Secure the dams

Centre should not leave the job to states

The government’s initiative to conduct the first ever “break analysis” of all the 5,247 major dams in the country to assess their vulnerability and to formulate emergency action plans for them is a much needed move. What is surprising is why nobody thought about taking such a critical measure earlier given that the viability of many of the dams has been known to be gravely endangered due to ageing, silting and worsening ecological conditions. Going by official reckoning, about 80 per cent of the large dams are older than 25 years. The majority of them have surpassed their designed lifespan