Government of UttarakhandUttarakhand Disaster Recovery Project

Project Implementation Unit(TA& CBDRM)

River Morphological Analysis and Design of River Training and Bank Protection Works in Uttarakhand State

Stakeholder Consultation10 March 2016

Vikash Bhawan, Pithoragarh

Organised by:DHI (India) Water & Environment Pvt. Ltd in JV with RITES Ltd

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1. Introduction & Objectives

The consultancy contract on the Project “River Morphological Analysis and Design of River Training and Bank Protection Works in Uttarakhand State” was signed between Project Implementation Unit (TA & CBDRM) of the Uttarakhand Disaster Recovery project (UDRP) and DHI (India) Water & Environment Pvt. Ltd. In JV with RITES Limited was signed on 5th December 2015.

The consultancy project commenced on 21st December 2015 with a kick-off meeting held at Dehradun and with mobilization of the Consultant’s staff. The as-signment is scheduled to be completed in 22 months. The river reaches con-sidered in the project are: Alaknanda (190 km) from Badrinath to Devprayag; Bhagirathi (205 km) from Gangotri to Devprayag; Mandakini (98 km) from Ke-darnath to Rudraprayag; Dhauliganga (40 km) from Tawaghat to Jauljibi and Kali (56km) from Jauljibi to Pancheswar.

The project is being implemented in three phases. 1st phase consists of the identification of vulnerable reaches to recommend the protection works of such reaches in the form of engineering design and DPRs. 2nd phase consists of the morphological study of the reaches under consideration and development of Uttarakhand River Morphological Information System (URMIS). The 3rd phase is the revisit of the measures proposed during the 1st phase.

The Draft Inception Report for Phase-1 has been submitted to PIU (TA & CBDRM) on 21st January 2016. The Inception report contains an updated approach and methodology as well as detailed work plan and consultant staff assignment. Needs of various data have been identified. Study Rivers have been done based on extensive field visits and consultation with district and local authorities and stakeholders.

As part of stakeholder consultation, an inception workshop was organised on January 28, 2016 to further consolidate the needs assessment process with an active participation from the stakeholders. In continuation of inception workshop at Dehradun, first district stakeholder consultation workshop was organised at Pithor-agarh to share local knowledge and experience about the Kali river stretch. It was well attended by 47 participants from various departments of the district along with ITBP and SSB representative. A list of registered participants is given in Appendix A. The Workshop Programme is given in Appendix B.

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2. Inaugural Session

The Inaugural Session was chaired by Mr. H.C.Semwal, District Magistrate, Pithoragarh. Other dignitaries, Dr. Girish Chandra Joshi (Disaster Management specialist), Mr. R.S.Rana (District Disaster Management Officer), Dr. Guna Nidhi Paudyal (Team Leader), Mr. R. K. Dayal (Add. General Manager, RITES) were also present in the meeting.

Dr. Guna Nidhi Paudyal, Team leader of the project welcomed the District Magis-trate Mr. H. C. Semwal.

Mr. R.S.Rana, DDMO Pithoragarh, with the permission of the chair started the proceeding with very brief explanation of the project and the consultation workshop.

Dr. Guna welcomed all the participants, thanked the DM for his keen interest and provided facilities for the stakeholder consultation Dr. Guna then made a presenta-tion to explain about the following aspects of the project as:

The necessity of this project in the state of Uttarakhand especially in the aftermath of the 2013 flood disaster.

The main objectives and the expected outcomes of the project. The future uses of the outcomes of this project especially in the field of understanding the river behaviour under different scenarios; probably effect on humans, settlements, infrastructures etc. How the project output will assist the administration in averting/controlling disastrous situation.

The project is being studied in three different phases. The scope of the work in each phase was explained in detail. The first phase of the study is in progress. Consultation, data collection and surveying works have started.

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All the participants were requested to give their valuable feedback and suggestions.

