Noted environmentalist Medha Patkar on Wednesday opposed construction of big dams in the North East to save the region from complete destruction. Addressing a huge rally in Guwahati, organised under the aegis of the Kisan Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS), she said the rivers must be saved at any cost.
She said the government divided people on the lines of caste and religion but now they are taking the name of development.
According to Patkar, "People want development of rivers, power, aquatic life and people of living on river banks and not just of corporate houses and a section of politicians."
The construction of dams involved scams amounting to several thousands of crore and some corporate houses and politicians were allegedly involved in this, she claimed.
She appreciated KMSS leader Akhil Gogoi for organising the rally and giving a voice to the farmers who would be the worst affected if dams are constructed on the Brahmaputra and its tributaries.
Patkar, later, fell ill and was rushed to a hospital, while leading a protest march from the Sonaram Field to the Kamrup (Metro) Deputy Commissioner's office but her condition was stated to be stable.
Meanwhile, tense situation prevailed near the Deputy Commissioner's Office when more than five thousand protestors gathered to submit a memorandum to the Prime Minister through the Deputy Commissioner. The district authorities declared the gathering illegal and asked the crowd to disperse within ten minutes. Akhil Gogoi pointed out that they had applied for necessary permission for holding a dharna at the Dispur Last Gate but was denied following they had sought permission for holding a rally at Sonaram Field and a protest march which was subsequently granted.
PermalinkSubmitted by kkp on Fri, 23/07/2010 - 20:24
@Rongmon Pegu: may be there are less money involves in wind and solar energy than in river and dam to fill the butty of our politicians and corporate houses and dalals.
PermalinkSubmitted by Himadree Buragohian on Fri, 30/07/2010 - 16:37
It is really appreciating for renowned environmentalist Medha Patkar and KMSS leader Akhil Gogoi to come out and protest for the greater welfare of the general masses who are a neglected lot by the Govt as their cries carry no meaning for the politicians and the bureaucrats.Kudos to such leaders pleading for the poor citizens.
PermalinkSubmitted by Molokhu on Sun, 08/08/2010 - 16:11
IN THE NAME OF 'USER RIGHT'
I read the news story “Chinese move on Brahmaputra: Govt action plan on user right”, reported by noted journalist Kalyan Barooah from New Delhi (‘The Assam Tribune’, Page 1; Saturday, July 24, 2010). While being in the Indian Union any small entity, be it a state, a group of people have to be vigilant against powerful forces which influence policy makers and decision takers. Unlike the fringe territories, the central mainland has a huge homogenous population, where from springs a powerful lobby which exhorts power overtly in politics and covertly in economic matters. The scene hasn’t changed much down the centuries.
When Buddhism was gaining popularity in India, the Brahmans came up with an interesting idea to retain power in the socio-economic-political and religious spheres. Gautam Buddha was shown as the ninth avatar of the Hindu mythical god of protection, Vishnu. By inducting such a tricky clause in the Purans and related religious scriptures, the identity of Buddhism as an independent religion was destroyed. Slowly Buddhism lost its grip in ancient India. Persons who constitute different policy making structures like the Committee of Secretaries (CoS) are the neo-Brahmins of modern India.
At a time when anti-dam agitation is taking the form of a mass movement, the CoS has come up with a strategy of major storage project in the three basins (which includes Subansiri, Siang and Lohit) under the disguise of a concept aptly named ‘User Right’. Whether China wants to dam or divert the Brahmaputra is not known. Whether China will or can divert the Brahmaputra is not known. Whether the story of a dam to divert the river by China is a propaganda by a section of Indian media in connivance with the Central and Corporate lobby is not known. But that the Central Governement is hand in gloves with giant corporations to exploit the hydro-power of north-eastern states is an open secret now. These power groups with an eye on profits worth billions and trillions would never sit idle over a so called storage project. Any conscious and thinking person would know what the storehouse would hold for power generators and the massive devastation that a minimal gush of water from such projects can cause downstream.
In the name of major storage project alias ‘User Right’, now India and its corporate masterminds will generate power even more than the stipulated 70,000 MWs to feed its evergrowing greed. In the national forum, mega dams are projected as ‘multi-purpose hydro-projects’. In the international forum, major storage projects will be showcased in the name of ‘User Right’ of India. It’s the formula of “Old wine in New bottle”, to fool north-eastern states and the world.
Our Correspondent Guwahati: A war of word between Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and peace broker Mamoni Roisom Goswami may put the peace process in yet another logjam. Talking to a vernacular daily on its Monday issue, the award winning writer says she is not satisfied the way Mr Gogoi urges her to rush to Bangladesh. “If need be I am ready to leave for Bangladesh with Rebati but it must be a decent appeal.” “Let the Government make necessary arrangement to go to Bangladesh. I will do it tomorrow itself. But it will not be my personal initiative. The Chief Minister knows: how a top ranked leader of a banned outfit can be met.” She rues that she finds it...
