Landslide dams Tsangpo river

Floods feared in Arunachal and Assam; governments least prepared a landslide on the Indo-Tibetan border has blocked the course of the river Tsangpo (Brahmaputra) resulting in the formation of a reservoir. This may cause flood in downstream areas of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam if the barrier of mud and debris bursts under pressure from water accumulating on the other side.

South Asia

Going powerless: Bangladesh is facing an acute shortage of natural gas supply that has crippled its power sector. The Power Development Board currently faces a shortfall of 165 million cubic feet per day (mcfd). At present it requires 850 mcfd of gas to generate around 4,000 megawatt (MW) of electricity but receives only 685 mcfd. With the arrival of summer, the situation has deteriorated in urban areas, including the capital city, Dhaka. To meet the increasing power demand, the board has announced regular power cuts every alternate hour.

Ifthen

Floods in India to be avoided using fuzzy logic IF A washing machine can figure out how dirty the laundry is, then it can calculate how long it should wash, how much detergent to add and how much water is needed. This is called the fuzzy logic technology and it works on a simple "if-then" principle. At present machines like air conditioners or microwave ovens have fuzzy logic technology operating them. Researchers from India have now suggested using fuzzy logic to improve dam operations.

News 360° - Briefs

climate change Poznan talks begin Delegates from 186 nations congregated in the Polish city of Poznan on December 1 to negotiate a new climate change treaty to succeed the Kyoto Protocol in 2012.

The right level

Orissa's floods made worse by full tank at Hirakud dam

Mahseer in danger

illegal sand extraction upstream of Cauvery has put the Deccan mahseer in danger. "We have not caught a mahseer that weighs more than 10 kg in Shivasamudram (in Karnataka) in the past 10 years,'' says Prathap Ruthnaswamy of Wildlife Association of South India (wasi). The association manages fishing in the Shivasamudram dam and its canals.

Aftermath of China's earthquake

Farmers resolute on not sharing Hirakud waters

A continuing agitation by farmers over diversion of water from the Hirakud reservoir to industrial units is threatening to spoil the Orissa government's calculations for assembly elections next year. Farmers say they will not accept anything less than a complete ban on industrial use of the dam water. On March 23--Bhagat Singh's 76th martyrdom day--the farmers renewed their pledge to continue their fight for water.

Economic growth brings in invasive species

Fish invasion--0-5 per cent, 5-25 per cent and 25-95 per cent--is classified as vulnerable, endangered and critically endangered. They are the percentages of non-native fish species compared to the total number of fish present in the

Central Water Commission overestimates the country's usable water resources

If the government is to be believed there is enough usable water in the country to meet projected demand until 2050. Stumped by this claim, scientists at iit Delhi and Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, pored over official calculations for estimating the country's water resources. They say the government has overestimated its usable water resources by at least 66 per cent.