Tribals rally together to protest Polavaram.
I stand with them,Would You?
Partition Victim Dandakaranya Refugees have to be ejected for Polavaram project. They experienced partition Holocaust and Marichjhanpi Genocide. Now they have a close encounter with Sensex India!
Now Polavaram disaster is certainty not to be aborted.400,000 have to be displaced and entire tribal humansacpe of central India,Dandakaranya and five states have to be submerged.
Telangana Rashtra Samithi wants Polavaram dam ordinance withdrawn
Palash Biswas
File Picture of Polavaram dam. (Photo: DC/File)
Tribals rally together to protest Polavaram.
I stand with them,Would You?
Partition Victim Dandakaranya Refugees have to be ejected for Polavaram project. They experienced partition Holocaust and Marichjhanpi Genocide. Now they have a close encounter with Sensex India!I wrote on my Indiatimes blog on Monday, July 23, 2007.But neither Bengal Government nor the people of Bengal bothered.Bengali refugees dare not to stand with the Tribal people in the fight as they are engaged in a battle against deportation drive launched since 2001.
Inspired by the successful agitation of Dongaria kondhs in Kalahandi and Rayagada districts, that denied mining ofbauxite at Niyamagiri hills for Vednata's Lanjigarh aluminarefinery, tribals in three adjoining districts have now come together to stall the controversial Polavaram project, being set up in Seemandhra.
The people belonging to Koya tribe, another particularly vulnerable tribal group (PTG), in three states, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and newly formed Telengana have strongly protested against the Center's green signal to the controversial dam project on Sunday. At a huge gathering at Motu, in south Odisha's Malkanagiri district, the members of this tribal community threatened to launch a mass agitation against the project. They expressed apprehension that they would be displaced and their lands would be submerged if the project is implemented. "We condemn the attitude of the Central government and will continue to fight to protect the rights of the tribal people," said MLA (Malkanagiri) Manas Madkarni.
He said, the Odisha government's stand on the issue was very clear. The Naveen Patnaik government is opposed to the project.
Meanwhile,on May 28,2014,in a move which may bring Telangana on collision course with the Centre, the Union cabinet has cleared a central ordinance on Polavaram project which would pave the way for transfer of 136 villages to the successor state of Andhra Pradesh.
Now Polavaram disaster is certainty not to be aborted.400,000 have to be displaced and entire tribal humansacpe of central India,Dandakaranya and five states have to be submerged.UPA government did not oblige,BJD chief minister of Orissa,most business friendly chief minister of Orissa, who has been protesting the project since beginning.
The controversial Polavaram multi-purpose dam project has been strongly opposed by Odisha and Chhatisgarh governments as it is likely to submerge several tribal villages in both the states. Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram on Sunday said he will strongly defend Odisha's interests vis a vis the Polavaram project.
Oram had blamed the state government for not putting up a strong fight over the issue and not treating it with the seriousness the matter deserved. He also said he will not hesitate to protest any project by the state or Central government, if it involves the displacement of tribal people.
No environment clearance sough ever and there was no public hearing in any of the five states Orissa, MP,Chhattishgargh,Maharashtra and Andhra.No political party did take up the issue.No ngo seems to be intersted to save these people anyway.
However, Telangana Rashtra Samithi wants Polavaram dam ordinance withdrawn.Seemandhra Congress leaders have also lodged protest but Congress and other political parties dare not to stand against infrastructure realty mafia.
The current status is that an enactment for Polavaram dam project is a certainty given the business friendly economic agenda of the BJP governent and the only voice in protest is already branded as Maoist.Whereas the environmental impact assessment (EIA) of the project says 276 villages will be affected; an estimated 177,275 people live in these villages. The Polavaram Project Environmental Impact Appraisal Report of 1985 expected 150,697 people to be displaced in 226 villages.But the population of these villages according to the Census 2001 is much higher—236,834. State officials find it hard to explain the difference of 59,559 while estimating the number of people who will be displaced.
Meanwhile,on May 28,2014,in a move which may bring Telangana on collision course with the Centre, the Union cabinet has cleared a central ordinance on Polavaram project which would pave the way for transfer of 136 villages to the successor state of Andhra Pradesh.
The ordinance got the clearance in the first meeting of the Cabinet under Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday.
"The ordinance has been sent to President Pranab Mukherjee. It would be promulgated the moment he signs it," said an official.
The government is learned to have taken the ordinance route as necessary changes was required to be done before June 2 — the designated date of bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh and creation of the new state of Telangana.
The multi-purpose Polavaram project involves linking the rivers Krishna and Godavari and storing 832 thousand million cubic feet (tmc ft) of water in the dam to be built in West Godavari district.
The project reservoir would enable irrigation of an additional 232,000 acre in Krishna, West Godavari, East Godavari, Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram and Srikakulam in Andhra Pradesh.
Since the Polavaram Irrigation Project has been declared a national project under the AP Reorganisation Act, the Centre will take under its control, the regulation and development of the project for the purposes of irrigation.
Telangana chief minister-designate, K Chandrasekhar Rao, had on many occasions in the past been opposed to any such central ordinance on Polavaram project. He said he was not opposed to the project per se, but opposed to its design.
Besides 136 villages, the ordinance will also lead transfer of 211 hamlets and seven mandals of Khammam district to the successor state of Andhra Pradesh.
The proposed Polavaram irrigation project in Andhra Pradesh may have been granted the status of a national project, but the villages which are likely to be submerged once it is ready has become the bone of contention between Seemandhra and Telangana Congress leaders.
The controversy surrounding the Bhadrachalam sub-division in Khammam district, which consists of villages that will be submerged, has triggered controversy against the backdrop of Union Cabinet's nod to transfer 130 villages to Seemandhra.
This has resulted in a slew of developments at the national capital with Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment P Balram Naik leading a delegation to Congress president Sonia Gandhi to draw her attention towards the tribals who will be affected by the project.
However, Seemandhra Congress leaders are firm over the transfer of villages. "It is necessary that these villages are transferred to Seemandhra," Magunta Sreenivasulu, Congress Lok Sabha member representing Ongole constituency, said.
He claimed that Cabinet ministers from Seemandhra region even insisted on merging the entire Bhadhrachalam sub-division with their (Seemandhra) region for the purpose.
According to the Water Resources Ministry, works for Polavaram dam project commenced in October 2004 and is programmed to be completed by 2018.
The controversial Andhra Pradesh (Reorganisation) Bill states that the Union should take under its control the regulation and development of the Polavaram project.
The central government shall execute the project in consultation with the governments of AP and Telangana following all environmental, forest and rehabilitation and resettlement norms.
But Telangana Congress leaders question the motives of their Seemandhra counterparts. "In the name of transferring submerging villages, the Seemandhra people are staking claims for the entire Bhadhrachalam sub-division, which has been with Khammam district for over 55 years," AICC member and Andhra Pradesh MLC P Sudhakarr Reddy told PTI.
Claiming that they were not against the Polavaram Irrigation Project, he said adequate relief and rehabilitation measures must be available for the affected tribal people.
Controversy On Villages to be submerged by Polavaram dam
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Perspectives on Polavaram, a Major Irrigation Project on ...
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Biksham Gujja - 2006 - Political Science
Polavaram dam, now named as Indira Sagar, is one among the eight fast track projects that ... The dam has generated a major controversy, criticism, led to legal ..
Deccan Chronicle reports from Hyderabad:
Continuing its opposition to the Ordinance on Polavaram, the TRS MP from Nizamabad K. Kavita on Tuesday demanded the withdrawal of the Ordinance and asked the Centre to open a dialogue with the concerned four state governments before proceeding further.
Participating in the thanksgiving motion for the President's address to Parliament, Ms Kavita chose to speak on the controversial Polavaram issue. "We are not against the Polavaram dam or Andhra government getting additional water for irrigation, but there is need to change the design of the dam.
