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.
Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi seeks protection of state royalty for oil citing huge loss of revenue. In a letter sent to petroleum minister Sudini Jaipal Reddy, Gogoi said Assam despite being a oil producer state a huge amount of revenue slips from its hands due to payment of crude extraction fee at discounted prices. According to Gogoi, “Assam being a producer state should not be denied the benefits of its natural resources and made to compensate for the under-recoveries of the Central oil marketing PSUs.” He asked the petroleum minister to pass appropriate orders so that the oil companies pay royalty to the state government on the well head price determined by the actual...
Jan Shikshan Sansthan, Nagaon in association with Gram Vikas Parishad a premier state level NGO observed International Literacy Day on September 8 with a day long programme. The bouquet of activities were started by a tree plantation programme at the premises of Gram Vikas Parishad's Head Office at Rangaloo, followed up by devotional song presentation and drawing competition among the school children. An open session was also convened in relation with the programme where more than 500 people took part along with several invited dignitories of the district. The session was conducted by Siraj Uddin Ahmed, Chairman, JSS, Nagaon...
ULFA’s commander-in-chief Paresh Baruah has been injured at an attack in the dense jungles of Myanmar. But managed to survive amid speculations that Myanmarese authorities are fanning soldiers to capture Baruah. According to highly placed sources, the gun fight with soldiers took place in the dense jungles of northwest as the soldiers spotted on Friday. But Baruah is believed to have escape death. According to information, Dispur got the information from home ministry that soldiers fired upon Baruah as they spotted him in the dense jungles. ULFA is also yet to clear the air. The incident assumes significance a hardly a week after Baruah sent a new photograph clearing that he and...
Its confirmed. Mahendra Das must go to the gallows. The Gauhati High Court on Thursday set the stage for the execution of death sentence on the man who had been convicted and lodged in jail since 1997. The verdict came when it dismissed a writ petition filed by the convict's mother to commute the sentence of her son to life imprisonment.
According to the Petitioner’s counsel Bhaskardev Konwar, the order was passed by a division bench of the Gauhati High Court, comprising Justice IA Ansari and Justice H. Baruah after hearing both sides and perusing documents submitted by the state and union government on queries relating to delay in disposing of a mercy petition of the convict by...
The Nor’eastern Post has been renamed the Seven Sisters Post. The daily will be launched from Guwahati and Dibrugarh in the first week of November, 2011. It will be a publication of the Saradha Group.
It will be a hyper-regional paper, giving extensive coverage to the entire Northeastern region. At the same time, our World Page will then focus on global developments but primarily look at the Afro-Asian scenario, drawing on non-western sources to give an alternate view of the world. We will have a features page and an op-ed page that will be rich in contributions from the locality, region, nation and often from our neighbourhood. We intend to do two pages of business in keeping...
KLNLF and Centre agreed to carry forward the peace process in karbi Anglong district when they held a crucial round of talks in Delhi on Tuesday. Both sides believed that it will end hostile activities between the government and KLNLF in the Karbi Anglong district of Assam.
Led by Rezak Dera, the KLNLF delegation and the home ministry officials agreed to restore permanent peace in the hills distirct. Talking to reporters after the meeting, Dera said that they were satisfied with the Centre and called it a was positive step. KLNLF kept in abeyance its hostile activities last year evinced its keen desire to talk to the Centre.
Good news for Assam. The state’s roads sector is set to get a major facelift courtesy the Asian Development Bank. The bank will fund Assam to build 137.6 km roads under the North Eastern States Roads Investment Programme. According to DoNER minister Pawan Singh Ghatowar, NESRIP was approved on May 19, 2011 at estimated cost of Rs 1353.83 crore.
The Asian Development Bank will be providing loan assistance of upto Rs.908 crore under its Multi-tranche Financing Facility. Under the Scheme, a total of 433.7 Km long roads in NE States of Assam 137.6 Km.
He informed parliament that the north eastern region has two projects of proposed for external aid from the Asian Development Bank...
Defying a storm of protest, altogether 600 acres of land belonging to India in Assam’s Dhubri and Karimganj district slipped in Bangladesh territory on Tuesday. The enclaves include Lathitilla, Dumabari, and Boroibari. The deal was struck between Minister for External Affairs S M Krishna and his counterpart in Dhaka flanked by Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi when he was accompanying Prime minister Manmohan Singh to Dhaka on Tuesday. With this, Assam’s geographical map has changed.
Talking to media person National Security Adviser Shiv Shankar Menon said the local residents in these enclaves are not opposed to be the citizens of the neighbouring country. AASU along with...
Guwahati police on Monday arrested a lady and charged her with trying to extort money. Identified as Jonali Roy, the surrendered ULFA cadre was arrested when she was on her way to collect the money that she had demanded from a Professor of the Gauhati Medical College Hospital.
Chandmari police had got wind of the extortion notice she served to the professor and were waiting for her arrival on the spot. Some incriminating documents and SIMs have been seized from her possession. Interrogation is going on. Jonali, who hails from Goalpara district is believed to have been collected money for the last couple of years.
Kamal Kr Brahma HowraghatKarbi Anglong
Anti social activities are continuing by outlaw militants in Karbi Anglong. After the two traders killings at Samelangso recently, a minor school student has been kidnapped again by suspected Karbi Anglong armed militant organization from Kauri pahar under Dokmoka police station on Wednesday morning at around 7.40 am.
According to the report, Jirsong Engti (12) son of Rajen Engti who is studyingin class five at Nirmal Niketan, situated at Kauri pahar was going to school along with his cousin by their Santro car on Wednesday morning. Suddenly a group of armed militants that were ready from earlier come out from a Scorpio and blocked the car that...
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