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.
ActionAid (Northeast Regional Office) in collaboration with Guwahati Press Club has organized a State level media workshop on Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change on October 3, 2009 at Hotel Landmark. The programme will begin at 10.30 am. Dr. Dulal C. Goswami, eminent environmentalist and current visiting faculty of Department of Environmental Sciences, Gauhati University will participate in the workshop as the key speaker. The Assam government Deputy Secretary, Revenue and Disaster Management Department, Nandita Hazarika will speak on disaster risk and safe schooling in the State.
An interactive session on the role of media on the disaster risk reduction and climate change...
There is report of a commotion at Dibrugarh Railway station as a compartment of the Rajdhani Express catches fire. According to preliminary reports, the fire broke out at a pantry car which later was spreading to one of the adjoining compartment. There is no report of loss of life as the train was remaining stranded. Efforts are on to douse the massive fore that is threatening to gut the adjoining compartments. The train was scheduled to leave for New Delhi from the station at 8 in the evening on Thursday.
A State Level Advocacy workshop was organized by Assam State AIDS Control Society (ASACS) in association with Guwahati Press Club on 22nd September 2009 at the press club auditorium, where good number of media persons took part and participated in interaction programmes.
Inaugurating the workshop V.S. Bhaskar, IAS (Commissioner...
Parts of Assam and north eastern region were shaking in the third one tremor in a period of ten years on Monday. Nine hours after a major and a mild earthquake in Bhutan rattled Assam its adjoining region, yet another mild quake struck on Monday midnight where magnitude was 5.6 in the Richter Scale. However, there is no report of any loss of life and property. But the panic stricken people wwere coming out of their houses in the fear of being collpased. It may be noted that a strong 6.3 magnitude earth quake rattled Assam and the parts of north eastern region on Monday afternoon at around 2-23 which was followed by the second one at 2-42 PM.
According to the Meteorological Department,...
A strong 6.5 magnitude earthquake killed four labourers in Bhutan who actually hail from Assam. They were identified as Meera Boro from Sashirpur in lower Assam’s Tamulpur, Mohan Praja from Menoka Tea Estate and Rupamoni Barman from Sukanjuli. They were working with a Border Roads Organisation project near Sundrupjhankar in Bhutan. It may be noted that the epicenter of the earthquake was Monger in Bhutan near Thimphu which rattled parts of the north eastern region. This for the fifth time earthquake rocked the region in a month. The last one took place on September 3 midnight where the magnitude in the Richter Scale was 5.9. There are reports of cracks in several apartments in...
The South Yorkshire town of Barnsley in England came alive once again with the influx of Non Resident Assamese from all over the United Kingdom and Southern Ireland at the weekend of 29th and 30th August 2009. Once again, Mr Francis Hindley, General Manager of the Brooklands Hotel and his staff extended their unquestioning services to over a hundred delegates of all ages under the aegis of the United Assam Association of the UK.
The event took off with a leisurely but disciplined registration assisted by Mrs Julie Bora, newly elected Treasurer, Miss Julie Sarmah and Mrs Chinu Kishore, both newly selected members of the Executive Committee. Dr Ranjit K Baruah, the newly elected President...
Several persons have been injured when police tried to disperse a group of non provincialized schol teachers who were staging dharna at Dispur on Monday. The incident took place at Dispur Last Gate when over 250 teachers from the non provincialised schools thronged at Dispur Last Gate and started staging dharna on Monday even as the government offices are remaining closed on account of Eid-ul-Juha.
According to information, as police tried to pacify the agitating teachers the situation turned violent when some of the protesters started pelting stones at the police personnel. This has forced the police to retaliate with lathicharge and even tear shells were thrown to disperse the irate...
A strong earthquake measuring 6.3 magnitude in Richter Scale has rattled parts of Assam and its neighbouring north eastern states on Monday. The major tremor were felt at 2-23 in the afternoon triggering panic among the residents in Guwahati who came out of their houses. This was followed by another mild tremor at 2-42 in the afternoon.
According to US Geological Survey, the 6.3-magnitude quake was centered about 80 miles (125 kilometers) north of Gauhati and 115 miles (180 kilometers) east of Thimphu in Bhutan. There is however, no report of any injuries from any parts of the region so far. The earthquake cracked buildings in Guwahati but it was centered in a little-populated eastern...
Assam Revenue Minister Bhumidhar Barman got candid with the media on saturday when he disclosed that Bangladesh has illegally occupied about 499.79 acres of land in the state. According to him, the occupied lands were in Dhubri and Karimganj districts. Barman said said in Dhubri district 189.06 acres in Goroibari under Mankachar subdivision and in Karimganj district two tea gardens--299 acres of Pallatol Tea garden and 11.73 acres of Promodnagar tea garden were illegally occupied. The neighbouring country was yet to hand over the land to Assam, the minister said. The occupied territory were in their possession since 1948 under the then East Pakistan and despite several attempts by both the...
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