There are alternatives which could be explored before going ahead as the present design will only result in submersion of huge tracks of tribal land and displacement of adivasis which is against the Constitution," Ms Kavita said. The controversial Ordinance on Polavaram, transferring 205 villages in seven revenue mandals in Khammam district of Telangana to Seemandhra to facilitate construction of the dam as well as taking up rehabilitation works in submerged areas, was tabled in the Parliament on Monday.
While thanking Congress president Sonia Gandhi and BJP leader Sushma Swaraj for making Telangana a reality, Kavita also asked them to come to the aid of adivasis who are facing displacement. She said it is time to get the Women Reservation Bill passed in Lok Sabha to do justice to women who account for 50 per cent of the population.
In a related development, Karimnagar TRS MP B. Vinod Kumar on Tuesday moved a statutory resolution seeking disapproval of the Polavaram Ordinance under 123(a) of the Constitution. If the statutory resolution is passed, the Presidential proclamation would seize to exist. Meanwhile, in Rajya Sabha, Congress MP from Telangana, Palvai Govardhana Reddy too demanded immediate withdrawal of the Ordinance.
However, this was countered by Congress MP and former Union minister of state J. D. Seelam who said Polavaram would provide irrigation, navigation and generation of hydel power and hence the construction should not be obstructed.
Odisha's BJD MPs protest Polavaram project in Lok Sabha
Odisha Sun Times Bureau New Delhi, June 9: BJD members today staged protest in the Lok Sabha against the Polavaram project on the ground that parts of Odisha would badly affected once it comes up.
file pic of Lok Sabha
Members from the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) were on their feet soon after union Home Minister Rajnath Singh laid papers in the house mentioned against his name.
While members from the TRS were carrying placards against ordinance concerning the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, those from the BJD held placards against the Polavaram dam.
Speaker Sumitra Mahajan asked members to resume their seats but they continued to protest.
Later, she adjourned the house for the day.
Close Encounter with Sensex India!
Partition Victim Dandakaranya Refugees have to be ejected for Polavaram Dam
Palash Biswas
Dear All
A documentary made in June 2004 for the countrywide classroom of UGC on Tribal Displacement under the Polavaram dam, is available on MUSI TV
http://message2.myvideowebstream.com/view/?id=D6W3TRHPTC6VG4ROYR6O
FYI
bahrath
an EMRC- CIEFL, Hyderabad Presentation
Tribal Displacement
an anthropo vision
script- camera- editing- direction
Sathya Mohan
research
m bharath bhushan
sathya mohan
duration
10:51 minutes
support the struggle against polavaram dam
save Koya tribe and eastern ghats
http://telanganautsav.wordpress.com/2007/03/28/ polavaram_question_mark_over_future/#more-115
http://telanganautsav.wordpress.com/
http://telanganautsav.wordpress.com/2007/06/24/ polavaram-dam-makes-godavari-river-an-item-for-dhandha/#more-128
Dear All
Polavaram case is now all about a 'proper' rehabilitation scheme for the affected. Andhra Pradesh government as if just waiting for a question of this sort answered immediately that it has all plans to rehabilitate every affected household one year before completion of the project. And the supreme court asked AP Government for details of the scheme that is proposed. Next Friday the Supreme court is going to hear the rehabilitation tale of AP government
Verdict of the supreme court on the dam that is going to wipe out a tribal community and cause irreversible ecological disaster will be clear very soon
Yours Sincerely
Bharath
Partition Victim Dandakaranya Refugees have to be ejected for Polavaram project. They experienced partiton Holocaust and Marichjhanpi Genocide. Now they have a close encounter with Sensex India!
We could not stop them planting an Atom Bomb in The Great Himalyas! Tehri dam it is! You know how all the Earth Quake measours failed in Japanes Nuke Leak during latest earth Quake. You may never forget the Chornobyl disaster, what if they have covered the Plant and Red Forest along with! Now Great Chana is all set to make a highway right upto The Everest! Forget the environment impact, it is bloody a national security risk for entire Indian Subcontinent.Our ruling Comradorare quite detached and busy to be apart of US - Japanese - Aussi - Brish strategic regrouping and concentrating everything on Indo US Nuclear deal!
I dare to write a novelette in Hindi, ` NAI TEHRI PURANI TEHRI' which was published in Pahal 67, a prominent Hindi literary magazines. but I got most antireactions from Tehri itself. They blamed me that I was opposing the development prospect of Uttarakhandies. Our friends who were involved in Chipko movement , are now busy in NGOs. The editor of Pahar, Professor Shekhar Pathak and our Guru the great folk poet Girda are on a visit to USA!
In West Bengal also, while we support Dalit Muslim peasants joint uprising against indiscriminate Urbanisation and Industrialisation and express our concern on Haripur Nuclear Project and encroachment along with Sea Coast Line including the Man grove Forest, Sundervana, the ruling Left brand us as the enemies of people who do not want development! Marxists worldwide have launched a misinformation campaign to brand the opposition as Jehadi and Maoist just on US line of War Against Terrorism!
Day before yesterday, a friend Bharat Bhushan called me on phone from Bhuvneshwar where he is based with a NGO resisting Polavaram dam! He told that half of the Dandyakaranya Project is going to be submerged in the dam!The Andhra Pradesh State Govt. has planned Polavaram project as a multi purpose
project to provide irrigation benefits to the up land areas, water supply to the
industries in Visakhapatnam city including the steel plant, generation of hydro
power, development of navigation and recreational facilities. The Polavaram-
Vijayawada link canal as conceived by NWDA will make use of Polavaram dam as its
headwork. The length of the link canal is about 174 Km. The Polavaram dam is
located about 42 Km upstream of Godavari barrage at Dowlaiswaram. The power
house with an installed capacity of 720 MW is also envisaged on the left flank of the
Polavaram dam.The project brings misery to more than
2.0 lakh people, by submerging and displacing 276
villages- predominantly tribal villages in an area of
about one lakh acres including forest land. The
displaced will be forced to become migrant labourers
and urban slum dwellers to which they will not be able
to adjust in their lifetime. The situation thus would lead
to many social and political conflicts.
The Project will submerge villages of Konta taluka in
Dantewada district in Chhatisgarh along the Sabari
River. Similarly villages along Sabari and Sileru Rivers
in Motu taluka in Malkangiri district in Orissa will face
submergence. However, the EIA has no specific
information about these impacts in Chhatisgarh and
Orissa. Nor has there been a public hearing in either of
the states, of there is information of the project to the
likely affected people or any R&R plans for them in the
EIA. The study done by National Council for Applied
Economic Research (NCAER) for the Godavari Krishna
(Vijaywada) link scheme gave the following figures for
submergence due to Polavaram project:
Irrigated
The contentious Polavaram project—which the state government is in a hurry to implement—hit another roadblock on Tuesday with environmental activist Medha Patkar deciding to launch a crusade against it. The Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) activist declared that the public hearing on the project held earlier this month should be considered null and void as the tribals directly affected by its consequences for them.
There was neither any tribal participation nor was their consent sought to the project, she said. Patkar's opposition comes on the heels of similar doubts being expressed about Polavaram across the political spectrum. The Rs 9000-crore project will displace 1.45 lakh people in AP, Chhattisgarh and Orissa.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1274780.cms
http://www.sandrp.in/dams/polavrm_article.pdf
Morichjhanpi - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia... evicted thousands of Bengali refugees who had settled on the island. ... areas outside West Bengal, in inhospitable terrain in Orissa and Chhattisgarh. ...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morichjhanpi
Daily News Monitoring Service www.newsfrombangladesh.net ISSN 1563 ...Refugees and Bengali Identity All through the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s ...... in Debt Market Click Here for Weekly Email Content Alert Palash chandra biswas ...
bangladesh-web.com/view.php?hidDate=2005-11-29&hidType=HIG&hidRecord=0000000000000000074303 - 89k
Partition refugees targeted as Bangladeshi infiltrators | Indian ...This was not an isolated incident against the Bengali refugees who were ... at syedalimujtaba@yahoo.com The author acknowledges Mr Palash Biswas and Mr ...
www.indianmuslims.info/.../november/05/articles/
The contentious Polavaram project—which the state government is in a hurry to implement—hit another roadblock on Tuesday with environmental activist Medha Patkar deciding to launch a crusade against it. The Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) activist declared that the public hearing on the project held earlier this month should be considered null and void as the tribals directly affected by its consequences for them.
