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.
Indira Goswami (b. 1942, Guwahati, Assam) is an outstanding writer who reveals the lived experience of ordinary people. Her powerful graphic descriptions and haunting images bring to light the centrality of the body in human affairs and the codification of political, religious and cultural systems through the body: the bodily processes of life, the impact of gender and age, and the physicality of poverty, norms and conflicts. Writing in her Assamese mother-tongue, Goswami highlights the diverse cultural context of this remote region. She depicts contemporary political and social dimensions, avoiding romanticism and anthropological tendencies. Her intimate knowledge of community...
In a tragic incident that sent shockwave across the state, the students met a watery grave in the Brahmaputra river on Wednesday while they were taking a bath in Sukreswar Ghat in Guwahati. Two of them were students from the Cotton Collegiate School while the third one is yet to be identified. The bodies have not been recovered so far.All the three persons who were going to bath at the Sukreswar Ghat but could not come back. The strong waves of the mighty river have washed them away. Two of them are Cotton Collegiate School students while the details of the third one have not been received. The student duo have been identified as Labajit Sarma of Narikolbasti and Jyoti Kalita of Noonmati...
A devastating fire that broke out in Dispur has reduced to ashes a part of the Janata Bhawan on Wednesday evening.According to information, the fire broke out at around 6 in the evening from a room and later it was dispersing rapidly to other rooms before taking a ravaging turn. As many as fifty fire tenders have been called to extinguish the fire but by then the the situation was going out of control.According to RTI commissioner Dr B K Gohain, the Right to Information cell has been completely ravged n not even as file has been spared.Moreover, the chambers of Nurjamal Sarkar, law minister Pranab Gogoi, parliament secretries Sarat Saikia, Bidya Singfh Inglng have been reduced to ashes in...
Four Asom Gana Parishad MPs have asked prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh to quit alleging discrimination towards Assam.Addressing a press conference in the city on Wednesday, they said Dr Singh who downplays Assam flood situation has no moral right to represent the state in the Rajya Sabha.Kumar Deepak Das said, a Prime Minister of India should look into all states alike. But it’s unfortunate that Dr Manmohan Singh has been failing in this regard.”The MPs alleged that Dr Singh is showing discriminatory attitude towards Assam and its people. But irony is that he represents this very state in the upper House.“As a Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has been failing to deliver...
The proposed site for erecting a statue of Rup Konwar Jyoti Prasad Agarwalla being used by illegal settlers at Bharulumukh, in Guwahati as seen on 10/09/2008 as no steps has been taken for years now. Photo: UB Photos
Cutting across party barriers Congress, BJP and AGP had refused to respond to the Speaker's appeal unless the collected fund was divided between Assam and Bihar.Congress MP from Assam Kirip Chaliha will not pay any money for flood relief in Bihar. Addressing a press conference in Guwahati on Monday, Chaliha said he is ready to urge both Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee and Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari to issue an appeal to help Assam flood victims in the same line.Chaliha said, “the Assam MPs are unhappy over the fact that Mr Chatterjee has issued an appeal only for Bihar when similar destruction has taken place in Assam also.”.The MP from Guwahati made it clear that he...
The Gauhati High Court has served notices to education and home departments for failing to probe the allegations of fund embezzlement by an employment of Cachar education department.According to allegation, an employee of the Cachar district education department Subhas Ranjan Majumdar has embezzled an amount of Rs 5,45,333 meant for LTC.It took place in between 1997 to 2001. Further, he has embezzled yet another amount of Rs 23, 24,744 meant for purchase of food for the school children. Acting on these allegations, police registered a case bearing No 231/02 against Majumdar. The anti corruption wing of the Assam police registered a separate case No 4/05. But nothing came out. This has...
The Assam state unit of the CPI has demanded a Rs 1,000 crore fund from the Centre to relief and rehabilitate the state’s flood affected people.Addressing a press conference on Monday, the leaders of the party further have Centre’s intervention for finalization of the master plan to tame the flood and erosion by the river Brahmaputra. CPI leader and MLA Drupad Buragohain said Assam has been deprived of funds required to tide over the flood fury where lakhs of people have been rendered homeless, a vast area of cropland has been damaged and properties worth crores of rupees have been ravaged. The Left leaders in the state further slammed Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh saying...
The over all flood scenario in Assam remains unchanged during the last 15 hours. On Monday morning the water levels of the mighty Brahmaputra showed a receding trend but it did not last long. With a heavy downpour lashing the state on Monday night, the situation again took a grim turn. The Assam government has admitted that the current wave of flood fury is alarming. Lakhs of those marooned in the perennial fury have yet to leave the make-shift camps in the affected areas.According to information, more than 13 lakh people have been reeling under the current flood wave. These include 2,41,884 in Lakhimpur, 16,4,800 in Sonitpur, 25,624 in Dhemaji, 3,44,021 in Morigaon and 61,150 in Dhubri...
Today is September 8, 2008. Assam is celebrating the 83rd birth day of music legendary music maestro Dr Bhupen Hazarika albeit the birthday boy is in Mumbai. Birthday wishes are pouring in for the pride of Assam and Dada Saheb Phalke award winning singer. Several organization on Monday are celebrating the day across the state.A special screening of a documentary film on the life and works of, produced by Surjya Hazarika was held at the auditorium of the Assam Handloom and Textiles department office on Sunday. The documentary film titled Bihangam Drishtit Dr Bhupen Hazarika throws light on the life and works of the Phalke awardee.Many eventful moments of Dr Hazarika’s life have been...
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