Despite repeated suggestions to halt the mega dam work by north east dam experts, NHPC and the Centre have categorically allayed the fear of downstream disaster of the controversial dam at Gerukamukh. Yet another expert panel is studying the entire issue of downstream impact of the NHPC-owned power project. That is what it in the case of Assam.
But the Centre itself has held hydropower projects responsible for the Uttarakhand disaster last year that left hundreds dead and thousand displaced. The situation aggravated in the upstream and downstream areas of the projects. The Centre admitted it in the recent affidavits of the MoFE before the Supreme Court on Monday.
This has forced the Centre to stall 24 of the 39 proposed projects in the state on the sub-basins of the Alaknanda and Bhagirathi rivers.
According to the MoEF said that construction of the projects overburdened the local ecology. This has resulted in the irreversible damage to the environment in terms of loss of forests, degraded water quality, and an enhanced impact of landslides.
It suggests the impending downstream disaster of the Gerukamukh mega dams in Lakhimpur and Dhemaji districts. Will power minister Piyush Goel and the NHPC go through the affidavits before resuming the mega dam works in Gerukamukh? If NHPC is allowed to resume works, will they own up responsiblity for the impending danger in the downstream areas?
Anti-dam protesters have been crying the fear of disaster for the last three years. But NHPC and the Centre have been trying to ignore the voice of protest against and again. A circle of experts hired by NHPC has been supporting the mega dams in the name of power generation. But some others have been dead opposed to it. Need of the hour is to give a second thought to it. People in this seismic prone region don’t want yet another trail of devastation.
Guwahati: Rains in Assam have stopped. But the water level of the Brahmaputra and its tributaries have yet to recede rendering over 4 lakh people homeless in as many as 17 districts of the state.
In Cachar district alone over 1 lakh been have been rendered homeless because of the 4 day long incessant rains. Sribhumi district also witnessed no less misery of 90,000 people to be followed by Nagaon district where over 65,000 people have been affected.
A huge area of Lakhimpur district has come under the surging water after the Ranganadi dam released its excess water pushing thousands of families in brimful misery. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma is on a stock taking visit to the...
Lakhimpur: In the early hours of Saturday, around 1 a.m., the water level of the Ranganadi River began to overflow following the release of dam water from the Panyor Hydroelectric Project by the North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO), located upstream at Yazali in Arunachal Pradesh. The sudden release of water, without any prior warning, submerged vast areas of Assam’s Lakhimpur district, leaving thousands of people in distress.
Many residents were caught unaware in their sleep as the floodwaters entered their homes. People fled with only the clothes they were wearing, leaving behind all belongings. The floodwaters swept through 243 villages across the Ranganadi and Naoboicha...
Thousands of party leaders and workers gave a warm welcome to Gaurav Gogoi as he set foot in Jorhat for the first time since becoming the Assam Pradesh Congress President. Gogoi, son of the late former Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, visited his personal residence in Jorhat district. Reflecting on his father's political beginnings in Jorhat, he remarked, “I feel my father’s blessings from wherever he is today. This is a moment of immense joy and gratitude for me. I am thankful to the people of Jorhat.”
Gogoi told the media, “Had I not won the Lok Sabha elections from Jorhat, I don’t think our central leadership would have given me this significant responsibility.”
Upon his arrival from...
New Delhi: The Assam Government’s recent policy for arms license for the indigenous people might lead to the spike in the fake encounter case if one goes by Assam Congress president Gaurav Gogoi.
Gogoi on Friday strongly slammed the criticised government's decision to grant arms licenses to civilians near border regions and demanded steps to halt the move. According to Gogoi, the policy is detrimental to Assam and its people which instead will serve the interests of the ruling party..
The people of Assam, he said, want water, employment, education and healthcare. He further said the genuine shopkeepers and traders might face difficulties and that the guns would...
Guwahati: There is no chance of an immediate let-up in the weather that dampens Assam.
According to what the weathermen say the weather pattern was anticipated to bring heavy rain, thunderstorms, and gusty winds to many parts of Assam.
A low-pressure area was located over the Northwest Bay of Bengal off the Odisha coast and it is expected to move northwards and concentrate into a depression over the North Bay of Bengal.
The Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) has predicted unrelenting downpours in the city of Guwahati which might aggravate waterlogging situation resulting in slow traffic movement with increasing landslides.
The authorities have urged...
Guwahati: More than half of the areas in the city of Guwahati have come under the rain waters wreaking no less havoc since Thursday. There is no let up in the situation following incessant rainfall during the last 24 hours.
Key areas in the gateway of the north eastern region such as Anil Nagar, Nabin Nagar, Beltola, Rukminigaon, Hatigaon, Wireless and B. Borooah Road have been submerged where streets----big and small have turned into flowing water channels disrupting normal lives.
Hundreds of vehicles have been stranded on the road as homes, offices, shops and markets have submerged in the rain waters. Assam State Disaster Management workers have been engaged to deal with the...
Guwahati: Amid concern over the allegations of arbitrary detention of two ‘identified Bangladeshi nationals’, the Gauhati High Court has asked the Assam government to disclose their whereabouts fearing illegal pushbacks across the Indo-Bangladesh border.
A division bench of Justice Kalyan Rai Surana and Justice Malasri Nandi directive Dispur as they were hearing a writ petition.
According to the petitioner, the duo namely Akbar Ali and Abu Bakkar Siddik were taken into custody by the Nagarbera police station in Kamrup district on May 25 without any information to the families.
It is further alleged that the duo at risk of being "illegally pushed into Bangladesh" without...
Based on YouTube Review by: Priyanka Saha, English Literature Student, Bangalore.
A day before the world would learn that Heart Lamp by Banu Mushtaq had won the 2025 International Booker Prize, a young voice from Bangalore shared a moving, deeply personal review of the book on YouTube. That voice was Priyanka Saha, a literature student who not only read the book but met the author in person, received a signed copy from both Banu Mushtaq and translator Deep Bashi, and offered her sincere wish that Heart Lamp would win the prize.
Priyanka’s review stands out—not for its technical analysis or literary jargon—but for its vulnerability, clarity, and emotional honesty. Her words are not...
Guwahati: The Assam Government is clearing the decks for arms licenses to the people dwelling in the border areas. Same would be applicable in case of the vulnerable areas of the state to boost self-defence capabilities in the sensitive areas.
This was what Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told reporters in Guwaahti on Wednesday after the cabinet meeting presided over by him in the capital
Sarma said, " We will issue arms licences to eligible individuals living in vulnerable and border areas and we will encourage local indigenous citizens to apply for arms licenses under the provisions of the Arms Act.”
According to information, the government will soon issue detailed guidelines...
Defying an aroused allegations of ISI-link, Congress has appointed MP Gaurav Gogoi as the new Assam party giving the party in rank and file an occasion to rejoice from Monday. Gogoi, the deputy leader of Parliament on Monday replaced Bhupen Bora whose term expired less than a year ahead of the assembly polls in 2026.
In his reactionGaurav Gogoi wrote on X that he is grateful to Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, LoP Rahul Gandhi, General Secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal for trusting him with this responsibility.
Acknowledging the contributions of his predecessor, Gogoi praised former Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) President Bhupen Kumar Borah for his leadership...
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