There was neither any tribal participation nor was their consent sought to the project, she said. Patkar's opposition comes on the heels of similar doubts being expressed about Polavaram across the political spectrum. The Rs 9000-crore project will displace 1.45 lakh people in AP, Chhattisgarh and Orissa.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1274780.cms
http://www.sandrp.in/dams/polavrm_article.pdf
Meanwhile,Agitation against Polavaram
Several organisations in Andhra Pradesh and
elsewhere have launched agitation against the
proposed Polavaram project. The agitation is bound to
get stronger with time due to the huge impacts of the
project and the undemocratic, high handed attitude
adopted by the centre and the state governments.
The Project It is proposed on the Godavari River
named after the closest town in W Godavari district. It
is estimated to cost Rs 9 265 Crores but recently the
Chief Minister put this at 20,000 Crores. The project,
which is now proposed to be implemented with certain
modifications, was conceived over 50 years back. Its
design is outdated and does not fully take into
consideration the damage likely to be caused to the
ecology and people and many changes that have taken
place in the society over the years.
The Dam is to be constructed straight across the
Godavari River some 15 km north of Rajmundhry in E
Godavari district. The Dam will be constructed at a
level of 150 feet (47 m). The submergence will stretch
along the Sabari River, a tributary to Godavari, up to
the borders of Orissa and Chhattisgarh.
Canal System The Right Main Canal will supply 80
tmcft (226 MCM) water to Budameru in Vijayawada,
which opens into Krishna River upstream of Prakasam
barrage. In this way the 174 km long canal will connect
the Godavari and Krishna rivers. There has also been a
proposal to make it navigable for freight boats.
The Left Main Canal is designed to provide water to 12
lakh acres in north coastal districts besides meeting the
drinking water needs of urban and rural areas. It will
connect with Yeleru Left Main canal to bring water for
industries (Vizag steel plant) and drinking water supply.
It will also supply north coastal districts of
Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram and Srikakulam with
irrigation water
God help my people! I am shocked to know this development. They experienced Marichjhapi after the Partition Holocaust !
In 2005, I participated in the National Convention on Citizenship Amendment Bill organised by Bamcef in Nagpur. Delegates from Chattish Gargh, UP, West Bengal, Andhra, Maharashtra, Chattishgargh, MP and Orrisssa were present in large number besides the local Marathi speaking Bamcef supporters. During the twoday convention , the Dalit Bengali Refugees ousted from Bengali History and geopolitics and scattered all over the country- were once again facing another destined tragedy of inherent inequality as the National Drive Bengali Refugees out of India campaign was launched by Pranab Mukherjee, BJP and sangh Parivar and the Left accross the country and the Bill was not enacted! Orrissa delegates were most interested for a National dalit Movement as they got the most of the heat in Kendra Para where they were served deportation notices.
All the delegates requested me to see that any delegate from West Bengal should not have any lead in any committee. I was also representing Bengal. but I belong to uttarakhand and my father happens to be late Pulin babu who fought lifelong for civil and human rights, citizenship, rehabilation and reservation for Bengali dalit Refugees countrywide!
The Dalit Bengali Refugees don`t believe anyone in West Bengal, thanks to Marichjhanpi experience!
I visited mana Camp in raipur and later, next year, after the Bill was enacted with all party cooperation including all SC, ST, OBC, Minority MPS, I visted bhuvneshwar, Puri and Kendrapara and witnessed the plight of the refugees in Orrisssa. I talked to refugee leaders of different areas including those from dandakaranya and knew the persecution story. I am not a social activist or a Refugee and Peasant leader like my father, I could write and I wrote. But we failed to initiate any mass mobilisation. Even failed to create a human public opinion since the Dalit affairs, refugee problems are not entertained in so called mainsteram media!
Well, during 2001, when Uttarkhand Bengal Dalit refugees were fighting for citizenship, we got the most needed support form Bengal for the first time thaanks to Dr Nitish Biswas and his SAHMARMI. Buddhadev Bhattacharya personally ensured that the Bengali Refugees should not be persecuted in Uttarakhand. At that time, Citizenship Amendment Bill has not emerge in the scene. We got very helpful support from Ruling Left, Media and Kolkata Intelligentsia.
Now, the equation has changed as we stand united with Nandigram and Singur.
Thus , I could not assure dear friend Bharat Bhushan any support fro West Bengal. He sent me some documents and I am posting those along with this comment.
I talked to dalit Sahitya Sanstha and the leader and spokesman of the Benagli dalit Literature Movement sent a report on Dalits in Bengal. I also post that report! Before reading all these documents, please see all thes web pages for a background to understand entire scenerio!
http://nwda.gov.in/writereaddata/sublink2images/83.pdf
DIVIDED LANDSCAPES, FRAGMENTED IDENTITIES: EAST BENGAL REFUGEES AND THEIR REHABILITATION IN INDIA, 1947–79
http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1467-9493.1996.tb00082.x
May we sue Congress and Muslim League for its role in partition ...In this paper I am interested in analyzing the self-representation of Hindu East Bengali refugees as victims of Partition violence so as to historicize and ...
indiainteracts.com/members/2007/07/14/May-we-sue-Congress-and-Muslim-League-for-its-role-in-partition/ - 74k - 22 Jul 2007 - Cached - Similar pages
Refugees and Transformation of Societies: Agency, Policies, Ethics ... - Google Books Resultby Joke (DRT) Schrijvers, Philomena Essed, Georg Frerks - 2005 - Social Science - 237 pages
Though their problems are far from solved (see Mukherjee 2001:130-55), most of the erstwhile Bengali refugees in Bihar are now rehabilitated in the sense ...
India News - Breaking World India News - The New York Times... N Orissa, and Chhattisgarh are the most important mining areas; ..... of millions of Bengali refugees (mostly Hindus) from East Pakistan into India. ...
topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/india/index.html - 154k - 22
The State of The World's Refugees 2000 - Chapter 3File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - View as HTML
The millions of Bengali refugees who fled to India in 1971 were accommodated in ... Pradesh, Orissa, Arunachal Pradesh,. Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, West ...
www.unhcr.org/publ/PUBL/3ebf9bab0.pdf
Friday, June 1, 2007
Wellness Index
http://www.ndtvblogs.com/views/viewcomments.asp?gl_guid=&blogname=bangasss&q_blogid=15147
Dalits in West Bengal are more Marginalized
Manohar Mouli Biswas
e-mail : manoharbiswas@yahoo.co.in
Poverty is one curse but illiteracy is another bigger
curse to act upon the Dalits of West Bengal and India
as a whole. After sixty years of national independence
what has happened, about two-third of the dalit women
are victims to this curse of illiteracy in West
Bengal. The sarva shiksha abhiyan which was introduced
by the government of India in 2001 was with a purpose
to remove the illiteracy of the poor. The article
published in the daily 'Times of India' on 18.06.07 in
this respect under title 'Get it right on education'
is suppressing the fact that it has failed to get
success both quantitatively and qualitatively. It has
met with a great failure in both the cases. A huge
amount of money has been spent in West Bengal and the
result whatever has come out of this enormous
expenditure is poor. I am a dalit writer of Bengali
Literature working as an activist under Bangla Dalit
Sahitya Sanstha and I am extremely worried with the
performance of this regard. I fail to digest the
incident that at present in West Bengal out–of-school
children is 9.61 lakhs. In West Bengal the percentage
of dalits is about 29.2 and anybody else can
understand that these out-of-school children are none
but exclusively the dalits as well as religious Muslim
Minorities who are also about one–fourth of the total
population of West Bengal.
Nobody is willing to admit and visualize this
incidence of marginalization of dalits in West Bengal.
