Dehradun, June 5
Uttarakhand finds itself at the cross-roads on the issue of generation of hydro-power from rivers, rivulets and water bodies fed by the Himalayas. The Nainital High Court has directed the newly formed Ganga Basin River Authority to decide the fate of the two hydro-electric projects, Pala Maneri and Bhairon Ghati, on the Bhagirathi river.

Work on the projects was halted by the state government within two months after environmental activists and local voluntary groups expressed concern over the fate of various rivers.

Large stretches of rivers have turned dry since the construction of several hydro-electric projects after the formation of Uttarakhand state in 2000.

The Uttarakhand government has been focussing on harnessing the hydro-power potential of the state to make it a truly 'energy state' by allowing tapping of its huge hydro-electric potential of more than 20,000 mw.

As more and more hydro-electric projects took off, the authorities encountered several problems, including rehabilitation of displaced persons. Things turned serious with the cave-in at Chai village located near the Vishnuprayag hydro-electric project owing to construction of a 11-km-long tunnel underground. People began to fear displacement following the coming up of projects like Maneri Bhali Phase-II, Loharinag Pala and Pala Maneri.

The cave-in at Pato village triggered by the Roopsuiabagad-Khasiabagad tunnel on Gauri Ganga and the damage caused to the Singoli Bhatwari tunnel in Rudraprayag district of Garhwal saw voices against the power projects getting more shrill.

“The existence of rivers, including the Ganga, is threatened with 330 big, medium and small dams planned throughout the state in years to come.

“Not only the rivers and their ecosystems are in peril, but the lives and livelihood of hundreds of villages are bound to be affected," said Dr Ravi Chopra of the People’s Science Institute (PSI), a voluntay group campaigning for better management of rivers and their eco-systems.

Concerned citizens and social activists joined hands to mobilise locals against the alleged anti-river policies of the state and launched a campaign in 2008 under social activist Radha Behn, who has remained in the forefront in saving the Kosi river in Kumoan.

Padyatras were organised throughout the year in a dozen river valleys of the state to make the people aware about the impact of the hydro-electric projects and other unsustainable policies of the state. A total of more than 5,000 people in 15 teams traversed 2,000 km as part of the campaign.

"Official policies view water as a commodity and not a community resource that is essential for survival," said Radha Behn, chairperson, Gandhi Peace Foundation.

"We are not campaigning against hydro-power generation. We, believe, however, that there are better ways to generate power that do not threaten lives and livelihood.

“The state government needs to carefully study the issues and prepare a comprehensive policy with involvement of communities likely to be affected so that they can be partners in development," emphasised Dr Chopra. Large stretches of river-beds have gone dry.

A total of 26 km of the Bhagirathi downstream Maneri Bhali-I and Maneri Bhali-II has gone dry.

For Lohari Nagpala, a 13.6 km-long tunnel will be dug and for Pala Maneri project water will be routed through a 8.7 km-long underground tunnel. Nearly 12 km of the Alaknanda has gone dry downstream Vishnuprayag project in Chamoli.

Activists say the present developmental policies will ultimately sound the death knell of the rivers and rivulets in this Himalayan region. “The state government as well as the Centre has turned a blind eye to the plight of snow-fed rivers and the continuous decrease in the discharge levels has become a matter of concern for the common man,” said Basant, a volunteer from Kumoan.

“I want to reiterate that we are not against hydro-power projects but environmental concerns should be paramount. As a first step, there should be public hearing before the start of any project. Second, the affected people should be rehabiliated before the start of the project.

“No explosives should be used for making tunnels and only boring machines should be employed and finally, there should be a mechanism for public monitoring of each project,” Dr Ravi Chopra suggested.

Activists say while glacier-fed rivers are under threat from power projects, spring-fed rivers in the state are drying up due to deforestation.

"Rainwater runs off the denuded slopes leading to very little recharge of the rivers after the rainy season and over-extraction of water for the ever-increasing demand further depletes the water flow.

