Repeated Accidents at Mountain Hydropower Projects Make a Full Review Inevitable

Hydropower projects in the Himalayas can make disasters worse rather than simply suffer their effects, according to Himanshu Thakkar, coordinator of the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People, or SANDRP.

In a written interview with Hankyoreh, Thakkar said hydropower development typically involves dams, tunnels, blasting, forest clearing, resettlement, submerged land, sediment dumping, material extraction, access roads and urban development. Together, he said, these activities tend to increase the vulnerability of mountainous areas to disasters. Once facilities begin operating, they can also cause unnecessary flooding downstream, further worsening that vulnerability.

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Hydropower development projects are mostly accompanied by elements such as dam construction, tunnel work, blasting, deforestation, resettlement, submergence, drying of downstream rivers, sediment dumping, material extraction, access-road construction and urban development, and all these elements tend to increase disaster vulnerability in the area.

The Trishuli River basin has experienced several disasters in recent years. Hydropower plants and other infrastructure suffered damage in July 2025 and September 2024. Thakkar said SANDRP had repeatedly observed hydropower facilities amplifying disaster damage across the Himalayan region of South Asia. He pointed to the absence of early-warning systems, weak disaster-preparedness and management plans, poor implementation, and a lack of government accountability as factors that deepen the impact of disasters.

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In the absence of serious efforts to learn lessons from disasters, we are likely to face more tragedies.

The concentration of hydropower facilities in difficult mountain terrain reflects the large elevation differences along rivers, which create opportunities for power generation. But Thakkar said developers often fail to conduct reliable social and environmental assessments, disaster-vulnerability studies, regional cumulative-impact assessments, and essential research into geology, weather and climate change. Weak governance makes the problems more pronounced.

He also questioned the treatment of hydropower projects as automatically “green” or “environmentally friendly,” saying international funders may regard them as ordinary investments despite inadequate studies and safeguards. Thakkar called for independent reviews of projects under construction, damaged facilities and operating plants. He said assessments should be conducted by experts without conflicts of interest and should examine cumulative impacts and climate change. He also urged climate-monitoring cooperation among Nepal, China and India.

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Hydropower development projects are often recognized as green or environmentally friendly even when they are not.