font>
</p>
<p align="justify">
<font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3">Flow fluctuations in rivers like Lohit, Dibang, Siang and Subansiri will severely impact breeding grounds of critically endangered grassland birds like the Bengal Florican, foraging areas of the endangered wild water buffalo, habitat of the endangered Ganges river dolphin and important national parks like Dibru-Saikhowa and Kaziranga.</font>
</p>
<p align="justify">
<font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3">The natural flow pattern of a river is like its &lsquo;heart beat&rsquo; and alternate starving and flooding of these major rivers on a daily basis is a threat to the ecological and social security of the Brahmaputra floodplains. Comprehensive downstream impact assessment and public consent must be a mandatory part of the process which decides whether to grant or reject clearances to these dams.</font>
</p>
<p align="justify">
<font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3"><em>Neeraj Vagholikar is a Panos South Asia Media Fellow (2010-11) and a member of the environmental action group, Kalpavriksh</em></font>
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&nbsp;
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The downstream impact of dams in the Brahmaputra river basin has been a major issue of concern in recent years in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh (AP), even as plans unfold to develop at least 135 large hydropower projects to produce...'
$disp = '<p align="justify"><font ></font></p><p align="justify"><br /><font >The downstream impact of dams in the Brahmaputra river basin has been a major issue of concern in recent years in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh (AP), even as plans unfold to develop at least 135 large hydropower projects to produce approximately 57,000 MW of electricity in AP alone. The past three months have seen major developments on the issue. Both an Expert Committee of Academics and a House Committee of the Assam Legislative Assembly submitted reports in June and July 2010 respectively, raising serious questions on the viability of upstream mega dams, with the under construction 2000 MW Lower Subansiri project being particularly in focus.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >On August 12, the Rajya Sabha saw a lively discussion on the issue in response to a calling attention motion by MP from Assam, Birendra Prasad Baishya. On September 10, Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh held a public consultation on the issue in Guwahati as a follow-up to an August meeting with a delegation led by the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti, a major peasants&rsquo; movement in Assam.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >Over the past few years, downstream impact concerns raised in the North-east include: loss of fisheries, changes in beel (wetland) ecology in the flood plains, impact on agriculture on the chapories (riverine islands and tracts), disruption of intricate socio-cultural linkages of indigenous communities with the river systems, increased flood vulnerability due to massive boulder extraction from river beds for dam construction and sudden water releases from reservoirs in the monsoons, dam safety and associated risks in this geologically fragile and seismically-active region.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >One of the key issues that has come up is the drastic daily variation in river flows, which will take place after these dams are commissioned, particularly in winter. For example, the average winter (lean season) flow in the Subansiri river in its natural state is about 400 cubic metres per second (cumecs). Both the ecology of the downstream areas and peoples&rsquo; use of the riverine tracts in winter is adapted to this &lsquo;lean&rsquo; but relatively uniform flow of water through the day.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >After the commissioning of the 2,000 MW Lower Subansiri project, flows in the river in winter will fluctuate drastically on a daily basis from 6 cumecs for around 20 hours (when water is being stored behind the dam) to 2,560 cumecs for around 4 hours when the water is released for power generation at the time of peak power demand in the evening hours. Thus, the river will be starved for 20 hours and then flooded for 4 hours with flows fluctuating between 2 per cent and 600 per cent of normal flows on a daily basis.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >The flow during peak load water releases in the Subansiri river in winter will be equivalent to average monsoon flows and will cause a &lsquo;winter flood&rsquo;, drowning drier riverine tracts that are used by both people and wildlife on a daily basis in winter. The downstream livelihoods and activities likely to be impacted by this unnatural flow fluctuation in the Eastern Himalayan rivers include: fishing, flood-recession agriculture, river transportation and livestock rearing in grasslands for dairy-based livelihoods. But downstream communities are yet to be officially acknowledged as project-affected persons due to upstream dams.