State Authority, Affected People Not Consulted

Mumbai: Deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar might have apologized for his callous “urinating-in-the-dam” statement that belittled the tragedy of Maharashtra’s farmers facing the worst drought in decades. But his apathy for them predates the blunder by years.
Between 2003 and 2011, as the water resources minister and then finance minister, Pawar chaired or partook in a high-powered committee that diverted almost 2,000 million cubic metre (mcm) of water meant for irrigation to industries.

Kolhapur: A fresh study of the earthquake-prone areas in the Koyna-Warna reservoir area is under way. A team of scientists from the CSIR-National Geophysical Research Institute, Hyderabad, has arrived here and is expected to study the areas where seismic activity has been prevalent at low or medium intensity.

The scientists will use the Airborne LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) and photographic data acquisition and processing system for geomorphological and structural studies. The one-month study will focus on the tectonic activities around the Warna and Koyna dams.

27,000 families in Satara on an indefinitesit-in at Koyna dam site

First, a dam, then an earthquake and finally a tiger reserve — families in Satara district’s Koyna have been displaced thrice in one generation. In 1960, the people had to move, paving the way for the Koyna dam; in 1967 following the earthquake and then for the Koyna tiger reserve in 1985, says Jagannath Vibhute, an activist of the Shramik Mukti Dal and one of the many farmers displaced by dam projects.

This summer, people in southern Maharashtra can enjoy either electricity or water, not both. Until recently, the state had prioritised use of water for industrial purposes over agriculture.

Eminent geophysicist Vinod K. Gaur has described as “flawed” the earthquake hazard assessment study carried out for the proposed Jaitapur nuclear power plant.

The human mind is brilliant, and enterprising. First we build dams and drown vast stretches of wilderness under reservoirs.

MUMBAI: The state government plans to denotify nearly 100 sq km of protected area (PA) that forms part of the Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary in the Western Ghats.

indigenous lake tapping aimed at providing uninterrupted water supply was carried out at the Koyna hydro- electric project in Satara district on Wednesday at the hands of Chief Minister Prithviraj

Even if the water levels in the Koyna dam falls during summer, Maharashtra may be able to get uninterrupted power supply from the hydro- electric project with the state successfully completing the