What are the disadvantages of building dams? Explain each disadvantage with a reasoning.

Disadvantages of dams

There are certain disadvantages associated with the construction of dams across rivers.

Environmental problems: The construction of dams across rivers leads to deforestation, which results in the loss of biodiversity. This creates a disturbance in the natural ecosystem.

Social problems: The construction of dams involves the building of large reservoirs. In some cases, constructing a reservoir may result in the flooding of nearby towns and villages. A large number of people are displaced as a direct consequence of the construction of reservoirs. In such cases, the government rehabilitates the people of these areas, which in itself is a huge task.

Economic problems: The construction of dams requires huge amounts of monetary investments. A dam does not become profitable until it starts generating electricity.

As a result of all these problems, there is a strong opposition to the construction of large dams. The opposition to the construction of the Tehri dam over the river Ganga and the Narmada Bachao Andolan (a protest against the proposed increase in the height of the Sardar Sarovar Dam over the river Narmada) are examples of such opposition