“Sustained community-based efforts to plant trees on the slopes of the denuded hills are needed to save the Himalayan rivers,” maintained eminent environmentalist Sunder Lal Bahuguna.

“A comprehensive developmental policy taking into consideration the ecological sensitivity of the Himalayas and the people dependent on it should be framed.

“A time-bound programme should be launched for afforestation of the hills with broad-leaf trees like the oak to tackle the problem of decreasing water levels in the rivers. “Local people should be involved in decision-making in any developmental scheme,” he added.

The Uttarakhand government had stopped work on the Pala Maneri and Bhairon Ghati projects on the Bhagirathi following an indefinite fast by Prof GD Agarwal in June 2008.

Agarwal had demanded that no project on the Bhagirathi be built between Gangotri and Uttarkashi keeping in view the religious sentiments of the Hindus. But there are others who oppose any delay in the construction of the projects.

Awadhash Kaushal, chairperson, Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra (RLEK), who has challenged the government decision to stop work on the two projects, argued that such projects were a must to meet the energy needs of the state as well as 
the country.

“There should not be any delay on frivolous grounds,” he held. 

Dehradun, June 5
Roller-skating may not have a glorious past as is the case with football in Dehradun but city youths had showed great interest in the game way back in the 1970s. The present-day New Empire cinema hall was once a centre for the game. The second centre came up at Haridwar road in the 80s. But the two centres closed down soon after.

Children at a summer camp in Dehradun. Tribune photo: Vinod Pundir

Today, individual efforts have managed to somewhat revive the game in the city.

The game had slowly vanished from the city as the two popular centres were commercialised. Little earnings from the sport forced roller-skating centre owners to close them in the 1980s.

“The New Empire centre was the first one to be converted into a cinema hall,” said Arvind Gupta who is the owner of the Roller Skating Association.

“The shutdown happened because the centre were not earning much from the game despite the fact that a good number of youths were pouring in for the game.

"The centre owners thought commercialisation was a better option. The second centre for skating was later converted into a banquet hall,” said Gupta.

After the closure of the two centres in Dehradun, the game was just limited to Mussoorie where a big number of tournaments were organised.

The charm of skating in Mussoorie had grown to such an extent that people from other states visited Mussoorie to participate in tournaments.

On the other hand, there was no effort made in Dehradun to revive the game until 2000 when Arvind Gupta, a skating enthusiast, started making efforts in this direction.

Arvind and his friends had to put in great efforts for two years.

Slowly and steady, skating has recaptured some of its lost ground in the city. For promotion of skating, many academies have come up and a huge number of children are undergo training at these academies. In the past eight years, some 10,000 children have taken to skating in Dehradun, Mussoorie and Haridwar region and the number is much higher in the state.

In the skating camp at Olympus High School, about 100 boys and girls, in the age group of five to 18 years, are participating. The fee charged is Rs 350 per month per child. Ena Malhota, who is in class V and began skating four years back, said, “Skating is like flying in the air. I love skating. I have also taught it to my younger brother Pulak.

“In the beginning, I found it tough to balance myself. But now, I have adapted to it and am enjoying it,” said Ena. She, along with her brother, is attending the camp.

Akshay Johari and Shantanu Sen, who have represented India at the annual international skating tournament that is held in Nepal, are also attending the camp. Shantanu Sen said,

“I took to skating after I saw a boy skate. Now it is my favourite game and I want to take part in it in the future as well.”

Amit Goyal, a jewellery shop owner who had participated at the national and state-level in skating in 1988 and 1990, said, “There was a great craze for skating in Dehradun in the 80s. But the lack of promoters killed the game here.

“At that time, I represented for Uttar Pradesh at the state level and later went on to play at the national level.” Nowadays, he, along with Arvind, is imparting coaching to children at the summer camp.

Children, sure, are having oodles of fun.