Anything whatever you think bad, anything whatever you
talk of more devastating to the marginal it occurs in
the state like Bihar and not in West Bengal. The
misrule of government machinery? Yes, it is in Bihar.
The corruption? Yes, it is in Bihar. This is what I am
talking is the common impression of the Babulok of
Bengal. It is not my aim to cry down Bengal and praise
Bihar. What I want to do is to make self-assessment.
It is the writing to count on how much we people are
doing good or bad. It is known to all that the
population of Bihar is higher than that of West
Bengal. As per 2001 census the population of Bihar is
82,878,796 whereas that of West Bengal is 80,221,178.
At present the average literacy of West Bengal is
57.72%, on the other hand, the male literacy of Bihar
is 60.32% and female literacy of Bihar is 33.57% which
is almost same with the Dalit women of rural Bengal.
At the time of independence Bengal was far more
advanced in all respect than Bihar But what about
today? The population of Bihar is more by 2.65 lakhs,
whereas their out-of-school children is less by about
2.7 lakhs than that of West Bengal.
The out-of-school children of West Bengal is topping
all the states. Whereas it is seen in the
neighbouring state as I mention of the case of Bihar
stands in the second with 6.96 lakh of its
out-of-school children. In West Bengal there are some
districts where the out-of-school children are more
than a lakh. In Malda it is 159,592, in South 24
Parganas it is 140,147, in Burdwan it is107,512, in
Uttar Dinajpur it is 106,086 and in Murshidabad it
is184,103. Even there are some districts are having
the out-of-school children with number more than
50,000 and the case as is seen of the North 24
Parganas with 72,611, Purulia with 70,971 and Bankura
with 62,671.
West Bengal is a state where government is run without
maintaining the proportionate representation from
scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, other backward
communities and religious minorities in its
functionaries. It is not very easy to find out
relation between the two but the fact speaks out that
the districts mentioned are the districts of majority
population of scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and
muslim-minorities. The proportionate representation is
always welcome and provides justice to all. It is
democratically emphatic and builds the nationhood. The
recent election in Uttar Pradesh has established the
fact that proportionate representation is a desirable
one and capable of winning the game.
The pioneer of this thought is Kumari Mayawati who is
now the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. At this
moment the different media persons are forecasting
that she will govern India in the days to come if she
can properly utilize the present political philosophy
of her party. In the second half of discussion in a
national convention held in the month of June at
Bhubaneswar the most of the participants gave their
opinion in the way the media persons tell.
The thing what I like to focus is the dalits in West
Bengal who are becoming more marginalized day after
day. These are the things happening due to
politicization of every thing in West Bengal. The
politicization of politics is more favourably done
than the betterment of the people. Every one
understands the policy of implication of the
industrialization through SEZ will not provide any
easy livelihood to the dalits. The industry is
necessary for the people who have got their proper
education and particularly the people who have got the
professional education. The out-of-school children are
mostly dalits. These people have 100% dependence to
earn their daily bread by putting their toils in the
soils only. The industrialization through SEZ will be
needed the knowledge of Microsoft-engineering of the
micro-minority people of the country. The farmers in
West Bengal, by and large, are fighting tooth and nail
to save their cultivating soils. They are on the
movement for their own cause and the upper castes
through their political parties are adding different
sense to this movement in order to utilize the same in
their favour.
The teaching of English at primary level of education
in West Bengal was stopped by the government of West
Bengal which has caused a damage in respect of getting
job by the dalits. In the second phase, after thirty
years of continuous rule, another damage to
marginalize the dalits in another form is planned to
be introduced by the primary education minister. He
wants to hand over the charge of running primary
education from class-I to V in the hands of Gram
Panchayat and the charge from class VI to VIII in the
hands of Panchayat Samity. It is nothing but the
decentralization of responsibility and definitely at
the cost of rural dalit students. The Bengal dalits
have seen an irreparable damage of education of their
one generation and now they may prepare themselves to
see of another generation. The Annual Status of
Education Report in respect of sarva shiksha abhiyan
,as the survey is conducted by an NGO, has revealed
that at least 50 per cent of these children cannot
read a simple two-line passage. It further says that a
greater portion of about 65 per cent of the targeted
population cannot do a simple two-digit division. Is
it too much to expect of a child in class- II
standard? There is no doubt that this type of literacy
will help for the better record of the census report
only but this shall not do serve any purpose of
education. The point is to be noted that the dalits
are marginal and shall remain in the marginal.
We know that the government endeavors to do something.
The problem is not a very easy one to surmount. The
central government increased its allocation for the
Abhiyan from about Rs1600 crore in 2001 to close to Rs
7000 crore in 2005. To ensure smooth funding, it even
levied a 2 per cent education cess from 2004. In spite
of this positive thinking, as there is the
Central-State sharing ratio of 50:50, the fund
sanctioned by the state plays a major roll for the
spread of education in the state.
The phenomenon of converting the reserved posts into
unreserved category happens at any time without facing
obstruction from the scheduled caste and scheduled
tribe. In West Bengal the reserve quota ministers are
always voiceless. They work as tail of the political
party. Any government, committed to providing basic
needs and enhancing standards of living to its people
requires continuous monitoring on education,
health-care, security and above all the livelihood of
the poor masses. It sincerely looks after the genuine
socio-economic progress in state.
In the state like West Bengal land reforms and
decentralized governance have been considered as two
main pillars of development. Both gave some fruitful
result at the initial and now after about three
decades of Left rule both have become under debate
from the dalit-perspective. According to the Planning
Commission, the incidence of poverty in West Bengal
in1999-2000 is at 27 per cent of the population out of
which stated that 84 per cent of the absolute poor
population of West Bengal lived in the rural areas and
they were none but the dalits. In terms of basic
household amenities, West Bengal's performance tends
to be lower than the national average. In the late
1990's, 68 per cent of urban households and only 16
per cent of rural households had pukka houses,
compared to 71 per cent and 29 per cent respectively
for all-India. The land reforms have had some effect
in terms of improving the basic conditions for
expansion of literacy, education and health, but it
must be admitted that this is one area in which the
expectations have not been adequately fulfilled and
the state has lagged behind others.
In one recent news it is seen that the reality of
starvation death in North Bengal tea estates has left
Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi shocked. He visited
Ramjhora tea estates where in a very short period of
time over 100 people faced starvation death and he
told to newsmen, ' It is shocking to find people dying
of starvation in a progressive country like India. It
has left me disheartened.' People are there suffering
from scarce drinking water, medical relief etc Dalits
who are mostly workers in tea gardens and in small
factories are now in a severe hardship. Just yesterday
(01.07.07) Sanjib Biswas, a dalit-fellow who was a
petty worker in Kusum Company has committed suicide
without getting any food for successive three days for
lockout of his factory. And today it has been a news
in the electronic media that a man Sankar Das by name
has died of starvation in the SEZ-area of Singur. He
was a small farmer and he lost his land in the Tata
SEZ project and thereafter he was passing the days in
hardship without a job.
Physical violence on dalits in West Bengal is
definitely less than the states like Bihar, Tamil Nadu
and Rajasthan because of the fact that they remain
silent in case of their deprivation in employment,
education etc. But day-to-day social oppression and
harassment and exploitation of the dalits are still
common in West Bengal like many other parts of rural
India.
In 1973, the West Bengal Panchayat Act was passed,
annulling the previous laws and the decentralized
governance was progressed through it. The composition
of various tiers of decentralized government had shown
a significant representation of occupational
categories that were traditionally from amongst the
oppressed, such as agricultural labourers and marginal
farmers, and the social groups that were earlier
politically marginalized, such as women, scheduled
castes and scheduled tribes. Under the
decentralization, the dalits had been put into the net
of party politics and the decision of the party headed
by mostly Brahmins became their subjects to carry out.
The day-to-day social oppression and harassment of the
lower castes and poor groups, which are still common
in many parts of rural India, are found to work in the
form of discrimination and deprivation of the
scheduled castes and scheduled tribes in West Bengal.
