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.
An ULFA militant was killed in a fierce encounter with security forces in Goalpara district on Saturday. The encounter took place in the wee hours at Thakurvilla in Lakhipur area of the district. The body has yet to be identified. Police recovered a pistol and a motorbike from the spot.
Police on Saturday arrested a teenager in Karimganj three days after he allegedly killed his friend. The teenager was arrested on charges of murdering his 17-year old friend Abdul Malik in Ratabari town. Malik was found missing since Wednesday and his body was found the next day by local residents from a pond . A jacket belonging to the boy was also found at the site. The teenager also took away Rs 10,000 from Malik after killing him.
Utter sensation prevails in Guwahati after local residents of Kamakhya found a severed head on Friday.
According to police, it could be a case of human sacrifice. The head was found in a plastic bag along with a sheet of paper of a hymn written on it.
The head was not identified. It is suspected that the person was beheaded and the severed head was brought near the ancient temple. Investigation was going on.
Good news for nature lovers. There has been steep rise in the number of tigers population in Assam. Forest Minister Rockybul Hussain told the assembly on Friday that there were indications that tiger population in Kaizranga and other wildlife sanctuaries was on the rise.
An uneasy situation is what prevailing in Lepetkota in Dibrugarh following a shoot out where one person died and several others injured on Friday.
The incident took place when CISF personnels opened fire to disperse some workers deployed at the Brahmaputra Cracker and Polymer Limited headquarters.
Initially, some labourers held an altercation with CISF personnels posted at the factory gates. Later they pelted stones at the security forces. The CISF personnel also retaliated with firing leaving one person dead. The injured trio have been rushed to the AMCH.
The recent spurt of leopard straying into human habitats in Assam can be primarily attributed to loss of forest cover as the dominant male of the species usually drive out weaker ones during breeding season, according to an environmentalist.
"During the breeding season, the dominant males usually drive out the weaker ones out of their territory and as the size of their habitat has decreased, the leopard stray into human habitat," noted environmentalist and Director of Nature's Beckon Soumyadeep Dutta told PTI.
Altogether 15 leopards have strayed into human habitats, with Guwahati registering the highest of seven, during the last two months, and four of these were killed.
Dutta...
The recent spurt of leopard straying into human habitats in Assam can be primarily attributed to loss of forest cover as the dominant male of the species usually drive out weaker ones during breeding season, according to an environmentalist.
"During the breeding season, the dominant males usually drive out the weaker ones out of their territory and as the size of their habitat has decreased, the leopard stray into human habitat," noted environmentalist and Director of Nature's Beckon Soumyadeep Dutta told PTI.
Altogether 15 leopards have strayed into human habitats, with Guwahati registering the highest of seven, during the last two months, and four of these were killed.
Dutta...
Social welfare minister Akon Bora is set to land in a major trouble. The Gauhati High Court on Friday rejected an anticipatory bail plea moved by former Sonapur police station officer in charge Pranab Kumar Deka in connection with the Jugdol carnage.
Deka was accused of destroying evidence at the instance of the powerful minister. The senior police officer and his sub inspector probing the case got the house burnt down within 24 hours of murdering six members of a family two years back.
Deka is likely to be arrested at any moment by the special investigation unit of the CID. Deka’s confessional statement is likely to expose the minister’s alleged role in the case.
Guwahati is set to get Reverend John Moolachira as the new Archbishop. He is likely to take charge on Monday succeeding Archibishop Thomas Menamparampil who has already retired. The Guwahati Archdiocese, created in 1992, covers the districts of Nagaon, Goalpara, Kamrup, Bongaigaon, Morigaon and parts of Baksa.
The Supreme Court is expected to decide on the fate of Mahendra Das on March 13 when it will be delivering the final judgment on the Special Leave Petition filed by death-row convict Mahendra Nath Das.
The court was to deliver its verdict on Thursday. But it was deferred to March 13. His mercy petition was rejected by the President after an inordinate delay of 12 years and plea for commutation to life imprisonment on this ground was dismissed by the Gauhati High Court.
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