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.
Hundreds of Tibetans in the North East on Saturday observed the 53rd anniversary of their 'Uprising day and held participated in a rally from the Dighalipukhuri area of Guwahati.
Speakers alleged that many Tibetans have died while demanding the return of Dalai Lama from exile.
The members from the Tibetan Solidarity Community who organised the protest, said there was widespread resentment among the people of Tibet.
Photo: Syed Miraz Ahmed
Three members of a family, including a woman, were hacked to death and two others seriously injured at a family in Karbi Anglong district on Saturday.
According to police, the three were hacked to death by sharp weapons following an altercation in their house at Josephbasti village in the wee hours.
Those hacked were a couple and their teenaged son, while the injured were their two minor children. Search on for the absconding assailants.
Two youths died when their bike rammed into a tree after losing control over it in Dibrugarh district of Assam on Friday. The accident took place when a bike with two youths rammed into a tree near Joypur tea garden in the evening. Two youths namely Rupen Das and Govind Ghatowar died on the spot.
Tension is simmering in Gossaigaon when a 24 hour bandh disrupted normal life in Kokrajhar on Friday.
A group of bandh supporters in the evening set on fire two vehicles in Babulbil area on the National Highway 31 after asking the passengers to get down. AMSU gave the bandh cal to protest the arrest of two members on extortion charges.
Fear psychosis grips the local residents in the Zoo area in Guwahati when they spotted a forest fire atop the hill. They have spotted smokes and fire at a huge portion inside the Assam State Zoo in Guwahati. But the zoo authorities have yet to react. A section of local residents are trying to leave their houses fearing the spread of the forest fire.
An uneasy calm seems t have prevailed along Assam-Nagaland border in Jorhat district on Friday. The situation took a serious turn when a group of youths from Nagaland torched three farm houses and a vegetable garden at a tea estate. The incident occurred at Naganijan Tea Estate under Mariani Revenue Circle and sparked off tension along the interstate border.
Founds would not be a problem to uplift infrastructure sector in Assam. The Asian Development Bank on Friday granted the state a loan of $81 million to develop infrastructure in Guwahati and Dibrugarh. A tripartite agreement to this effect was signed in New Delhi by the Centre, Assam government and ADB. According to information, the money will be used to bring clean and piped water to 350,000 residents in Guwahati besides building a new treatment plant and pumping stations.
Normal surface communication along the Assam-Nagaland border comes to a grinding halt on Friday following road blockade against Nagaland.ATTSA has blockaded the main thoroughfare at Mariani, the only gate way to Mokokchung, Tuensang, Zonebhoto and Phek districts of Nagaland. The blockade was undertaken after armed Naga groups reportedly harassed the people of Naganijan Tea Estate and injured two persons from the estate. DIG for Eastern Range of Assam Police Anurag Tankha and Upper Assam Commissioner Ismail Hussian, inspected the site and took stock of the situation.
Militancy in North East seems to have stymied the prospect of a comfortable bilateral trade between India and Burma Dr Tint Swe from chairman BCD said that both the countries have potentials to boost bilateral trade. Interacting with media in Guwahati on Friday, the Burma scholar said that military action is not the solution to wipe out insurgency in the region. He stressed political initiatives to end the chapter of bloodshed in the form of insurgency.
Tension prevails in Tezpur when fifty people have been injured in a group clash on Friday.The took place at around 4 in the evening when a group of youths clashed with some local residents at Hazarikachuk. The local residents in large number also countered the youths with sharp dao and arson forcing the security forces to stop in. Over 50 people from both sides have been injured who were rushed to the hospital.
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