It mainly tells upon the dalits in regard of their
education and employment.
According to the NSS, in 1999-2000, 27 per cent
households in rural areas and 12 per cent of all
households in urban areas did not have any literate
adults(15 years and above). The proportion of
households without any female adult literate was
substantially higher, at 51 per cent and 31 per cent
in the rural and urban areas of West Bengal
respectively. Further, the literacy status of
scheduled castes and schedules tribes and religious
minority households is significantly worse in rural
West Bengal. To be poor is one thing, and to seem
condemned to one's fate is a quite something other. A
Dalit, if he is poor , is one thing, and a Brahmin, if
he is poor, is another thing. The Marxist fellow, with
class-view does coincide caste-view unless he is born
in the untouchable castes. The relatively most
deprived occupation group appears to be that of
agricultural labour households, of whom more than half
of all such population, and nearly two-thirds of the
females, are non-literate. It is known that the casual
labour households are in the worst condition in
respect of literacy.
The West Bengal DPEP was formally launched in 1997-98.
The main objectives of the DPEP project were to
support the public education system through
interventions designed to enhance student enrolment,
reduce dropout rate, provide enhanced access and
better facilities for primary education. This project
was initially launched in five districts such as
Bankura, Birbhum, Koch Behar, Murshidabad and South 24
Parganas with a project cost of Rs.200 crores.
Subsequently the project was extended for another five
districts such as Dakshin Dinajpur, Jalpaiguri, Malda,
Purulia and Urttar Dinajpur. Ultimately all these
attempts could not do serve the purpose properly and
the out-of-school children as well as the dropouts cut
a sorry figure even at the present time. Though
currently there are around 54000 primary schools in
West Bengal, with more than 1.5 lakh teachers and
enrolment rate about 92.1 per cent from the children
of age group 5-8 years, however, government enrolment
data are notoriously prone to inaccuracy for variety
of reasons. Official data based on school records tend
to inflate enrolment, because of the pressure upon
school authorities to indicate high level of
enrolment, because enrolment figures, especially for
class I, are typically taken as the relevant indicator
for assessing the performance of the school authority
as well as resource requirement for that school.
The Human Development Index (HDI), as indicated by
UNDP in respect of West Bengal is pointing to its land
reforms and decentralized governance.
posted on Monday, July 23, 2007 9:28 PM
http://o3.indiatimes.com/mutinyrural/archive/2007/07/23/4751691.aspx
Why Polavaram is a pointless project
The Polavaram dam involves a huge cost but its benefit will be limited
400,000 MAY BE DISPLACED
The environmental impact assessment (EIA) of the project says 276 villages will be affected; an estimated 177,275 people live in these villages. The Polavaram Project Environmental Impact Appraisal Report of 1985 expected 150,697 people to be displaced in 226 villages.
But the population of these villages according to the Census 2001 is much higher—236,834. State officials find it hard to explain the difference of 59,559 while estimating the number of people who will be displaced.
Further, in the past 10 years, the population of these villages would have increased. If one takes into account 15,105 households (60,118 persons) that would be displaced by the two canals, then one arrives at the figure of 317,150 persons affected.
Researchers Tony Stewart and V Rukmini Rao, estimate the number of impacted people would be about 400,000 after adjusting population growth in the past decade. They conducted a detailed survey of the project-affected areas for non-profit Gramya Resource Centre for Women in Andhra Pradesh.
WHO WILL FUND POLAVARAM DAM?
Till date the Andhra government has not found a financier for the project. Work on rehabilitation has stopped due to funds crunch. Work on the left and right canals may cease soon as no further budgetary allocation has been made for their completion. The state has been pushing for national project status for the Polavaram dam to get funds from the Centre. Earlier, the state negotiated with Austrian government for loans but the Centre refused to be the counterguarantor.
The Andhra government has also approached the World Bank and the US Exim Bank. One estimate shows that if the state spends from its irrigation budget, it may have to earmark around 80 per cent of the irrigation budget for the Polavaram project.
In 2005, the state government set aside Rs 6,500 crore for 26 irrigation projects it revived, including the Polavaram dam. That sum has been exhausted. Delay in completion of other irrigation projects has resulted in cost overrun of 583 per cent. Similar cost overrun may make it difficult to find a financier for the Polavaram project.
MORE WATER FOR IRRIGATED AREAS
According to the documents relating to the Polavaram project, 291,000 ha of new land will be brought under irrigation—129,000 ha by right canal and 162,000 ha by the left canal. But government of India's official data shows 71 per cent of the right canal command areas are already under irrigation since 1999. The International Water Management Institute based in Sri Lanka that studied the Krishna-Godavari river link found that 95 per cent of the areas to be irrigated by the Polavaram dam through the right canal were already irrigated; the rest five per cent areas were not under cultivation.
The government has already built two lift irrigation projects parallel to the canals—Tadipudi and Pushkharam—that will irrigate around 161,874 ha of the total area supposed to be irrigated by the Polavaram project. The Chagalnadu lift irrigation scheme, the Torrigedda and the Yeleru schemes already irrigate 51,800 ha. In effect, the Polavaram dam may irrigate only 80,937 ha of new land.
What's more, irrigation may be hampered by siltation in the river. An analysis of 13 existing irrigation projects shows they could partly irrigate 1.3 million ha against the potential of 1.68 million ha.
DESIGN PLAYS DOWN FLOOD THREAT
Environmental clearance for the Polavaram dam is based on a 2005 environmental impact assessment (EIA). But the Central Water Commission (CWC) changed its flood situation estimate in 2006 which has not been incorporated in the design. The Polavaram project was designed in 1980s and updated in 2005. It went by the probable maximum flood (PMF) level of 102,000 cubic metre per second (cumecs) for designing the spillway. The CWC, however, did not accept the design; it had originally accepted the spillway designed for a flood level of 102,000 cumecs on the premise that the project was a barrage.
When Godavari experienced high flood in August 2006, submerging about 370 villages for days in Andhra Pradesh, CWC made a fresh assessment of PMF at 140,000 cumecs. Consequently, CWC directed the state government to revise the Polavaram project design to handle 142,000 cumecs flood level for its spillway.
However, the National Institute of Hydrology of the Union Ministry of Water Resources estimated the PMF at 169,920 cumecs. The dam break analysis for the Polavaram dam is an essential part of its EIA.
The institute found that if the dam bursts, the peak flood will be of 198,200 cumecs. This means the project's EIA is flawed and downplays the threat of flood. "Based on recent rainfall trends and flood history, a peak flood of 250,000 cumecs is a reality. This will wash away the dam," says T Hanumantha Rao, former chief engineer with Andhra government. Though CWC changed the maximum flood estimate from 102,000 cumecs to 142,000 for the dam's spillway design, Andhra Pradesh has not changed the back water level estimates based on the new PMF.
Odisha now says that the revised design would lead to very high inundation in Malkangiri.
UNSAFE EMBANKMENTS
The project will submerge villages along the Sabari river in Konta block of Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district. In Odisha, villages along the Sabari and Sileru rivers (tributaries of the Godavari) in Motu block will be submerged. Andhra Pradesh has suggested constructing 30.2-km-long protective walls in Odisha and 29.12-km-long walls in Chhattisgarh to avoid submergence.
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The embankments' height will range from 10-30 metres and would cost Rs 600 crore. But there have been no assessments to gauge the maximum flood level that would impact the embankments.
The Odisha government has opposed the embankments, saying large reservoirs with high spillway capacity have been constructed on Kolab (Sabari), Balimela and Lower Sileru. Water from these reservoirs will flow into the Godavari, thus impacting submergence and harming the embankments' safety. The forest clearance to the Polavaram project was given on the condition that Andhra Pradesh will construct embankments to avoid submergence.
But for these forestland will have to be diverted. There has been no attempt to assess the forestland that will be diverted for the embankments.
The forest clearance given in July 2010 put a condition that there would be no submergence and displacement in Odisha and Chhattisgarh. The environment clearance given in 2005 to the Polavaram project proposal did not mention the embankments in Odisha and Chhattisgarh. This came to light only when the Central Water Commission gave clearance for the project in January 2009.