From Our Correspondent GUWAHATI: Development in any form must ensure the well being of the people of all section. But what the Government does these days only to safeguard the interest of the multi national companies. A strong movement is neccessary to stop these style of exploitation in the name of development. These are more or less of what Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA)-pioneer Medha Patkar says at a function at Gauhati University on Sunday. She expressed grave concern over the environment of Assam saying the scenario is at stake due to unilateral action by the Government for construction of big dams and industrialization like steps for seismic survey on the Brahmaputra riverbed...
Our CorrespondentGUWAHATI: Caught in a controversy over the imposition of President’s Rule in Assam, former Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta ridicules that the sitting Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi does not know what is there in the provisions of Article 355 and 356 of the Constitution.Addressing a press conference in the city on Sunday, Mr Mahanta says, without undertanding the previsions of these Articles, Mr Gogoi is attacking me and my party time and again.”According to the AGP(P) supremo, the state’s law-and-order situation is totally dismal and now it is more serious then what it was during his tenure.Mr Gogoi has been failing to deal with the situation these days...
The legacy of Assam’s culture would be a lot less enriching if we overlook the contribution of the legendary Shri Jyotiprashad Agarwalla. Similarly there are many other non Assamese in Assam who are more Assamese than many Assamese themselves.Assam is not by the Assamese alone but it is a conglomeration of various communities, tribes, sects etc. It’s a melting pot of many cultures.. Assam’s present status its economy would not be what it is without the contribution of the entire society irrespective of what language they speak and which community they belong to. Therefore the recent spate of killings of non Assamese people comes as a shock to every Assamese and saddens him...
The President of India is elected by an electoral college, comprising the Members of both the Houses of Parliament as well as the MLAs of all state Assemblies. The total number of members in the Electoral College for the Presidential elections in 2007 is 4896 (233 Rajya Sabha MPs + 543 Lok Sabha MPs + 4,120 State MLAs). However, unlike any other election, the value of votes of the voters are different here. While the value of votes of each MP is the same, the strength of a vote of an MLA is determined by way of proportional representation. The MPs, too, have a specific value for each vote that is determined by dividing the total value of votes of all the states by the total number...
New Delhi: The Congress High Command sprung a surprise for the Presidential Elections in India scheduled on 19th of July 2007. Ms Pratibha Patil has been nominated by the Ruling UPA- Left combine as their nominee for the highest post in India. Pratibha Patil has formerly served as Deputy Chairperson of Rajya Sabha besides being the Governor of Rajasthan and a minister in Maharashtra. Ms Patil is married to Devisingh Shekhawat of Losal Chhoti, barely 30 km from the Vice-President's village Khachariawas in Rajasthan. This brought to an end the hectic parleys that have been taking place in the ruling coalition over the last few days. The decision was reached in a meeting between the...
Did you know that there was an Act banning sale of egg-bearing fishes? Ministers of Assam really seem to be looking into records and Acts. The Assam Fisheries Act, 1953 prohibits sale of egg-bearing fish during the breeding seasons i.e. between April 1 and July 15 every year. The Act was put in place to ensure that the fish production in the State goes up. According to an official press release here, Fisheries Minister Nurjamal Sarkar has directed the district and police administrations all over the State to strictly enforce the Act and to take ensure that it is fully implemented. The Minister is of the view that this would lay the foundation for a blue revolution in Assam And yes the...
Guwahati : The Assam United Democratic Front has distanced itself from its MLA Rasul Haque Bahadur who had demanded creation of an autonomous council for the minorities of Golapara, Barpeta, Dhubri, Bongaigaon and Darrang districts. Mr Badruddin Ajmal, President of AUDF has said that a Central Executive Meeting of the party would be convened where Haque would be asked to explain his statement. Ajmal further clarified that the party would never subscribe to these views as it did not believe in development of all the people in the State and not only of the minority community.
Some 28 candidates will apply for the top job at ONGC. A search panel headed by the Public Enterprise Selection Board (PESB) Chairman, Mr N.K. Sinha, held interviews on June 5-6 to select the Chairman and Managing Director of the exploration giant. The interviews assume significance as the names of earlier candidates short-listed after interviews conducted by the PESB in August 2006 were returned by the PMO. Those in the race for the job include Mr R.S. Sharma, acting Chairman of ONGC; Mr A.K. Balyan, Director (HR); Mr A.K. Hazarika, Director (Onshore); Mr D.K. Pande, Director (Exploration); Mr U.N. Bose, Director (Technical Services); and Mr R.S. Butola, Managing Director, ONGC Videsh....
India's information technology sector would require nearly 500,000 professionals in the next five years to cater to the growing needs of this booming industry, Mr Kiran Karnik, president National Association of Software and Service Companies said. Currently, the industry required 300,000 professionals, however the number was expected to nearly double with the sector being poised for huge growth, he said during the inauguration of the country's first IT finishing school. Though the institutes churned out a huge number of engineering graduates, the industry was left with less than 300,000 professionals to hire from, since many of them turned entrepreneurs, some sought jobs overseas...
Comments
Pages
Add new comment