The Indravati is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful rivers on earth. Believed to be the most remote and pristine river remaining in peninsular India, it drains the vast forests of Bastar and the Indravati Tiger Reserve. The last remaining central Indian wild buffalo, whose total population is down to less than a hundred in all, find refuge along the river and its forested banks. The same forests have also given rise to, and still nurture, the ancient cultures of the Gonds, Madias and Murias, whose lives, for the most part, are untouched by the press of civilisation.
News of the Andhra Pradesh government's plans to revive the controversial Inchampalli dam project has alarmed all those concerned about the future of the Indravati Tiger Reserve and the approximately 44 wild buffalo it harbours. The Inchampalli hydroelectric power project has been proposed on the tri-state border of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Chattisgarh. The project will submerge or otherwise destroy around 40,000 ha. of good forest and displace at least 100 villages. Despite such massive adverse effects, the dam will only generate 340 MW of power!
Another argument used to justify the dam is that such development is needed to tackle the Naxalite problem in the area. However, by displacing so many thousands and wiping out their livelihoods (from both forest and river), such shortsighted development will only worsen feelings of discontentment towards the state among the local populace. Organisations opposed to the state will find it easy to take advantage of such an atmosphere.
The proposed site of the dam is just downstream of the village Somnur (Maharashtra) at the confluence of the Indravati and Godavari rivers. Both these major rivers are perennial. The reservoir created by the dam will submerge a part of the Indravati Tiger Reserve. Further, many of those displaced will be forced to set up new homes inside the forest, leading to felling, hunting and an overall increase in biotic pressure in the rest of the reserve. The wild buffalo is on the brink of extinction, and such ill-advised projects, could easily help bring about the end of the species. In this scenario, tampering with nature's design seems extremely foolish and arrogant.
The Inchampalli and several other proposed dams on the Indravati, such as Bodghat, Kutru and Nugur were the target of massive protests during the 1980s, as they threatened to displace thousands of tribals and drown many hundred square kilometres of forest. Similar targeted protests by both social groups and environmentalists will be needed if the Indravati is to continue to flow unimpeded in the years to come.
Readers are encouraged to write a letter asking that the Inchampalli dam project be halted.Â