"This is a violation critical enough to scrap the environmental clearance," says activist Himanshu Thakkar. In February 2009, MoEF's Expert Appraisal Committee for River Valley and Hydroelectric Projects directed the Andhra government to conduct public hearings in both the states for the embankments. The state government has not done this.
POLAVARAM DAM DIVIDES POLITICIANS
The Polavaram dam, first proposed in 1941, was revived by former chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, the late Y S Rajasekhara Reddy in 2004. Most political parties of the state support the project, except the pro-Telengana groups fighting for a separate state.
The project does not benefit the Telengana region in any way; on the other hand it will submerge villages in Khammam district. "The state government should abolish the Polavarm project and explore alternative options to provide better irrigation," says M Kodandaram of the Telengana Joint Action Committee, the forum spearheading the demand for a separate Telengana state.
Telengana has 50 per cent of the state's potential cultivable area, but only 32 per cent of the irrigation potential created in Andhra Pradesh is in Telengana. The Polavaram project, which gives no water to Telengana, has added to the list of grievances of the people in the region.
Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, son of the late Rajasekhara Reddy and a major threat to the ruling Congress party, campaigned for the project in March this year. He demanded national status for the project. Cine star-turned-politician Chiranjeevi, who has floated his own political outfit, was not to be left out.
He met prime minister Manmohan Singh in March to seek national status for Polavaram dam. "We are in the advanced stage of getting the project declared a national project. Even if it is not accorded this status, the state will arrange for the the funds," says N Kiran Kumar Reddy, the state chief minister.
Polavaram continues to be a prickly project
STAFF REPORTER
The contentious Polavaram (Indira Sagar) multi-purpose project envisages construction of a mega dam across the Godavari near Polavaram village in West Godavari district.
The project has been designed to irrigate 7.20 lakh acres with canals on right and left flank of the Godavari and generate 960 MW power. The project involves diversion of 25 tmcft to supply drinking water to Visakhapatnam and other habitations on the left flank and also diversion of 80 tmcft from Krishna barrage on the right flank by way of linking Krishna and Godavari rivers.
According to irrigation experts, the project entails submergence of 2 lakh acres, including 1.50 lakh acres of farm land and 0.50 lakh acres of forest land. Apart from causing extensive loss to the rich eco-system, including Papikondalu wildlife sanctuary, the project would displace over two lakh people, mostly Adivasis living in more than 300 villages, including 211 habitations in Khammam district and several hamlets in the neighbouring Chhattisgarh and Odisha States.
Various Adivasi organisations as well as political parties, like the CPI (M) and TRS, have opposed the project, citing alleged violation of tribal and environmental laws, besides safety issues involved in its construction. The Supreme Court's Central Empowered Committee on Polavaram has also suggested alternative location and design.
While this is so, the Congress-led UPA government's decision to accord national project status to the Polavaram and merger of villages in Khammam district with Andhra Pradesh to facilitate construction of the project triggered a series of agitations in the Bhadrachalam Agency.
Although the previous UPA government mooted shifting all the seven Polavaram submergence-prone mandals to the residuary AP, it could not pass an ordinance due to the poll code. The latest move of the BJP-led NDA government to issue an ordinance envisaging merger of the seven tribal sub-plan mandals with the successor State of AP kicked off a fresh controversy.
Bhadrachalam MLA Sunnam Rajaiah of the CPI (M) has already announced his decision to go on an indefinite fast in Bhadrachalam on May 29 against the Centre's merger move.
Polavaram Project
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Polavaram Dam | |
Location | |
Coordinates | |
Construction began | 2004 |
Opening date | under construction. |
Operator(s) | Andhara pradesh Irrigation Department |
Dam and spillways | |
Concrete spill way (754 m), Non over flow masonry dam (560 m) & Earth dam (1600 m) | |
Impounds | |
Height | 39.28 m (129 ft) up to top of earth dam above the river bed. |
Length | 2,914 m (9,560 ft) |
Spillway type | Ogee section |
Spillway capacity | |
Reservoir | |
Creates | Polavaram Reservoir |
Total capacity | 194 tmcft at FRL 150 ft msl |
307,800 km2(118,800 sq mi) | |
Surface area | 600 km2 (230 sq mi) |
Max. water depth | 32.08 m at FRL 150 ft msl |
Power station | |
Operator(s) | |
Turbines | 12 × 80MW Francis-type(left bank side) |
Installed capacity | 960 MW (under construction) |
Polavaram Project is a multi-purpose irrigation project which has been accorded national project status by the central government.[1] This dam across the Godavari River is under construction located in West Godavari District andEast Godavari District in Andhra Pradesh state and its reservoir spreads in parts of Chhattisgarh and Orissa States also.[2]
Contents
[hide]
Purpose[edit]
National River-Linking Project, which works under the aegis of the Indian Ministry of Water Resources, was designed to overcome the deficit in water in the country. As a part of this plan, surplus water from the Himalayan rivers is to be transferred to the peninsular rivers of India. This exercise, with a combined network of 30 river-links and a total length of 14,900 kilometres (9,300 mi) at an estimated cost of US$120 billion (in 1999), would be the largest ever infrastructure project in the world.[3] In this project's case, the Godavari riverbasin[4] is considered as a surplus one, while the Krishna River basin is considered to be a deficit one.[5] As of 2008, 644 tmcft of underutilised water from Godavari River flowed into the Bay of Bengal.[6] Based on the estimated water requirements in 2025, the Study recommended that sizeable surplus water was to be transferred from the Godavari River basin to the Krishna River basin.[5]
In July 1941, the first conceptual proposal for the project came from the erstwhile Madras Presidency. Later Diwan Bahadur L. Venkata Krishna Iyer, then chief engineer in the Presidency's irrigation department, made the first survey of the project site and made a definitive proposal for a reservoir at Polavaram. Sri Iyer not only visioned cultivation of 350,000 acres (140,000 ha) over two crop seasons through this project, but also planned for a 40 megawatt hydroelectric plant within the project. The entire project was estimated to cost about 
The project presently under construction is scaled down to FRL 150 ft MSL. The project cost estimate in 2004 stood at 
In 1980, then Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh T. Anjaiah laid the foundation stone for the project. However the project stayed idle until 2004 when the Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy-led government came to power.[9] In 2004, the Government of Andhra Pradesh sanctioned 
Alternate site[edit]
The dam could not be taken up for construction during the last century on techno economical grounds. The proposed dam site at Polavaram is located where the river emerges from the last range of the Eastern Ghats into plains covered with deep alluvial sandy strata. At Polavaram, the river width is about 1500 m. In view of large depth of excavation which is more than 30 m deep, to reach hard rock at this dam site, the dam project was not found economical to take up. However a lucrative alternate site is feasible located in upstream of Polavaram site where the river passes through deep gorges of Papi hill range.[12] The width of river is about 300 m only in the rocky gorge stretch. Thirty years back, this alternative was found technologically challenging task to connect the reservoir with the irrigation canals via tunnels across the ghat area. Also costly underground hydro electric station is mandated compared to river bed based hydro electric station. When the project was actually taken up in the year 2004, the old finalised designs at Polavaram site are adopted without re-examining the latest cost of upstream alternate site in view of state of the art construction technology of tunnels and underground hydro electric station. The progress up to the year 2012 in construction of dam structures and the hydro electric station is almost nil.[13] The alternate site located in the gorge stretch is still worth of re-examination to reduce the ever increasing cost of Polavaran dam.
The spillway and non-overflow dam are founded on Khondalite bed rock in Polavaram Project.[12] Khondalites, which are feldspar-rich, often contain soft graphite, hard garnet, etc. in addition to other minerals. Khondalites are highly weathered and hence unsuitable at dam site.[14]
Technical details[edit]
The project reservoir has live storage 75.2 tmcft and gross storage 194 tmcft thereby enabling irrigation of 23,20,000 acre (including stabilisation of existing irrigated lands) in Krishna, West Godavari, East Godavari, Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaramand Srikakulam districts of Andhra Pradesh.[15][8] The silt free dead storage water of nearly 90 tmcft up to spillway crest level 24.5 m MSL, can also be used in downstream lift irrigation projects and Dowleswaram Barrage during the summer months.