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >Flow fluctuations in rivers like Lohit, Dibang, Siang and Subansiri will severely impact breeding grounds of critically endangered grassland birds like the Bengal Florican, foraging areas of the endangered wild water buffalo, habitat of the endangered Ganges river dolphin and important national parks like Dibru-Saikhowa and Kaziranga.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >The natural flow pattern of a river is like its &lsquo;heart beat&rsquo; and alternate starving and flooding of these major rivers on a daily basis is a threat to the ecological and social security of the Brahmaputra floodplains. Comprehensive downstream impact assessment and public consent must be a mandatory part of the process which decides whether to grant or reject clearances to these dams.</font></p><p align="justify"><font ><em>Neeraj Vagholikar is a Panos South Asia Media Fellow (2010-11) and a member of the environmental action group, Kalpavriksh</em></font></p><font ><p align="justify">&nbsp;</p><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif"></font></font>'
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A dam serious problem by Neeraj Vagholikar

The downstream impact of dams in the Brahmaputra river basin has been a major issue of concern in recent years in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh (AP), even as plans unfold to develop at least 135 large hydropower projects to produce approximately 57,000 MW of electricity in AP alone. The past three months have seen major developments on the issue. Both an Expert Committee of Academics and a House Committee of the Assam Legislative Assembly submitted reports in June and July 2010 respectively, raising serious questions on the viability of upstream mega dams, with the under construction 2000 MW Lower Subansiri project being particularly in focus. On August 12, the Rajya Sabha saw a lively discussion on the issue in response to a calling attention motion by MP from Assam, Birendra Prasad Baishya. On September 10, Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh held a public consultation on the issue in Guwahati as a follow-up to an August meeting with a delegation led by the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti, a major peasants’ movement in Assam. Over the past few years, downstream impact concerns raised in the North-east include: loss of fisheries, changes in beel (wetland) ecology in the flood plains, impact on agriculture on the chapories (riverine islands and tracts), disruption of intricate socio-cultural linkages of indigenous communities with the river systems, increased flood vulnerability due to massive boulder extraction from river beds for dam construction and sudden water releases from reservoirs in the monsoons, dam safety and associated risks in this geologically fragile and seismically-active region. One of the key issues that has come up is the drastic daily variation in river flows, which will take place after these dams are commissioned, particularly in winter. For example, the average winter (lean season) flow in the Subansiri river in its natural state is about 400 cubic metres per second (cumecs). Both the ecology of the downstream areas and peoples’ use of the riverine tracts in winter is adapted to this ‘lean’ but relatively uniform flow of water through the day. After the commissioning of the 2,000 MW Lower Subansiri project, flows in the river in winter will fluctuate drastically on a daily basis from 6 cumecs for around 20 hours (when water is being stored behind the dam) to 2,560 cumecs for around 4 hours when the water is released for power generation at the time of peak power demand in the evening hours. Thus, the river will be starved for 20 hours and then flooded for 4 hours with flows fluctuating between 2 per cent and 600 per cent of normal flows on a daily basis. The flow during peak load water releases in the Subansiri river in winter will be equivalent to average monsoon flows and will cause a ‘winter flood’, drowning drier riverine tracts that are used by both people and wildlife on a daily basis in winter. The downstream livelihoods and activities likely to be impacted by this unnatural flow fluctuation in the Eastern Himalayan rivers include: fishing, flood-recession agriculture, river transportation and livestock rearing in grasslands for dairy-based livelihoods. But downstream communities are yet to be officially acknowledged as project-affected persons due to upstream dams. Flow fluctuations in rivers like Lohit, Dibang, Siang and Subansiri will severely impact breeding grounds of critically endangered grassland birds like the Bengal Florican, foraging areas of the endangered wild water buffalo, habitat of the endangered Ganges river dolphin and important national parks like Dibru-Saikhowa and Kaziranga. The natural flow pattern of a river is like its ‘heart beat’ and alternate starving and flooding of these major rivers on a daily basis is a threat to the ecological and social security of the Brahmaputra floodplains. Comprehensive downstream impact assessment and public consent must be a mandatory part of the process which decides whether to grant or reject clearances to these dams. Neeraj Vagholikar is a Panos South Asia Media Fellow (2010-11) and a member of the environmental action group, Kalpavriksh