Santa is buzzing with excitement after attending a meeting about a new hydropower project.
“Banta, wonderful news!”
“Our valley has been chosen for a big new dam!”
“The officer said it will bring Harit Urja and jobs for everyone!”
“No more smoke, no more pollution!”
“Just clean power from our rivers!”
“It’s a win-win situation!”
Banta listens, a familiar, cautious look on his face.
“Clean power is indeed a worthy goal, Santa.”
“But when you build a house, do you only look at the colour of the paint, or do you also check the foundation and the strength of the walls?”
“The foundation, of course!” Santa replies.
“What good is a pretty colour if the house itself is weak?”
“Precisely,” Banta says.
“And the foundation of our Himalayas is very delicate, very fragile.”
“We must be careful before placing a massive weight on it.”
“This green energy project has two hidden cracks in its promise that we must inspect carefully.”
“Cracks?”
“What cracks?” Santa asks, his enthusiasm dimming a little.
“First, the construction itself,” Banta explains.
“To build these huge dams and long tunnels, they will use powerful explosives for blasting.”
“This blasting can shake and fracture the surrounding mountainsides, which are already geologically stressed.”
“It’s like taking a perfectly sound, but very old and fragile, earthen pot and hitting it with a hammer to make a small hole.”
“You might make the hole, but you also create dozens of tiny, invisible cracks all over the pot, weakening it immensely.”
“These new weaknesses can easily become paths for future landslides.”
“Hmm, waking up sleeping slopes…” Santa murmurs.
“Exactly,” Banta continues.
“Now for the second, deeper crack in the promise.”
“Once the dam is built, it will hold back a massive lake, a reservoir weighing millions and millions of tons.”
“Imagine placing this immense, unprecedented weight on a part of the earth that we know is already full of hidden fault lines – deep cracks in the planet’s crust.”
He picks up a twig.
“This immense weight of the water can put new pressure on these old faults.”
“Sometimes, it can even lubricate them, allowing them to slip.”
“This can trigger new earthquakes where there were none, or make small tremors more frequent.”
“This is what scientists call Reservoir-Induced Seismicity or RIS.”
Santa looks horrified.
“You mean, the dam‘s own lake can cause earthquakes?”
“It is a known risk, Santa, especially with large dams in tectonically active areas like ours,” Banta affirms.
“So, while the project promises green energy far away in the cities, for us living right next to it, it might bring the risk of new landslides from the construction and new tremors from the reservoir itself.”
“It’s like being sold a beautiful, quiet electric car that has a small, hidden chance of exploding in your garage.”
Santa, who was dreaming of jobs and electricity, now looks very worried.
“So, this clean energy has some very dirty and shaky potential side effects for the local people?”
“Banta, this is a very complicated bargain!”
We are being asked to risk our land and our safety for this Harit Urja.”
Banta nods.
“It is, Santa.”
“And that is why a complete, honest Hisab-Kitab of all risks and benefits is crucial before we embark on such projects.
The green on the outside must not hide the red flags of geological danger underneath.”
“The safety of the local communities must be the first and most important chapter in any development story in the Himalayas.”
#piyoosh #piyooshrautela #riskavoider #riskavoideracademy
संता – बंता की इस जुगलबन्दी से आज हमने क्या सीखा:-
- जलविधुत परियोजनाओं के निर्माण में होने वाले विस्फोटकों के उपयोग तथा उत्खनन के कारण संवेदनशील हिमालयी ढालो का संतुलन बिगड़ता है जिससे भू – स्खलन का जोखिम बढ़ता है / Hydropower construction involving blasting and excavation can destabilize fragile slopes, increasing landslide risk.
- जलविधुत परियोजनाओं के बांधो में जमा पानी का दबाव भूकम्प का कारण बन सकता है / The immense weight of water in large reservoirs can induce seismic activity (Reservoir-Induced Seismicity), posing a significant threat in tectonically active regions.
- सम्बन्धित भू – वैज्ञानिक तथा पर्यावरणीय जोखिमों के सटीक आंकलन व निराकरण के आभाव में हरित ऊर्जा का ठप्पा एक भुलावा हो सकता है / The label “green energy” can be misleading if the associated geological and environmental risks to local communities are not fully assessed and mitigated.
- भू – वैज्ञानिक तथा पर्यावरणीय जोखिमों का सटीक आंकलन हर स्थिति में हिमालय में बड़ी जलविधुत परियोजनाओं की मंजूरी की एक आवश्यक शर्त होनी चाहिए / Comprehensive and transparent environmental and geological impact assessments are non-negotiable before approving large-scale hydropower projects in the Himalayas.
संता – बंता की यह जुगलबन्दी आपको कैसी लगी, कृपया हमें जरुर बताये
व
इस जुगलबन्दी को बेहतर बनाने के लिये अपने सुझाव अवश्य दें।
हमें हमेशा की तरह आपके सुझावों, प्रतिक्रियाओं व कटाक्षो का बेसब्री से इंतजार रहता हैं और सच मानिये इसी के आधार पर हम अपने आप में, अपनी सोच व रचनात्मकता में सुधार करने को प्रेरित होते हैं।
सो अच्छा – बुरा जैसा आपको महसूस हुवा हो, कमेंट जरुर करते रहें।
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