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.
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Noted historian and leading citizen in Nazira Akhil Paniphukan passed away on Friday. The end of the 90 year old Paniphukan came in the wee hours at his own residence in Nazira town. He is survived...
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Even as police administration has been stepping to check anti social activities, bike-vehicle stealing situation in the district, a Mini truck 407 model was stoled from a parking place at Mokrapara...
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Hundreds of people in Kaziranga hit the streets on Wednesday demanding withdrawal of eco sensitive zone in the entire are.GMSS president Akhil Gogoi, who joined the huge protest rally said that the...
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Security forces are fanning in the nook and corner of Chamdang Tea garden area in search of the militants who exploded a powerful grenade in the wee hours. Immediately after the explosion police and...
Within a brief spell of one month the killer spiders have reached Guwahati. One person has been injured when two venomous spiders attacked him on Monday night. The incident of spider attack took place in Gootanagar area near Maligaon in Guwahati. According to the injured person, two big spiders were spotted in the evening and attacked him before trying to escape. Later, he was rushed to the hospital. Notably, spider terror initially struck at Sadiya where one person died and ten others are undergoing treatment after they were attacked.
The National Human Rights Commission has expressed grave concern over the cases of crime against women in Assam. Wrapping up its camp in Guwahati on Tuesday, NHRC chairman Justice (retd) K G Balakrishnan said that though the overall scenario regarding human rights in Assam but there were some areas that needs to be taklen care of. Most cases against women are related to physical and mental harassment, rape, abduction, domestic violence, marital discordant other forms of violence. The camp disposed of 50 cases and passed directives to the concerned authorities to pay Rs 35 lakh as monetary relief to the victims of their next of kins.
Three persons sustained injury when a section of people clashed with policemen in Kokrajhar district on Tuesday.The incident took place at Joypur during a 24-hour bandh called by the All Bodoland Minority Students Union (ABMSU) in Kokrajhar district. A section of protesters started pelting stones at a police team led by Additional Superintendent of Police H K Nath forcing them to use lathis, gas shells and finally fired several rounds in the air to disperse them. Three persons sustained injuries in the clash between police and the bandh supporters and they were admitted to hospital. Police also picked up around 10-12 picketeers.
Security forces seized a powerful Improvised Explosive Device in Goalpara district along the Meghalaya border on Tuesday. The IED weighing 3 KG was found by a local boy of a remote village in the district. He informed the police. Later Army bomb defusal team defused the IED. Police called it an ULFA attempt to target security personnel. ULFA and GNLA had set up few camps in the bordering area of Assam and Meghalaya and operating unlawful activities there, said the police.
The Sanskriti Anveshak forum of Vivekananda Kendra Institute of Culture, Guwahati organized a Lecture Series on: Cultural Pluralism: Focus Northeast India. The first talk of the series on the Arunachal Pradesh Perspective was organised on Friday, 25 May, 2012 at 5.30 pm. in the Williamson Magor Auditorium of the Institute at Uzan Bazar, Guwahati. The talk was delivered by Dr. Joram Begi, Director, Higher...
The national human rights commission on Monday blamed the Assam government for starvation deaths in Bhuban valley tea estate a few months back. Led by a its chairman KG Balakrishnan, the Commission has asked the State Govt. to pay rupees two lakh each to the two tea garden workers and rupees one lakh each to about 13 dependents of the workers who died due to starvation. The Commission has also directed the State Govt. to inquire whether the tea association of India was distributing the foodgrains properly among the workers or not.
The delegation heard 50 pending cases of human rights violations in the State of Assam at its Camp Sitting in Guwahati. Out of 17 cases, which the Full...
The national human rights Commission on Monday asked the State Government to identify the child victims without any further delay and give financial assistance to them and sent compliance report along with proof of payment within eight weeks. The Commission observed that the negligence of officer led to orphaned children not getting timely assistance despite the fact so many years have past since the riots.
In the cases relating to force prostitution of three women in Kachar district, the Commission has asked the State Govt. to pay rupees one lakh each to the three victims. The State Government has also been asked to inquire whether there is any organized activity going on in the State...
Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal strongly defended protest against big dams in the North East. Addressing a gathering in Guwahati, he said that the dam had been taken up without transperancy. He said that dams are required for power generation. But, he said, the process has to be transparent and any such projects should be taken up only with the consent of the local and affected people. He asked the KMSS activists and their leader Akhil Gogoi to unite with other such movements in states like Uttarakhand and create a nation-wide movement.
The centre has increased its share under the Project Tiger to 90 per cent from the current 50 per cent. This was stated in a letter by Union Minister of State for Environment & Forests Jayanthi Natarajan to Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi. According to the letter, the state’s share will be now only 10 per cent. This will also be applicable for the tiger reserves in the North East region.
Gogoi had in 2008 submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh proposing reduction of the state's share to the level of 10 per cent in the centrally sponsored scheme of Project Tiger.
KMSS leader Akhil Gogoi on Monday ended his indefinite hunger strike against the NHPC-owned big dams in Gerukamukh. Gogoi who began fast unto death in Digholipukhuri on Saturday took the decision after Team Anna member and social activist Arvind Kejriwal visited him at the Guwahati Medical College Hospital on Monday. Later, he rushed to the Dighalipukhuri with Kejriwal where he broke his fast in presence of his supporters. But the protest is set to go countrywide after he got assuance from the Team Anna member.
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