Order of the National Green Tribunal in the matter of In Re: News Item Titled "Neglected Katora Houz in Hyderabad’s Golconda Fort Cries for attention appearing in ‘The Siasat Daily’ dated 25 May 2025". The application was registered suo-motu based on the news item titled “Neglected Katora Houz in Hyderabad’s …
a plan of the Italian government to save Venice from sinking will prove to be futile. This was stated by Albert J Ammerman, an American environmental archaeologist and an expert about Venetian things. The plan drawn up long ago is on the verge of being finalised by the government. It …
flash floods have not only swamped many areas of Andhra Pradesh, it has also left many questioning the effectiveness of the state government in handling disasters, let alone drafting a preparedness plan. The state administration could do little to undo the mess. Incessant rains lashed the cyber state in the …
It is a story that the Indian administrative set up has learned to mouth mindlessly every year after floods wreak havoc. All governments in states affected by the recent floods are blaming the respective governments upstream for causing deforestation and not going ahead with dam projects across major rivers. As …
the floods have once again ravaged Bihar. Claims made by the government that all precautionary measures were taken, embankment and anti-erosion work completed in time and that the floods would not be allowed to occur
the Manipur government has renewed its interest in setting up the 1,500 mw Tipaimukh multi-purpose project on the Barak at an estimated Rs 2,899 crore (at July 1995 levels). The project was held up due to the agitation led by R K Priyabrata Singh, chairman of the Manipur-based Action Committee …
At least seven people have been killed and over 6,000 people rendered homeless by massive floods caused by persistent torrential rainfall in northeastern Argentina. Social development minister Graciela Fernandez Meijide said that flood waters had washed away roads, downed electrical and telephone lines and threatened the water supply in at …
"TIME the politicians of our country heard our side of the story. The last 52 years have been of silence and agony," says D K Mishra, an expert on floods prior to the screening of the documentary Dui Paatan Ke Beech Mein at the India International Centre in New Delhi …
three Dutch environmental groups will appeal against a German court's decision lifting restrictions on building a dam on the river Eems that flows near the border between the two countries. A German court in Oldenburg lifted a 1998 temporary ban imposed on plans to build a flood control dam on …
The birth of chaos Measures to control floods have backfired in Bihar. Flood related damages and flood prone areas have only increased since independence, and so has corruption. The two are closely related I n many ways the state of Bihar is unique. It is resource rich, but the people …
It is well-known that it is very easy to siphon off funds from earthwork projects, says D K Mishra. Perhaps this was the reason why politicians in the 1950s pushed hard for embankments to be built along rivers in Bihar. The money siphoned off from such projects was used to …
This north Indian state is today a land of paradoxes. It is known both for its mineral wealth and its abysmally poor people. Here we can find corrupt bureaucrats, flushed with funds and personal wealth and a state as deprived of money as the poor who eke out a miserable …
• The embankments of Kamla Balan have been breached on several occasions. In 1963, when the river burst its embankments near Ramghat, it submerged villages such as Kharbar, Gangapur, Gunakarpur and Belhi. In 1964, the left bank on the Lakhnour block was breached near Daiya Kharbari. • In 1965, innumerable …
politicians: A means to generate funds for the party's coffers • Used the concept of shramdan (voluntary labour) to exploit the people • Awarded contracts to their relatives and party workers • Failed to maintain proper accounts contractors: Saw earthwork as an easy way to make a fast buck • …
In 1855, the British government decided to embank the Damodar river in order to prevent flooding. With the construction of watertight embankments on the Damodar, the flood control picture started getting "brighter'. William Willcocks, a British irrigation expert came to India in the 1920s. In a series of lectures, he …
Corruption is not confined to earthworks and flood control measures alone. It is all over and all embracing. Many politicians today face charges of corruption in Bihar. The names of a few are given below. In the wake of CBI investigations into the Rs 950-crore fodder scam, Laloo Prasad Yadav …
The entire state is today held in thrall by criminals and private armies. The river can erode values, not just soil. Corruption in the management of the environment can corrupt society. A case to note is the infamous Bhagalpur "blindings' in Bihar. In the early 1980s, the Bihar police blinded …
Why have flood-control measures failed? You must understand that the water comes from Nepal. We must stop it there. Embankments were constructed as a secondary measure. But the primary aim of the government has been to construct the Barahkshetra dam in Nepal, which will help control the water release. Why …
How and why did the rivers curse Bihar? It all began with a group of young politicians in the 1950s. To them goes the credit for pushing the idea of building embankments. This was done in the name of trying to tame the rivers of the state. In the 200 …
