-India.Mongabay.com * Earlier this year, the Supreme Court of India ordered the demolition of a hotel structure built in 2006 under the garb of a bus stand and parking lot in Dharamshala. The High Court of Shimla has, more than once, asked the state to act against violations. * Dharamshala has witnessed rapid growth which has often spread into the forests. The state action, however, has been targeted towards small encroachments. The...
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Three workers at Central Vista contract Covid-19. Many complain of cramped living space, late wages -Vijayta Lalwani
-Scroll.in The government has barred access to the site but Scroll.in was able to visit and speak to the workers. It was the last week of April, when a coronavirus surge was devastating Delhi, with overwhelmed hospitals running out of oxygen, and crematoriums running out of space. India’s capital was under a strict lockdown. Most economic activity had come to a halt. But every morning, a 50-year-old construction supervisor travelled over 20 km...
More »Ban on new hydel projects in Uttarakhand: 2 yrs ago, PMO set tough green rules but Rawat saw red -Jay Mazoomdaar
-The Indian Express Uttarakhand CM sent letter to PM on jobs, energy security; SC awaits Govt unified stand. At least two power projects hit by the glacial flood burst in Uttarakhand last Sunday — in which over 150 workers are still feared missing or trapped — were in a list of 13 flagged at a meeting in the Prime Minister’s Office exactly two years ago. That meeting, records show, ordered a permanent ban...
More »Chamoli glacier burst: Himalayan blunders compounded -Sunita Narain
-Down to Earth The issue is about carrying capacity of the fragile region, which is even more at risk because of climate change The flash flood in high Himalayas, which has claimed lives and wiped out two hydroelectric plants on the Ganga, should be a grim reminder of the mistakes we continue to make. There is no rocket science here about why this devastation happened. The Himalayas are the world’s youngest mountain...
More »Dam Workers Face Serious Hazards, Need Much Better Safety and Social Security -Bharat Dogra
-CounterCurrents.org The tragedy in Uttarakhand has again highlighted the extreme vulnerability of dam workers who toil often in very hazardous conditions in very remote parts of the country, away from public gaze. In particular the hazards faced by workers are very serious at several dam construction locations in the Himalayan region. While better safety conditions for dam workers are needed everywhere, this need is particularly acute in the Himalayan region. In recent...
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