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Will Narmada Valley Residents Face Flooding Again? This question haunts the minds of people living in the Narmada Valley every monsoon season. When heavy rains fall upstream along the Narmada River, the dams built across it begin to fill up rapidly. If water isn't released from these dams at the right time, first the villages in Madhya Pradesh upstream of the Sardar Sarovar Dam get flooded, followed by areas in Gujarat downstream.
Seeing this recurring danger, Medha Patkar, leader of the Narmada Bachao Andolan, has warned of launching a satyagraha (peaceful protest) if the dams aren't managed properly.
The 2023 Disaster
In September 2023, after a 10-day break in monsoon rains, heavy rainfall suddenly resumed in the Narmada Valley. Water was released from the first five dams on the river, but the largest and final dam, Sardar Sarovar, didn't release enough water in time. As a result, on the evening of September 16, 2023, 172 villages upstream of Sardar Sarovar were flooded.
The flooding was devastating. In Ikkalwada village, which is reportedly 600 years old, ancient two-story houses made of mud and wood stood until September 16 afternoon. When reporters visited on September 18, these structures had turned into ruins. Similar destruction occurred in Navratodi village near Maheshwar.
The Dam System
Six major dams are built on the Narmada River. Moving upstream, these are: Bargi, Tawa, Narmada Sagar, Omkareshwar, Maheshwar, and finally Sardar Sarovar. Water flows through each dam before reaching the Arabian Sea through the Gulf of Khambhat.
Two main strategies protect riverside communities during monsoons: coordinated dam operations (releasing water downstream in sync with upstream releases) and backwater level markers that show how much of each village could flood if gates aren't opened.
However, in 2023, neither the Sardar Sarovar gates opened on time nor did the backwater level markers prove accurate. According to the Narmada Bachao Andolan, this stems from problems dating back to 2007.
Despite years since Sardar Sarovar's construction, rehabilitation remains an unresolved issue. Poor dam management will only worsen these problems. Similar mismanagement allegations arose in 2024. With above-normal rainfall predicted for Madhya Pradesh this year, concerns about dam management and flooding are completely justified.
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