The uncontrollable,unscientific and uncalledrace to squeeze maximum hydroelectric power from the river has destroyed the very existence of this valley.
|| JUNAID MALIK
Chenab valley known for its serene and picturesque beauty with gigantic slow clad mountains ,lush green forests,roaring and tumultuous rivers,world known saffron and rarest gem of sapphire has attracted Sufi saints travellers and adventurers since ages.the valley named after river Chenab which literally means Chand Aab ,chandrabhaga ,the moon river which has its origin in Himachal meanders enters the state through the sapphire valley of padder in kishtwar .it covers the districts of Doda, Ramban,reasi before it gets Calm and finally merges in to Arabian Sea.The river apart from its huge hydro electric capacity has many folklore and legends attached to it and has lot of reverence particularly among the Hinduism who considers it not less than the Ganga.but the beauty,bounty and capacity of this major river has proved to be a bane for its souls.
The uncontrollable,unscientific and uncalled race to squeeze maximum hydroelectric power from the river has destroyed the very existence of this valley.himachal has already constructed more than 10 major dams on this river but Jammu and Kashmir is no less a major player to remain behind in this race.dulhasti,salal,baghlihar I and II have already been commissioned and others like Karthai rattle pakal dool Bursar are in the pipeline. these major projects although are generating thousands of mega watts of electricity reaping huge profits to the executing agencies but at the same has played havoc with the bio diversity,demographic and geographic factors of the Chenab valley.
Although these hydroelectric projects have proved to be a boon for the government at the centre but the state has only reapt destruction of both its habitation and ecology particularly the areas surrounding these projects. These huge dams which have turned this tumultuous and roaring river into giant lake has become detrimental to its catchment area.the sudden halt of river has made the water creep in to crevices and rock bed making them vulnerable to land slides and submergence of the adjoining areas.thousands of villages on both sides of the river bank are sinking due to erosion of its ground bed.small towns like pul Doda and like others have already got submerged into the river.this cumulative effect is seriously hitting the demographic ratios and migration of local populace.the villages and habitations along the river banks are fast submerging due to erosion of low lying soil beds which are geographically alluvial and Sandy in character.
The Chenab valley roads due its topography and altitude are notorious for its fatality and frequent road accidents which has resulted loss of thousands of lives.on an average more than 12.50 lac people loose their precious life due to road accidents in india and astonishingly erstwhile district Doda is top on the list. Since these roads are parallel to Chenab river,the eroding rock beds has resulted in submergence and sinking throughout the length of this road making this already fatal road not less than a deathtrap.
In the year 2010 itself a complete mountain mass of loose soil got washed away along with a stretch of more than a kilometre length of national highway IB.after this incident an expert group from ministry of road ways declared the whole length of road From batote to kishtwar as unsafe and unfit for daily commution.this submergence and erosion of Bedrocks Sandy in character has aggravated the problem of soil erosion which is at its Peak that too in a land which is rain shadow and desert area in terms of agricultural productivity.the sinking of roads at places leads to new surveys and realignment which consequently brings down more forest c overs and more soil erosion.this catastrophic situation has made a fissure eating up natural resources,forest covers,migration and agricultural land.
The unscientific and apathetic attitude of the executing agencies has not spared even the flora and fauna of the Chenab valley.thousands of trees and herbs got submerged into the lake.the famous Chenab trout is itself at brink of extinction due to sudden change and drift in its culture and habitation. thousands of hectares of land and forest cover is destroyed on dam sites,construction and camping dwellings in and around project area.in one such study bursar hydroelectric project alone will deplete 1077 hectares of forest land effecting more than 600 families and 28 villages.the sawlakote power project effects 1099 hectares of forest land and 600 hectares of forest cover.it would adversely effect kishtwar high altitude national park famous for musk deer,snow leopard and Himalayan black and brown beer apart from other rare 15 mammal species. the presence of men and machinery can seriously effect the wildlife of this prestigious national park.
The repercussive effects has serious implications on seismity and water resources of the valley.thae hydroelectric dams are located on high seismic zones which comes under zone 4 making it more vulnerable to cracks and its aftermath.according to a recent study by seismic experts Chenab valley comes under high risk seismic zone and fault line and the construction of huge dams is an open invitation to some great disaster.the blasting and tunnelling inside the giant mountains has seriously effected the water resources of the local catchment area.the valley known for fresh water streams and springs have dried up completely or diverted away from the Local populace.the Shalimar rivulet in the peripheries of kishtwar city once used to be the nearest recreation and picnic spot for school children and adventure lovers has completely dried up due to tunnelling work inside the dulhasti project.the fresh water springs are no more in the peripheries leading to extreme water crises in the major towns of the valley with no alternative around.the noise and air pollution has taken a serious toll on the health of the workers and local inhabitants around these power projects.the smoke dust from the construction sites have aggravated the air borne diseases within the labourers and surrounding population.
In brief,these hydroelectric projects instead of bringing prosperity and opportunities to the valley has only brought miseries and difficulties for the hospitable people of this valley.the destruction of ecosystem,biodiversity,flora and fauna and environmental disorders has marred the scenic and natural beauty of this paradise.the steps taken in the name of CSR are no where visible in the face of huge destruction to the whole valley itself.it has seriously effected the geographical and cultural dimensions of the valley which are repressive,irreversible and negative in character.the damage done is unimaginable and incalculable which has been detrimental not only to its geographic factors but in financial terms also. there is no arrangement in the contract between the central and state government which could give some share of power to local populace.Despite of generating thousands of megawatts of power from these rivers,the people of the area are languishing in dark and paying huge sums of rent to the power development departments in lieu of destruction and exploitation of their own resources.when a regional political party mounted some pressure on the central government to have some out of this chunk of profitability,the response was completely negative and unacceptable wherein it came to fore that the contract files are no more traceable with in government quarters.
This is simply flagrant abuse and exploitation of natural resources of the state that too at the cost of annihilation and destruction of its generators. this repressive approach is not only limited to Chenab valley projects but to the whole river system of the sate. Since much of the damage has already been done,the stake holders at the helm of affairs should come forward with some scientific approach to prevent any further damage to the area.the people of the valley must come on a joint platform to save their home with some mass movement like that of Yamuna Bachao andholan ,chipko movement and any such mass agitation which could further prevent the exploitation of this serene valley devoid of any political lineage.A joint and well knit plan with some organised and scientific approach could stop the destruction of this paradise lest the same may find the mention in extinct valleys after few decades ahead.
