Rivers of stone and dams of indifference

Tourists driving from the Jolly Grant airport in Dehradun to Rishikesh in November last year could not help but notice the river below the bridge as they passed through the model village of Ranipokhri. The bridge was both long and old and there was indeed a ‘river’ below; but there was no water and all one could see were boulders on the dry riverbed. This was odd because the monsoon had receded barely months before and water in this river, as well as others in Uttarakhand, would normally be seen till the onset of summer.

Villagers, however, confirmed that this was now the new pattern of rivers drying up before November. This river, known as Jakhan, too had dried up and until the next monsoon, only white stones and boulders would be left on the river bed. It had turned into a river of stones.

It came as a shock to this writer because as late as 2021, the same bridge had been damaged by the strong currents of the river, which originated from Tehri district and merged with the Ganga close to Dehradun. Barring the rains, the river now remains dry for the rest of the year, prompting local residents to describe it sardonically as the 'river of white boulders'.

It is worrying because many of these non-glacial rivers also feed the bigger rivers running into the plains. If they dry up, it would affect not just the people in the hills but also those in the plains. Even as national attention remains riveted on the cleanliness and health of perennial rivers like the Ganga and Yamuna, we have apparently taken our eyes off the plight of the hundreds of life-sustaining smaller rivers, tributaries and rivulets.

In Saharanpur (UP), several such rivers — Shakambhari, Hindon, Nagdev and Ganjirav — which once enriched the Yamuna, face a similar plight. There are, in fact, thousands of such water streams emerging from Uttarakhand and the adjacent Shivalik hills. They do not originate from Himalayan glaciers but their thinner and gentler flow of water nevertheless nurtures the fields, forests and settlements nestling next to the hilly terrains. Large rivers like the Ganga or Yamuna are not as beneficial to people living in the hills as these smaller ones.

Longer and larger glacial rivers with their stronger currents are more a blessing for the plains. The dams on these rivers and the energy generated by power plants also largely benefit people in the plains, and the cities, a lot more. This helps explain the indifference of both the government and opinion makers to these smaller streams and rivers, which are primarily nourished by rainwater and groundwater.

They remain critical, however, for people who depend on them because they are the water bodies which fulfil the demand for drinking water, irrigation and energy. The ecosystem of these rivers is also home to rare species and need more attention and care than they have received so far.

A report by the Natural Resource Data Management System (NRDMA) identified as many as 332 tributaries of all major rivers in Uttarakhand as having dried up. They have all turned into seasonal rivers. The report concedes that as many as 36 streams flowing into the river Kosi have also dried up. Several others like Chhoti Kosi, Devgad, Sainala, the report states, are counting their last days before they meet the same fate.

Tributaries of not just the Kosi but also Gomti and Ramganga have reported fast-depleting water levels. As many as 134 small gullies and rivulets fed by the Ramganga have dried up. The Saryu, Panar, Jaugan and Gagas rivers have also been affected. As much as 68 per cent of land in Uttarakhand receives water from non-glacial rivers and several thousand streams and what are locally known as nullahs and gullies.

The Kosi (Koshiki) river had 22 tributaries and flowed for 225 km some 50 years ago. Today, it flows for just 41 km. In 1992, the water flow in the river during May-June was pegged at 790 litres, which has gone down to 196 litres. The river continues to meet the entire water supply required by Almora and 343 villages. Tourist stations like Kausani, Someshwar, Daulaghat and Sheetalakhet, too, are dependent on the river.

The depleting water poses an existential threat to habitat as well as agriculture and horticulture in the region. A grim report published in April 2024 in the journal Earth’s Future had warned against being complacent due to an increase in annual rainfall and vegetation cover over the past two-and-a-half decades. Despite such seemingly positive developments, nearly 82 per cent of the perennial streams of major non-glacial rivers have turned into non-perennial ones during this same period, it claimed.

The flow of water in the major rivers decreased 16 times. This is also borne out by an increase in forest fires and landslides. Besides erratic rainfall and rising temperatures, increasing human interventions are also worrying. An increasing demand for water for agriculture, industry, tourism and the burgeoning population and rampant deforestation are obvious culprits. Groundwater levels are steadily going down and soil erosion is leading to an increase in sediments on the river bed.

Illegal mining is altering the course of rivers and indiscriminate construction of dams and hydel power plants is making things more difficult. People, at least those who live in the hills, are finally waking up to the threats posed by blasting to build roads and dams. These structures are blocking groundwater from reaching the surface, often diverting it from human habitations. Excessive use of groundwater and deteriorating sewage systems to cope with an increasing urban population have further accentuated the crisis.

People are also forced to deal with an increased number of animals in distress straying into human settlements. Rising encounters with wild animals is also attributed to the disappearance of the streams, which have affected sources of both food and water of these animals. Clearly the urgency of reviving and restoring these small rivers cannot be overstated.

However, only lip service has been paid until now. There was talk of forming a separate authority for reviving water streams, but the plans remained mostly on paper. The non-glacial rivers emerging from the youngest mountain, the Himalayas, and the ancient Shivalik mountains are affecting geological changes in strange ways. While conclusive evidence may not be available yet, there is widespread concern among experts and scientists that disappearance of streams in sensitive seismic zones may also lead to earthquakes and other major disasters.