The project would constitute an earth-cum-rock fill dam of 2,310 metres (7,580 ft) length, spillway of 907 metres (2,976 ft) with 44 vents to enable discharge of 3,600,000 cu ft/s (100,000 m3/s) of water. To its left, 12 water turbines, each having 80 megawatt capacity, were to be installed. The right canal connecting to Krishna River in the upstream of Prakasam Barrage(173 kilometres (107 mi) long) discharges 17,500 cu ft/s (500 m3/s) at head works and left canal (182 kilometres (113 mi) long) discharges 17,500 cu ft/s (500 m3/s) of water.[8]
Future potential[edit]
A barrage would be constructed on Krishna river located near 16°34′41″N 80°24′43″E in the upstream of Prakasam barrage with FRL at 22m MSL to receive Godavari water diverted from Polavaram dam. This barrage would also enable a new road / bridge link diverting south bound road traffic from Hyderabad side on NH9 to Guntur district without touching Vijayawada city
A low level lift canal from the Krishna river located near 16°42′50″N 80°08′24″E at 20 m MSL in the downstream ofPulichintala dam will be executed to feed Godavari water diverted from Polavaram Dam to some of the existing command area (situated below 60 m MSL) under Nagarjuna Sagar right bank canal to facilitate extension of Nagarjuna Sagar right bank canal connecting to Kandaleru feeder canal / Somasila reservoir for serving irrigation needs in Prakasam, Potti Sriramulu Nellore and Chittur districts including Chennai drinking water supply. A branch from this lift canal is also extended up to Pulichinthala dam (FRL 45 m MSL) to store Godavari water in Pulichintala reservoir during drought years and to irrigate low lands along Krishna river up to Pulichintala dam.
Another high level lift canal from above Krishna river location 16°42′50″N 80°08′24″E up to 90 m MSL would be constructed to join Nagarjuna Sagar tail pond (FRL 75 m MSL) irrigating lands enroute along Krishna river in Guntur district. During drought years, the water transferred by this canal to Nagarjuna Sagar tail pond is further lifted to Nagarjuna Sagar andSrisailam reservoirs with existing pumped storage hydro units for use in all the projects receiving water from these reservoirs. This high level lift canal is an alternative to Dummugudem to Sagar lift canal planned in Telangana region which would transfer Godavari river water from Dummugudem to Nagarjuna Sagar tail pond.
Another lift canal drawing water from the Polavaram right bank canal near 16°38′20″N 80°37′53″E at 30 m MSL would be constructed by pumping water to 70 m MSL to irrigate mid lands in Krishna district up to Pulichintala dam. All these pumping stations can be envisaged with high level ponds to incorporate peaking electricity generation capability to achieve multi purpose benefits. Ultimately the Polavaram right bank flood flow canal would be constructed to augment water transfer for meeting shortages in the Krishna river basin and the needed environmental flows downstream of Prakasam barrage. Refer to Google Earth data for more geographical information.
A 25 MW hydropower station can be established utilising Polavaram right bank canal water near Vijayawada. Refer Talk Page
Off shore fresh water reservoir
An off shore fresh water storage reservoir of capacity 250 Tmcft could be constructed along the sea coast of Chirala to store the Krishna river flood waters and the Godavari water transferred to Krishna river for creating additional irrigated area in Prakasam and Potti Sriramulu Nellore districts. This project is similar to Kalpasar Project to store Narmada River water inGulf of Khambhat sea.
Fresh water reservoirs can be established in the shallow sea area by constructing sea dikes / bunds/ Causeway up to the depth of 12 meters from the coast line. Water can be pumped from this artificial sweet water lagoon throughout the year for meeting agriculture, etc. needs. Also these deep sea facing dikes can be used as sea ports for large ships and top surface as coastal road & rail routs. The proposed dikes would be similar to the land reclamation of North Sea area called Delta Works in Netherlands.
The sea area up to 12 meters depth adjacent to coast line between the locations (near 15°46′31″N 80°48′45″E) where southern branch of the Krishna river is joining the sea and the mouth of the Gundlakamma River (near15°33′23″N 80°13′37″E), is highly suitable for creating the off shore fresh water reservoir. The width of the sea up to 12 m depth is nearly 17 km wide and the required length of the sea dikes is nearly 70 km. The area of the off shore reservoir would be nearly 1200 km2. A barrage would be constructed across the Krishna river (near 16°04′41″N 80°52′49″E) nearMopidevi town. A flood canal (25 km long) from this barrage would feed Krishna river water to the off shore water reservoir. The off shore dike up to 8 m msl high, would also reduce drastically the cyclone damages and reduce drastically flooding inChirala, Bapatla and Nizampatnam coastal areas. It would also greatly improve the irrigated coastal lands drainage in Gunturand Prakasam districts. The sea dike can also serve as an access way to a major deep sea port which can be located on the deep sea side of the 70 km long dike.
Vast lands in coastal districts of Prakasam and Nellore, are drought prone and do not have adequate water sources for irrigating the coastal dry lands. Water from this off shore fresh water reservoir would be pumped uplands to Obachettapalem water tank (near 15°37′37″N 79°48′47″E) which is at 85 m msl. From this water tank, dry lands in Prakasam and Nellore districts up to Pulicat lake can be brought under irrigation by gravity canals. The total cost would be less than Rs 200 billions which is nearly Rs 1,00,000 per acre of irrigated land.
Controversies[edit]
The proposed project would displace 276 villages and 44,574 families spread across three districts of Andhra Pradesh. Tribals constitute 50% of such a displaced population.[16] Human rights activists came out against the project because of these reasons. In addition, one activist pointed out that this interlinking of the rivers will harm the interests of the Telanganaregion of the state.[17] Environmental activist Medha Patkar said that the project not only will displace several thousands of families, it will also submerge several archaeological sites, coal deposits, a wildlife sanctuary and several hectares of farm land.[18]
Sixty-four years after the initial conception of the project, the Government of Andhra Pradesh secured the environmental clearance from the central agency in 2005. This clearance was obtained after the state government prepared a 
Meanwhile, work on the project began in April 2006 and was expected to be completed by February 2007.[22] After 30% work of excavation work on the canals and 15% of the spillway works had been completed, the work was halted in May 2006 to seek clearance from the Ministry of Forests and Environment.[23]
The neighbouring state of Orissa also expressed its concern on the submerging of its land and decided to study this together with the officials from Andhra Pradesh.[24] In response, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Late Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy clarified that neither Orissa nor Chhattisgarh would be affected by the construction.[25] The problem continued until 2010, when Chief Minister of Orissa Naveen Patnaik remained steadfast in his demand for compensation and rehabilitation of tribals of his state who would be displaced due to the submerging of their land.[26]
Orissa and Chhattisgarh have filed a petition in the Supreme Court against the Project which submerges large areas of its state and allege that Andhra Pradesh of going ahead with the project without the necessary permissions from CWC and Environment Ministry. The states also allege that public hearing in the effected areas for not held.
Telangana Rashtra Samithi which is soon to form the Government in Telangana on 2nd June 2014 has given a bandh call on 29th May 2014 protesting against the ordinance promulgated by the President [27] resulting in postponing of Intermediate and Degree exams and causing inconvenience to office commuters as public transport was affected.[28]
Interstate river water disputes[edit]
Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh entered into agreement (clause vi of final order, page 80 of original GWDT) which were made part of Godavari Water Disputes Tribunal (GWDT) award.[29] The agreement allows Andhra Pradesh to construct the Polavaram reservoir with full reservoir level (FRL) at 150 feet above the mean sea level (MSL). Orissa approached Supreme Court against the design discharge capacity of the Polavaram dam spill way stating that it should be designed for five million cusecs (cubic feet per second) which is the estimated probable maximum flood (PMF) once in 1000 years duration. Orissa argues that otherwise there would be additional submergence above 150 ft MSL in its territory during peak floods. The recorded maximum flood is 3.0 million cusecs in the year 1986 during last 115 years.[30]
The projected back water level build up at Konta due to PMF in Godavari river after construction of Polavaram project with designed maximum water level (measured at dam point) shall be cross checked with the level that can occur at Konta in Sabari basin from the PMF generated in the upstream of Konta when the downstream main Godavari is not under spate. Then only enhanced submergence during the PMF of Godavari river in Orissa and Chatisgarh states can be assessed due to Polavaram dam construction.
