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.
Popular music artist and keyboard player Nupur Bordoloi died on Saturday. He was 37 and he was suffering from blood cancer for the last couple of years. He is survived by his wife Pori Gogoi and his daughter. The end came at 5-45 in the morning on Saturday while he was undergoing treatment at a city nurshing home. But within this period, he attained commanding popularity. Several artists have condoled his untimely and premature death.
The explosion of seven digital meters at a city apartment created panic among its residents in the city’s Beltola area on Saturday. It all took place at around 11 in the morning at the Ranibagan Apartment Housing Society’s Tarokeswar Block No 6. Initially a boy saw some sparks at a digital meter and told his father. His father Lokesh Agarwala came down with a fire extinguishing cylinder. But he saw the fire dispersed to six other meters. Some other residents also arrived with fire extinguishers and later on the fire was extinguished. On the other hand, after information the ASEB officials reached thr apartment only an hour later. But they said blamed it all on the flawed wiring...
Assam also join the country’s holi festival with a splash of colour across the state from Friday. Forgetting political and religious affiliation, the people of all section are playing holi with their gulal smeared faces. Barpeta continues to hog the limelight where thousands of people attend the four day long festival. From early in the morning people in large number came out to the streets with gulals to make it really a festival of colour. The celebration at the Dol Govinda temple in north Guwahati is pulling up huge crowd on both Friday and Saturday with people from far flung areas. Holi songs, cultural function were organized in different parts of the state to celebrate the...
Assam Governor Lt Gen (Retd) Ajai Singh along with children celebrating Holi, the festival of colour, at Raj Bhawan, Guwahati on March 21, 2008. Photo by Pitamber Newar.
A Dhubri ULFA cadre was killed in Golukganj area while police and Amy jawans were launching a joint operation nea the Rupsi Aiport early in the morning on Friday. According to information, the incident took place at around 3 early in the morning. The youth maer identified as Manindra Ray was coming on a bicycle near the Rupsi Airport under Golukganji police station. The police asked him to stop while he was tying the leave the spot. Manindra instead dropped a grenade at them and started firing. When the police and army jawans retaliated Manindra died on the spot. Later police recovered a revolver three rounds of bullets, a mobile handset and diary have been recovered from his possession.
AASU activists in the city staged a two hour long hunger strike on Thursday demanding exemplary punishment for those involved in the recent blast in Dhemaji where four people killed and as many as sixty others injured. They gathered at the Latasil Field in the city and staged a two hour long hunger strike. They demanded exemplary action for those mired in the recent grenade blast in Jonai. Notably, four people have been killed and as many as 85 others injured when a powerful grenade exploded at a Mishing cultural function in Jonai on March 15 evening.They alleged that the government has been failing to provide the people safety and security to the people in general and that the culprits...
Assam health and family welfare minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has threatened to arrest noted cardiac surgeon and genetic engineer Dr Dhaniram Baruah if the later proceeds further with the vaccine prepared by him. But Dr Baruah has made it plain and simple that he is not ready to halt even an iota saying he has not violated the laid down rules and regulated.It’s a strong message to Dr Dhaniram Baruah from Assam health and family welfare minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. Addressing a press conference in Dispur on Thursday, the minister has warned Dr Baruah of dire consequences if he fails to desist from applying his vaccine on human body. According to Sarma, the doctor could be arrested...
The Gauhati High Court has ordered suspension three top ranked police officers for probing into the teacher recruitment scam with out arresting two kingpins involved in it.According to information, a division bench comprising Chief Justice S Salameswar and Justice Amitabh Roy in the order asked the authorities to suspend the then Nalbari police policed superintendent Dilip Kumar Dey, officer in charge of Nalbari police station K C Phukan and assistant sub inspector Sujit Saikia. The court further has asked the Assam Government to file a report on nest Wednesday.
Over the years, there has been a sharp rise in the rhino poachings in the Kaziranga National Park were the north east militants are actively involved.Disclosing this in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, minister of state for environment S Regupathy in a written reply said as many as 18 rhinos were killed in the sanctuary in 2007.The figure was seven in 2005 and it fell to five in 2006. But it started increasing on 2007 and rose to 18. The Union minister further said the north eastern militants are also in the rhino poaching in the park.
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