In The DirtyHydro Diaries we bring you the Parbati Story from Raila village, Sainj valley in Kullu district, Himachal Pradesh, affected by the NHPC’s 800 MW Parbati II Hydropower project. On 16th April 2017, villagers discovered a deep crack in their fields which now is threatening their lives.
April 15 is celebrated every year as Himachal Day. It was on this day that Himachal Pradesh was declared a Union territory separate from the Punjab Hill States in 1948. Several peasant struggles against bonded labour in the hills led to the emergence of a vision of an autonomous identity for the region, centred around the social […]
A short video that briefly summaries the ForestRightsAct2006. Please circulate widely to spread awareness about this very important piece of legislation. “The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act” was passed by the Central government in 2006. This Act was historical because it provided the much needed relief to those […]
This is an audio story from Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh where a series of occurances of slope de-stabilisation and landslides have been seen over the past few years in areas. This has happened more in areas where construction work involving drill and blasting for underground tunneling of Hydro projects or for roads. The most […]
In September, the office of the Municipal Corporation of Dharamshala (MCD) saw a sudden flurry of anxious activity. People at the MCD doorstep, now lining up to apply for affordable housing under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna (PMAY), were residents of the city a few months ago. On June 17, 2016, the MCD forcibly evicted […]
The Indian state of Himachal Pradesh has about a quarter of the country’s hydropower potential. It has an installed capacity of a little over 10,000 MW out of its full potential of over 27,000 MW. While the last decade saw a surge in hydropower development in the state, for the last three years the state […]
This is a short compilation of the news stories that were aired on E-TV (Hindi News Channel) on the impacts of the Sawra Kuddu Hydro Electric Project in Pabbar Valley (Shimla District). More about Sawra Kuddu HEP
In Baddi Barotiwala Nalagarh Industrial area, Solan in Himachal Pradesh, industries are dumping their waste, even hazardous waste, openly in unauthorised areas.The State’s Monitoring bodies – Pollution Control Board, Municipal bodies and revenue administration are silent on these violations. Memorandum to DC Solan […]
The film highlights the issue of safety violations and negligence in Hydropower Projects in Kinnaur, Himachal Pradesh, India. The focus is on an accident that took place at the 100 MW Sorang Hydroproject in November 2015. For more information : Memorandum to DoE Press statement 1/12/2015
A photo essay published in The Hindu Business Line by Sumit Mahar member of Himdhara Environment Research and Action Collective An industrial zone in Himachal’s Solan district leaves a trail of pollution and environmental degradation Baddi. Barotiwala. Nalagarh. The first two names won’t ring a bell if your interest in Himachal Pradesh is purely touristic. […]