-The Times of India SHIMLA: Muck generated by hundreds of hydro power projects in Himachal Pradesh is being dumped along river beds, which has disturbed the natural course of major rivers in the state. With large scale construction of houses and hotels along the banks of major rivers, especially Satluj, Beas and Parbati, even a slight change in the course of these rivers could wreak havoc, like in Uttarakhand, where the...

-The Business Standard According to Uttarakhand govt, there are over 3,000 people missing in the natural calamity Members of Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Monday, slammed the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), as a "mere spectator" during a natural or man-made calamity in the country. The members raised doubts on NDMA's functioning and asked why it was unable to give specific recommendations to state governments. PAC members, who have started considering the...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Lessons have not been learnt from past disasters, it seems. Delhi Metro, which ferries over two million passengers a day, is on a high-risk earthquake and flood zone and may lead to a huge loss of life in case of a disaster, says a recently released UN report on disaster risk reduction. The Global Assessment Report (GAR), released by the United Nations office on disaster risk...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: A United Nations (UN) report has warned India that it is at greater risk by opting for public private partnership (PPP) mode of investment for raising its public infrastructure where the government has less control over its executing private partners and the latter has little interest in long term safety of the projects. A UN study, the Global Assessment Report (GAR) on disaster risk reduction, released...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The devastation in the Garhwal Himalayas was pretty much on predicted lines and man-made. An environmental assessment of the Bhagirathi and Alaknanda rivers three years ago by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) had warned of severe hazards both for natural ecology and stabilization of hill slopes along the riverbed, erosion of which has resulted in hundreds of casualties in the flash floods. The report --...