The location of Polavaram dam is in the plain area at approximately 10 km downstream from the 50 km long narrow gorge in the Papi Hills. It is also to be ascertained whether the higher back water level during the PMF in Godavari river is solely due to the presence of long narrow gorge which is acting as a natural dam / barrier or further enhanced by the presence of downstream Polavaram barrage.
It is purely an academic interest showing concern for the few thousand hectares of farm/forest land submerged by the back water level build up once in five hundred or thousand years without showing concern for the thousands of square kilometres land submerged in the area downstream of the dam with a river flood of magnitude five million cusecs.
Thirty two years have passed after GWDT award in 1980, Maharashtra, Orissa and Chhattisgarh have not made serious efforts to harness the major Godavari tributaries such as Sabari River, Indravati River and Pranahita River to utilise the allocated share of Godavari waters. This underutilisation of water is the main reason for the very high flood flows at Polavaram dam site. Vast area in excess of 10,000 square km up to sea are frequently flooded (at least once in a decade) by Godavari floods in Andhra Pradesh by the flood waters originated in Madhya Pradesh, Maharastra, Orissa and Chhattisgarh states. The land submergence due to Polavaram dam in Orissa and Chhattisgarh states is fraction of Andhra Pradesh area which is affected by the floods in Godavari River. During the years from 1953 to 2011, Andhra Pradesh suffered nearly 558 billion rupees which is 26% of total flood damage in India.[31] It is justified to raise the FRL of Polavaram dam further on this ground alone. One single criterion shall be applied by the tribunals / courts for all the submerged lands whether they are related to reservoir projects construction or due to river floods (i.e. non-utilisation of river water). Upstream states shall not take granted that downstream state areas are permitted to be flooded /inundated by the river flood water without offering agreeable relief / comforts.
Orissa and Chhattisgarh entered into agreement (clause 3e, Annexure F, Page 159 of original GWDT) to construct a Hydro electricity project at Konta / Motu just upstream of the confluence point of Sileru tributary with Sabari River (tri-junction point of Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Chhattisgarh boarders).[32] When this project is constructed, the land submergence would be more than that of Polavaram back waters. It would be better that Orissa and Chhattisgarh enter into agreement with Andhra Pradesh to shift the location of this Hydro electricity project further down stream in Andhra Pradesh territory to harness Sileru river water also for hydro electricity generation. This joint project of the three states would eliminate the back waters issue of Polavaram dam.
The 200 km long stretch of the Sabari river forming boundary between Chhattisgarh and Odisha drops by 2.25 meters per km length on average. This stretch of the river has substantial hydro electricity generation potential by building medium head (< 20 m) barrages in series to minimise land submergence. The surplus water of Indravati River in Odisha can also be diverted to Sabari river via Jaura Nallah through which Indravati River flood waters naturally overflow into Sabari basin.
See also[edit]
External References[edit]
References[edit]
^ "Indirasagar (Polavaram) Project, Ministry of water resources, GoI". Retrieved 17 December 2013.
^ "Agitation against Polavaram, SANDRP". Retrieved 7 May 2014.
^ L., Bharati; V. U. Smakhtin and B. K. Anand (2009). "Modeling water supply and demand scenarios: the Godavari-krishna inter-basin transfer, India". Water Policy 11: 140. doi:10.2166/wp.2009.109. Retrieved 7 August 2013.
^ a b Luna, Bharati; B. K. Anand, Vladmir Smakhtin (2009). "Analysis of the Inter-basin Water Transfer Scheme in India: A Case Study of the Godavari-Krishna Link". Strategic Analysis of the National River Linking Project (NRLP) on India 5: 63–78. Retrieved 4 November 2010.
^ Amarasinghe, Upali A.; Sharma, Bharat R. (2008). "Benefits of Irrigation Water Transfer in the National River Linking Project: A Case Study of the Godavari (Polavaram)-Krishna Link in Andhra Pradesh". Strategic Analysis of the National River Linking Project (NRLP) on India 2: 173–193. Retrieved 4 November 2010.
^ Gujja, Biksham (2006). Perspectives on Polavaram, a major irrigation project on Godavari. Academic Foundation. pp. 17–19.ISBN 81-7188-578-0. http://books.google.co.in/books?id=HSnDO8Nlj2IC&lpg=PP1&dq=Perspectives%20on%20Polavaram%2C%20a%20major%20irrigation%20project%20on%20Godavari&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=false.
^ a b c d "YSR performs bhoomi pooja for Polavaram project". The Financial Express. 9 November 2004. Retrieved 4 November 2010.
^ "Dronamraju's birthday celebrated". The Hindu. 20 December 2005. Retrieved 4 November 2010.
^ "పోలవరంమొదటి దశ పనులకు నిధులుమంజూరు". Oneindia.in. 27 July 2004. Retrieved 4 November 2010.
^ "Tenders issued for AP irrigation projects". The Hindu Business Line. 21 August 2004. Retrieved 4 November 2010.
^ a b "Salient design data of Polavaram project, National Water Development Authority, GoI". Retrieved 17 February 2013.
^ "Irrigation projects status in Andhra Pradesh, AP Govt.". Retrieved 1 October 2013.
^ "Engineering Geology of dams; by Siva Bharatha Murthy . T". Retrieved 17 February 2013.
^ "Indirasagar (Polavaram) Project reservoir, Ministry of water resources, GoI". Retrieved 7 May 2014.
^ S., Laxman Rao; Priya Deshingkar and John Farrington (30 December 2006). "Tribal Land Alienation in Andhra Pradesh".Economic and Political Weekly: 5401–5407. Retrieved 4 November 2010.
^ "Polavaram project will spell doom for tribals: Human Rights Forum". The Hindu Business Line. 19 May 2005. Retrieved 4 November 2010.
^ "Green signal for Polavaram dam". The Times of India. 25 October 2005. Retrieved 4 November 2010.
^ "Polavaram project gets clearance". The Hindu. 26 October 2005. Retrieved 4 November 2010.
^ "TRS stalls Assembly over Polavaram". The Times of India. 17 February 2006. Retrieved 4 November 2010.
^ "CPI(M) plans Chalo Assembly on Polavaram". The Hindu. 9 February 2006. Retrieved 4 November 2010.
^ G. V., Ramana Rao (8 April 2006). "Work on Polavaram project in full swing". The Hindu. Retrieved 4 November 2010.
^ G., Nagaraja (18 May 2006). "Polavaram project works come to a grinding halt again". The Hindu. Retrieved 4 November 2010.
^ "Orissa for joint survey on Polavaram project". The Hindu. 15 November 2006. Retrieved 4 November 2010.
^ "Polavaram: no submergence in other States". The Hindu. 28 March 2007. Retrieved 4 November 2010.
^ "Polavaram dam: Andhra vs Orissa". NDTV. 4 November 2010. Retrieved 4 November 2010.
^ http://www.newswala.com/India-National-News/TRS-calls-bandh-in-Telangana-on-29-May-2014-64192.html
^ http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/andhra-pradesh/telangana-bandh-hits-normal-life/article6060182.ece
^ "Water flow data at Polavaram". Retrieved 26 May 2014.
^ "State wise flood damage statistics in India". Retrieved 4 January 2013.
^ "24 MW Sukuma Hydro Project near Konta". Retrieved 29 April 2013.
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