DM Mr. H.C. Semwal thanked the team leader and his team for organising this workshop in Pithoragarh. He also briefly talked about the issues related to Dhaul -iganga and Kali Rivers. He mentioned the problems in Ramganga and Gori-ganga as well. These rivers are the major tributaries to the Kali River. He especially mentioned the section downstream of the Sobhila in the Dhauliganga. Mr. Semwal suggested to look into that issue as well.

Executive Engineer from Dharchula, Mr. P.K. Dixit put his opinion on the proposed river and design of river training and bank protection works. He expressed that:

Lacey’s method of scour depth calculation is still being followed in the present day calculation of scour depth around riverine structures.

The flood in 2013 caused huge damage to the property along the Dhaul-iganga- Kali River but fortunately no human causality was reported.

The approval committee in Dehradun should also consider experiences of field engineers in addition to theoretical aspects. He requested the consult-ant to suggest appropriate solutions to the Kali river stretch.

The Irrigation Department uses a silt factor of 10.5 on an average for the Kali river. However, it varies significantly along the river stretch.

Concrete wall with apron and C.C block has been observed to be very successful at the curved section of the river. However, random rubble ma-sonry has proved useful at straight sections from practical experience. Mr. Dixit suggested the consultant to provide a best combination for different type of problems at different situation.

Discharge at respective site is necessary to design a riverine structure. There is lack of discharge measuring device along the rivers. The consult-

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ant should propose some new, latest and reliable techniques to measure discharges in the hilly rivers.

More than 50 projects on river bank protection have been submitted to the government for approval. As of now 23 projects are ongoing.

Mr. J.C. Joshi, SE, Irrigation Department shared his experience on the Nachani, Harira nala 13 kms from Thal towards Munsiyari. Continuous fall of debris is being observed since very long time from the hill top. The debris entering the river flow down along with the flow during high flows, while it remains deposited in the river during lean flows. He also raised the issue of river bed aggradation and the result -ing problems.

Dr. G.C. Joshi, Disaster Management Specialist, PIU (TA & CBDRM) highlighted on the need of the river morphology study. He suggested to study the catchment area

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as well for better estimation of the hydrology. He also requested all stakeholders present to share project information to the consultant as the project is on high prior-ity of the Government of Uttarakhand.

Mr. Kamal Singh Rawat, DC Engineering ITBP shared his experience and gave some suggestion as:

Generally the materials required for the bank protection structures are taken from the same location, the result of which is the quick damage/ short life span to the same structure. The river behaviour also changes due to the improper mining of the sand and boulders from the river.

Extensive road constructions are taking place in the hills of Uttarakhand. The normal practice is that the excavated materials are dumped in the rivers. Such practice, in one hand not environmentally friendly and on other hand changes the river behaviour in various ways. There should be some guidelines for this practice and the proposed study should include such is-sue as well.

The foundation of riverine structures should reach at least to the natural rock beneath it.

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Dr. Manjula, Associate Professor, PG College, Pithoragarh suggested to look into the catchment management issues such as:

For the proper functioning of a river, its treatment of its catchment is import-ant.

Rain water harvesting should be encouraged.

Measures to increase vegetation cover in the upstream areas should be en-couraged.

Agro-forestry should be promoted.

Improper cultivation, grazing, mining activities should be stopped by the government.

Catchment encroachment should be completely stopped.

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The Team Leader thanked the DM and all the participants for making the workshop successful. He informed that the suggestions provided by the participants have been noted and will be considered in consultation with PIU.

Mr. Semwal, District Magistrate finally concluded the workshop with instruction to all the stakeholders to cooperate with the consultant team and provide all the neces-sary information.

