The case for hydropower.

Byline: Mushtaq Ahmad Jan

The agricultural sector benefits a lot since it doesn't have to depend on the rainy seasons to sow the crops.

Dams are free from pollution, provide clean energy and although they are a great source of cheap electricity and water supply, they are not free from controversies associated with environmental and negative social and cultural impacts.

Big concerns have been raised with regard to the displacement of human, animal and plant life, erosion of land and sedimentation issues. We study the benefits and potential hazards of hydropower by analyzing one dam, namely the Three Gorges Dam built in China, which too became a center of controversy.

The three gorges dam was built on river Yangtze in China. It is the world's largest gravity dam. Its power plant housing 32 turbines generating a total electric power of 22,500 MW was commissioned in 2012.

It has a reservoir 600 km long with a maximum storage capacity of 39 billion cubic meter.Thus saving the planet from the deadly effects of massive greenhouse toxic gasses. The dam can successfully minimize the effects of even a major flood.

In 2009 a major flood passed through the dam site. The dam successfully controlled the flood by limiting the flow of water downstream.

Besides, the dam discharged enough water into river downstream during the dry season to supply fresh water for agriculture, industry and urban usage.

The clean energy produced by the Three Gorges Hydroelectric Power Station in 2020 is estimated to be equivalent to saving about 34.39 million tonnes of standard coal and preventing the emissions of carbon dioxide by 94.02 million tonnes.

The downside of the dam was relocation of 1.3 million people and settling them in new habitats.

The catchment area of the reservoir erased many cities, towns, villages and archaeological sites. The habitat of the birds and the wild animals was destroyed. Some other issues like the effects of sedimentation and erosion were also raised.

However the upside of the dam far outweighs the downside if we consider the successful evacuation and rehabilitation of the human, animal life and plant life at...