Skip to content Skip to navigation

Anti dam protest greets Jairam Ramesh in Guwahati

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.


Comments

Hayang's picture

--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.

Pages

Add new comment

Assamese Translator

Assam Times seeks English to Assamese translators!
Join our volunteer team.
Email editor@assamtimes.org.

Random Stories

Another ACS officer arrested in Guwahati

28 Mar 2018 - 4:21pm | AT News
  GUWAHATI: The second huge crackdown against the officers in question in the APSC scam gathers steam as the police have caught yet another ACS officer in Guwahati hours after arresting five...

New bodies to expedite environment clearance to projects

7 May 2013 - 7:51pm | Abdul Gani
With a view to expedite the process of obtaining environment clearance for category ‘B’ type projects and activities in Assam, the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests has constituted the State...

Assam journalist missing from Taj hotel

28 Nov 2008 - 3:02pm | editor
Delhi based journalist from Assam working with the Times of India Sabina Sehgal Saikia have been missing amid the din of the nightmare in Mumbai. Confirmed this Sabina’s husband Santanu Saikia...

Call of wild Udalguri

Call of wild Udalguri

2 Jan 2013 - 10:11pm | Jayanta Kumar Das
The pristine and enchanting forests and tourist spots of Udalguri district, touching 53 KM long India-Bhutan international border and 27 KM long Assam-Arunachal inter state border have always been...

Other Contents by Author

Forty people have been injured while a Dergaon-Jorhat bus fell into a deep gorge before it reached the destination. According to information, the incident that left ten people seriously injured took place at around 10-45 in the morning near the Jorhat Coca Cola factory when the driver lost the control after developing a technical snag. Later local people came out and rescued the passengers. The injured people have been rushed to the hospital. Some of them have been released after primary treatment. The driver is remaining untraced. Investigation on going on.
All Assam Students Uniuon has alleged that the children of illegal migrants who sneaked in to the state from across the border in 1986 are being given voting rights.Talking to media people here on Wednesday, advisor of the powerful Assam students body Dr Samujjal Bhattacharjee has brought a serious allegation against the governments that it have been insisting the children of those illegal migrants, who came to the state up to 2004, be also given voting rights.The organisation further also accused the government of failing to seal the Indo-Bangladesh border by March 31 as it was promised earlier.The influential All Assam Students Union (AASU) has blamed the central and state governments for...
Following the complicacy aroused in conducting the inter media cricket tournament, organized by Guwahati Press Club (GPC) every year, the organizer has finally decided to scan the official appointment letter of each and every players taking part in the tournament.There are allegations that many participating teams, representing media houses, engage non-journalists (and non-newspaper employees) as their players in the tournament. This time, it was decided that every player would have to show his identity cards (on demand) before the play. But allegations remained that it could not prevent non-employees (who are professional cricketers) taking part in the tournament.Finally it is decided...
Noted film actor Nipon Goswami released an audio CD "Mousumir Asha" of singer Mousumi Saharia along with famous singer Pulok Banerjee at Guwahati Press Club on 18-03-08. Pix by UB Photos.
A surrendered ULFA cadre has made a startling revelation on Tuesday that ULFA utilizes its newly recruited fellows in the strikes against Hindi speaking people along with army and police. After surrendering before Dibrugarh district administration officials ULFA cadre Partha Kachari said the new cadres are forced to run ULFA's attack. He also said the banned insurgent outfit has been imparting arms training for as many as 50 member. He also revealed that he was among those who was asked by the top fellows to carry out strikes in Naharkotiya on March 13. Partha is the son of Rudra Kachari of Faltutala gaon in Jaypur in Dibrugarh district in upper Assam. He surrendered before the authorities...
Dhemaji which at one point of time was an important township. I say with a heavy heart and felt for the people who are so bereft of basic need of life in contact to their compatriots in the rest of the world. I wonder why does this place remains so neglected till today when so many prominent personalities, eminent writers, journalists, doctors, top government officials, politicians, educationalists can trace their roots from this area. 2008 Budget: There is hardly anything of significance mentioned in the key sectors like Agriculture, Handloom...
A failure government on the law and order front in Assam has been behind the BLT-NDFB clashes in the Bodo dominated areas in the state. This is alleged by Assam BJP unit spokesman Charan Deka. Addressing a pres conference in the city on Monday Mr Deka alleged that the Government has been failing to control the deteriorating the state’s law and order scenario. Deka cited some figures to justify his claim saying 2152 murder cases with 2024 rape cases in the state from April 2005 to November 2007. Deka also maintained that the Government is going to to impose new entry tax on some essential commodities.
Police detained several workers of the state animal husbandry and veterinary department at the dharna site on Monday while they were holding protest in front of the directorate office demanding government steps to regularize their jobs. They alleged that despite repeated appeal the governmenthas been failing to address their issues. Their salary amounts are inadequate and that too is irregular. They further alleged the Government has been lacking a specific policy to end their issues. When the authority tired to disperse them, they refused to leave the spot forcing the police to arrest and detain them at the dhanra site. Notably, the workers recruited from 1986 have not been regularized....
A Kamrup district session court on Monday sentenced life imprisonment for four CRPF jawans chargesheeted by CBI in the Imphal firing case where nine people were killed in 1995. Also they are fined Rs 5000 each.The incident took place at the Regional Institute of Medical Science campus in Imphal, the capital town of Manipur. It took place after a shoot out on a few CRPF jawans while they were manning the Hospital campus. They responded the attack by retaliatory firing which turned indiscriminate. They are Ram Dayal Shah, Muhmmad Razzak, Shiv Kumar Pandey, Putu Lal.On the other hand, those killed in the firing were S Premchand Singh, T Rajendra Singh, W Upendra Singh, Pradip Sarma, Muhmad...
One hardcore ULFA cadre died at an encounter with Army in Dibrugarh district's Kakopathar area on Monday. According to information, the ULFA cadre was identified as Kanak Chetia who is known to be the outfit's IED expert. A chinese pistol and some explosive materials have been recovered from his possession. On the other hand, the youth hurt in the Sonari blast on Sunday midnight is being identified as Satyajit Chetia from Mahmora area in Nazira sub division in Sivasagar district.