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Appendix A: List of Participants

S.No. Name Organisation Designation Contact

1 Er. K K Joshi RWD Didihat Assistant Engineer 9412436014

2 Er. K.S.Rawat D.C.Engineering ITBP 9456114429

3 Mr. A.K.Gumla Agriculture PPO Pithoragarh 9411703500

4 Er. P.K.Dixit Irrigation Department Executive Engineer 9412394672

5 Ashok Kumar SSB 11th BN 7500054855

6Mr. B. C. Upadhyay AE Irrigation Deprat-

ment, Pithoragarh9412910003

7 Ravi Kumar SSB SI 9411316338

8 R.S.Rana Disaster Management DDMO 9412079945

9Dr. Manjula Chul; Geography Department,

PG college PithoragarhAssociate Professor 9456164599

10Ritesh Kumar Verma Disaster Management S.A.DEOC Pithora-

garh9837983080

11 Ravi Chandra DDMA E E Irrigation 9412383205

12 R.S.Bisht DDMA JE 7830133128

13 J.C.Joshi Irrigation Department SE 9456343205

14 Dinesh Kumar Mining Department Mines Officer 9411167356

15 Aishwarya Shah Geology and Mining Surveyor 9410772918

16Jeewanti Joshi Executive officer Nagar Palika

Parishad, Dharchula9458306952

17 Sikender Kumar Irrigation Department AE 9456326067

18 P.C.Pant Revenue Tehsildar 9411797151

19 Mr. Pawan Singh UPCL EE 9412093020

20 Mr. Rajiv Ranjan Minor Irrigation EE 9412094571

21 Mr. Dheeraj Negi DDMA 8791904749

22 Dr. Meenakshi Joshi Horticulture DHO 7579443185

23 Er. B.S.Bora RWD AE 9412042137

24 Mr. D Khunnu RWD SE 8650489290

25 Mr. Gopal Giri R.D DDO 9472925575

26 Mr. Shivam Dwivedi Pey Jal Nigam, Didihat AE 7535869440

27 Mr. Bilal Younus Jal Sansthan EE 9458993180

28 Mr. N.C.Joshi PD.PwD EE 9411335877

29 Mr. R.S.Dharmashaktu Pey Jal Nigam, Pithoragarh EE 9411557744

30 Mr. A.K.Sharma UREDA Project officer 9411113247

31 Mr. Naresh Kumar R.D P.D 9412970003

32Mr. Bhagwati Prassad Tamta

Tourism District Tourism De-velopment officer

9411331391

33 Mr. H.C.Semwal District Administration District Magistrate 9410392121/9412980100

34 Mr. C.P.Singh PWD, Pithoragarh SE 9412639254

35 Mr. P.C.Joshi PWD, Pithoragarh EE 9412967464

36Mrs. Girija Joshi Information District Information

officer9412908675

37 Mr. Rajneesh Kumar UDRP EOM-PIU-UDRP 9758020000

38 Dr. G.C.Joshi PIU-UDRP DMS 9412379345

39 Dr. Guna Nidhi Paudyal DHI Team Leader

40 Mr. Sanjay Raut RITES Manager 9873684448

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41 Mr. R.K.Dayal RITES GM 9818430449

42 Mr. Amit Kumar RITES Sr. DGM 9868022617

43 Mr. D.S.Negi RITES JGM 9811333617

44 Mr. Lalit Kumar RITES Manager 8130556767

45 Dr. Akhilesh Ranjan RITES 9810945023

46Dr. Nilav Karna DHI Sr. Water Resource

Engineer9458113899

47Mr. Lalit Mohan DHI Sr.Geospatial Appli-

cation Specialist9650723377

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Appendix B: Workshop ProgrammeDate: 10 March 2016Venue: Vikash Bhawan

30:00 pm-3:30pm Registration

3:30-4:00pm Opening Session: Chair: Mr. H.C.Semwal, District Magistrate, Pithoragarh

Welcome address: by Mr. R.S.Rana, DDMO, Pithoragarh.

Overview of the project: Dr. Guna Nidhi Paudyal, Team Leader, Consult-ant (DHJI-RITES JV)

Remark by the Chairperson

4:00 – 5:00 Snacks/Tea Break and question answer session.

Open Discussion

Concluding remarks by the Chairperson

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