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.
ULFA and the government are well prepared to begin the much awaited peace talks on March 10.
Disclosing this top ULFA leaders told journalists that the talk would be unconditional. Foreign secretary Sasha Chaudhury said ULFA always wants an amicable settlement to the problems crippling the people of Assam.
Vice chairman Pradeep Gogoi said self styled C in C Paresh Barua is yet to respond to their call and that it would in no way hamper the peace initiatives.
Gogoi said Paresh Barua is bound to go with the general council decisions.
There seems to be no let up on the floor for the four consecutive day on Friday. The situation took a grim turn when speaker Tanka Bahadur Rai suspended Dibrugarh MLA Prasanta Phukan till Monday for beating cymbal on the floor at the height of protest against failure to sack the ministers involved in the Dima Hasao scam.
Phukan said that the speaker has done all these only to appease his party. But in the same breath he pledged to go to any extent for the interest of the people.AGP president Chandra Mohan Patowary and opposition leader Prafulla kumar Mahanta called the suspension a partial.
The Centre is gearing up to hold talks with the United Liberation Front of Asom. A highly placed source in Union home ministry told .assamtimes that the first round of the much awaited talks
are set to begin in the second week of March. But the date is yet to be fixed. The Centre is waiting for ULFA's announcement on February 5.
The Election Commission is confident of a free and fair Assembly polls in Assam. Talking to media people in Guwahati on Thursday, Chief Election Commissioner Dr S Y Qureshi said the Commission has given the Assam government a slew of measures to make help them hold the upcoming polls a free and fair. According to Dr Qureshi, the poll panel told chief secretary N K Das and his senior colleagues to arrest all criminals already released on bail. Moreover, director general police police Shankar Baruah was also directed to sized licensed arms with immediate effect. Besides, the election commission has instructed the government to complete all recruitment and transfer procedures within this week...
The United Liberation Front of Asom is set to make a formal announcement on Saturday on its peace initiative with the government. According to sources available with www.assamtimes, the announcements will have details of the resolutions passed in the recent general council meet. The top leaders released on bail are expected make an open call to the elusive military head Paresh Barua to come for talks or to extend his support.
For the third consecutive days,the functionings in the Assam assembly remained paralyzed on Thursday. Despite repeated request from Speaker Tanka Bahadur Rai,the opposition AGP and BJP legislators didnot allowed the House to function demanding action against the ministers allegedly involved the Dima Hasao scam. The opposition further demanded CBI probe into the scams in all the departments of the hills district. Speaker Rai had no option but to adjoured the House.
The election commission is reviewing preparations for the upcoming assembly polls even as the state's political parties want it before the Rongali bihu.
A full bench of the country's poll panel is on a 2days visit to Assam to take stock of the situation in view of the polls.
Led by chief election commissioner Dr YS Qureshi, the full delegation is holding seperate meeting with deputy commissioners and police heads to take stock of the situation.
Accompanied by election commissioners VS Sampath and H S Brahma,the delegation landed at LGBI Airport at 12_30 noon on Wednesday and straightly left for Assam Administrative Staff College in Beltola and met the leaders of the various...
AGP is set to receive a major setback. Sarbananda Sonowal is ready to join BJP. That too three months before the assembly polls. According to sources available with Assamtimes, the AGP firebrand who took the lead in getting IMDT repealed by supreme court, will formally join BJP on February 5 at a meeting to be attended by Varun Gandhi in Dibrugarh. But AGP leaders are still tightlipped on the uneasy development.
Amid uproar Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi on Tuesday tabled Rs 11,741 crore vote on account on the floor of the House. Gogoi, who also holds the finance portfolio seeks the amount to implement the vital schemes for April and May.
Guwahati city managed to avert yet another major incident of blast when police recovered explosive on Tuesday. According to information these explosive materials along with a hand grenade were recovered by Bharalumukh police in the morning.
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