A vociferous protest against big dams reaches its crucial stage when union environment minister Jairam Ramesh was greeted with protest as he was arriving in Guwahti for a public hearing on the NHPC owned big dam in Arunachal Pradesh.
As the Union minister started the public hearing at Machkhowa, ITA, hundreds of local organizations and political parties approached him to register stiff protest again the on going construction of the big dam in Gerukamukh by NHPC in the name of the lower Subansiri hydel project. Citing the expert panel report, these parties and organisations have told the minister that the big dam might spell an ecological disaster for the people in down stream areas.
PermalinkSubmitted by Hayang on Wed, 29/09/2010 - 05:16
--Lame Excuse by NHPC CMD S.K. Garg--
Despite strident protests in Assam with environmental concerns over construction of mega dams, National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) Chairman-cum-Managing Director S.K. Garg says that the project builders plan to commission three units in March 2012 and the remaining five units by December 2012. This is because Rs 4000 crore of the Rs 9000 crore project has been utilized. That means 40% of the expenses have been made. But is this a reason enough to sacrifice environment and the population of downstream areas which cannot be compensated even if the Indian central government bring all the riches in the world. When land is lost, existence is lost. When existence is lost, the very right to our natural habitat is lost.
In the devastating floods caused by the Tehri dam in Uttarakhand, the central government has promised a package of Rs 500 crore to the state government. That means every year there will be floods, the Indian government will dole out Rs 500 crore. So, within 8 years, Rs 4000 crore will have to be shelved out. If this is the economics involved, Rs 4000 crore is nothing for a rich country like India where many politicians and ministers have pocketed hundreds and thousands of crores. So, the justification of Rs 4000 crore by S.K. Garg sounds to be a lame excuse to keep the industrial corporations who fund the elections happy and satisfied.
27 Sep 2008 - 10:22pm | Pranjal Barua
The Assam Tourism Development Corporation (ATDC) today celebrates the World Tourism Day like the other years at Guwahati and rest of the state. Organising an awareness rally with film personalities...
15 Jul 2010 - 11:38am | editor
After Akhil Gogoi, now its turn for Prafulla Kumar Mahanta to take on Himanta Biswa Sarma. Addressing a press conference in Guwahati on Wednesday, the former Chief Minister said never did he met the...
20 Aug 2015 - 12:41pm | AT News
Dimapur Press Club (DPC) in association with the Guwahati based Dispur Hospitals has organized another Hepatitis-B vaccination camp for the scribes who had taken the first dose of vaccine on July 21...
22 Oct 2017 - 10:16pm | Nikhil Mundra
A meeting was organised by Greater Dabaka Citizens' Forum at Dabaka Higher Secondary School,Dabaka today to condole the death of Late Muzammil Ali Chowdhury, Former MLA Jamunamukh Constituency.Abdul...
Despite sharp vigil, Guwahati still remains a transit route of drugs. Security forces seized a huge quantity of brown sugar from the Rajdhani Express in Guwahati on Thursday.The brown sugar worth around Rs 30 lakh was intercepted during a routine check by the Railway Protection Force jawans in the morning. Two persons have been arrested in this connection.
ULFA’s Paresh Baruah faction is fully prepared to strike in Assam despite heavy presence of security forces. A group of heavily armed ULFA militants has been moving in upper Assam. These startling revelations surfaced during police interrogation on Robin Moran, who was captured during an encounter with police in Sivasagar district on Wednesday. Moran, the ULFA militant sustained bullet injury in the encounter along the Assam-Nagaland border. Three other militants managed to escape during the heavy exchange of firing with security forces. On the other hand, ULFA’s Paresh Baruah faction on Thursday alleged that the attack on the ULFA militants was a pre planned and that the...
Hundreds of Left party workers in Rongiya, Bongaigaon and Dhubri blocked trains for several hours in protest against the petrol price hike. CPI, CPM workers in large number spilled to the streets and blocked the train for several hours raising red flags in support of the country-wide bandh call to protest petrol price hike. They said that the recent petrol price hike was totally unjustified and that they would mount pressure on the government to roll back the price hike. They said that petrol price hike was a direct fallout of UPA government's neo-liberal economic policies, which are causing miseries to common people.
Normal life remains totally paralyzed in Assam following the 12 hour-long Bharat Bandh call on Thursday in protest against the petrol price hike. The situation is by and large normal and there is no report of any untoward incident from any part of the state. The bandh began from 6 in the morning across the state where roads are remaining bare with no vehicle plying. Students and teachers are absent from the schools and colleges.
Shops and markets are also remaining closed under the impact of the bandhs that came into force from 6 in the morning. There is report of very few attendance in banks and offices. Train and flight services are normal during this period. Several parties and...
The north east students are all set to launch a massive agitation from June 7 demanding a special constitutional status for the North Eastern states. To decision to launch the joint agitation under t banner of the North East Students’ Organisation was taken at a meeting of the organization in Guwahati n Wednesday.
The first phase of the agitation will be held on June 7 in Guwahati. All the leaders of these students’ bodies will converge in the gateway to the region to make the agitation programme successful. Addressing a press conference in Guwahati after the end of the NESO summit, its chairman Dr Samujjal Bhattacharya said that the general council meeting decided to launch a...
The entire state stuck in panic when astrologers predicted by a massive earthquake on Wednesday. What was more ludicrous that local a TV news channel beamed the story on its prime time show quoting astrologers who also publishes almanac Kalpurush in Assamese. The astrologers claimed possibilities of three major earthquakes, one of them was predicted on Wednesday. The specific time was predicted at 4 in the evening which passed off forcing hundreds of people came out on the streets. Even many offices and schools were closed before their schedule time when the TV channel beamed the story. But the state administration, which claimed to have set up disaster management cell, remained a silent...
Police claimed to have killed a hardcore ULFA militant at an encounter in Sibsagar district on Wednesday.Acting on specific information, a joint team of police and CRPF's Black Cobra forces launched an operation at Namsai area on Tuesday mid-night and an encounter took place early on Wednesday morning. The ULFAmilitant was killed on the spot and combing operations were on the area in search of other militants in the area.The slain militant has been identified as Rabin Moran alias Habindra Moran.
A hardcore NDFB militant was killed in Kamrup district on Wednesday. A hardcore NDFB militant who was involved in several cases of kidnappings and extortions was killed in an encounter with the police at Boko. One pistol have been seized from the slain ultra, who has been identified as Simul Boro.
A group of Congressmen attacked PAC members after it assessed some agriculture and rural development schemes in Nagaon district on Tuesday. The incident took place at the Nagaon Circuit House in the afternoon. A Congressmen team came to the circuit house to meet the PAC members. When permission was denied, the Congressmen attacked the PAC members Chirajuddin Ajmal, Gautom Bora, Prasanta Phukan, Keshab Mahanta, Binanda Saikia, Kamal Singh Narzary. After compliant lodged with DC and SP, police arrested Saiful Islam but did not take action against Nurul Huda and Manik Ali who led the Congressmen.
The Assam Higher Secondary Education Council will announce the results of the HS examination, 2012 on June 4.In a statement issued by the council on Tuesday, the council said that the results of science, arts and commerce streams would be available simultaneously at 11 in the morning in all district headquarters on that day.
On the other hand, the Board of Secondary Education, Assam will not be able to announce the HSLC results before June 10. According to sources, the examiners are still compiling the marks in different zonal centres.
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