India has 5,745 dams, of which 293 are more than 100 years old, 25% of the dams are between 50 and 100 years old. The change in rainfall patterns have made the operation of these dams very difficult. There is a ‘rule curve’ for managing water levels and opening the gates of the dam, the ‘rule curve’ are simple graphs which tell how much water level should be maintained in the dams according to its location and rainfall pattern in that area.
But due to change in climate, those graphs are now useless,as they fail to properly align with the rains. According to a recent IPCC report the ocean and wind currents that are responsible for the Indian monsoon are shifting in a way that is hard to predict. The Annamayya project on Cheyyeru river ended in disaster last year, that region faced droughts for many years and then suddenly it was flooded with more than twice the amount of expected rainfall; not only that, regions where heavy rainfall is expected like Kerala, also suffered in 2018 because the dams that were built to hold water failed, that’s how unpredictable the weather has become.
According to a research published by IISc, all the dams need their own ‘rule curve’ instead of one ‘rule curve’ for all, but there are political hurdles in the way of doing that, like a more powerful MP can release water into a less powerful MPs district but the reverse is difficult even if the ‘rule curve’ dictated to so.
The situation of dam related disasters has caused lots of deaths and crop failures in recent years. The Parliament passed Dam Safety Act in the winter session of 2021,, under which the National Committee on Dam Safety will be responsible for making policies, and the National Dam Safety Authority, will be responsible for implementation
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Technology is a useful servant, but a dangerous master, it was rightly said. Electronic devices have grown into an inevitable part of our daily lives.
