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.
10 Jul 2019 - 12:31pm | Dibya J Borthakur
Japanese Encephalitis claimed as many as 64 lives in different parts of the state till Tuesday. The number of affected people reached 265 on Tuesday.
State Health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma...
26 Aug 2008 - 5:02am | Ritupallab Saikia
In the last few years many Assamese students gone out of the state to pursue higher education, few of them were found dead under suspicious circumstances. Recently the death of Ehsan Rizvi (21), son...
3 Feb 2013 - 4:50pm | AT News
Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Sunday said that the Assam State Police Accountability Commission would be set up in several areas to ensure better public participation in accountability and...
29 Dec 2016 - 10:40pm | AT Kokrajhar Bureau
Kokrajhar is all set to host National Handloom Expo 2016-17 of BRAWFED at Sudempuri ground near JD Road in Kokrajhar town starting December 30. Speaking to Assam Times at the expo venue at Sudempuri...
Nine people have been injured while a powerful bomb exploded at Srirampur in Kokrajhar on Tuesday. According to information, the blast took place at around 11-45 in the morning besides the MVI gate.According to police, some militants are involved in it as a few days back the police stopped them from collecting money from the businessmen. This is for the third time explosion rocked the Srirampur Gate.The injured people are Ramakanta Pachi, Nibaran Mushahary, Haripat Barman, Bhaputi Barua, Naztulla Saike, Agaustin Tudo, Kamal Basumatary, pradip Sarkar, Parimal Barman. Two them are critically injured and have been rushed to the West Bengal Hospital.Minutes after the explosion the police and...
Father of Assamese journalism Radhika Mohan Bhagawati is being felicitated by Union Minster for Information and Broadcasting Priyaranjan Dasmunshi as he completes 50 year in the Journalism field at a programme organized during the 3rd Foundation day celebration of Assamese newspaper "Ajir Dainik Batori" at Guwahati on 22-01-08. Pix by UB Photos.
Karimganj is going to repoll in 75 polling booths in Karimganj on Tuesday. The repolling has been ordered following the allegations of large scale rigging and booth capturing on 9th of January. The state government has beefed up security arrangement to ensure peace and normalcy during the repelling in these booths. On the other hand, the campaign for the last phase of panchayat polls slated for 24th of January in Darrang district will come to an end on Tuesday. The district will witness a tough battle among Congress, AGP and the AUDF.
The ULFA was planning a huge strike in the city in the run up to the Republic Day celebrations. The insurgent outfit rushed four battalions to strike in the city and the entire operation was to be led by 28th No battalion top cadres Amarnath Chetri alias Abhijit Dutta and Ramesh Kalita alias Pradip Kurmi.These have been revealed by both the two cadres arrested by the Golaghat police on Saturday. They have been rushed to the city on Monday and now they are being kept in police custody. After preparation, the seargent majors of the 28th battalion were all set to strike in the city. Amarnath who is under police custody at the Panbazar police station hails from Moubandha gaon of Jorhat district...
Two leading officers on Monday deposed before the Manisana Singh Commission which is probing the Beltola clash that rocked the state on November 24. They are are Guwahati city executive magistrate Chinmoy Phukan and the former officer in charge of the Basistha police station Indrajit Chakravartty. Meanwhile, a city based journalist from a national satellite channel Rajiv Bhattacharjee also called on the Commission officials at the Circuit House on Monday and handed over them a CD.
The chillness in the air on the evening of 14th January, 2008, couldn't deter the Assamese as well as the well-wishers of Assam, residing in the millennium city of Gurgaon and Delhi to participate in a fun-filled 'Uruka'. The event was organized by Assam Association Gurgaon in a very big field in Sector-46 away from hustles of the day to day life in the Millenium city of Gurgaon. The celebration was graced by the presence of renowned classical dancer from Assam Padmashree Pushpa Bhuyan along with her husband Sri Nabakamal Bhuyan, daughter and son-in-law, Retired IAS officer Sri M. P. Bezbaruah, World Bank Consultant in Washington Dr. Jiten Gopal Borpuzari along with few others. As soon as...
Altogether four proscribed militant outfit in the operating in the northeastern states have given a Republic Day boycott call. These outfits are United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA), Kamatapur Liberation Organisation (KLO), Tripura People's Democratic Front (TPDF) and Manipur Peoples Liberation Front (MPLF).In a joint statement, the four organisations reiterated their boycott call as well as their opposition to the Centre.
Top ULFA Madan Koch has been killed during a joint operation by Meghalaya police and Army on Sunday afternoon in Garo Hills. According to information,.Madan was the operational head of the banned insurgent outfit’s '109 battalion' in Garo Hills. The encounter took place in the afternoon at Kathalbari village bordering Assam and Meghalaya.'The police claimed to have seized a pistol, two magazines, eight kilogram of RDX, a high frequency wireless set and a mobile hand set from the slain militant's possession. Quoting police as saying agency reports say Madan was asked to surrender but opened fire at the security forces. When retaliated Koch died on the spot.Koch was operating in the...
The Barpeta police have recovered two powerful bombs from a bus operating under the Assam State Transport Corporation in the district on Saturday.. According to information, the two bombs have been found during a routine check by the police at the ASTC bus stand on Barpeta Road. The two bombs were kept inside two polythene bags were kept in the luggage carriage of the bus. The bus was bound for Guwahati. The bomb left abandoned was later defused by the bomb disposal squad. Investigation is going on but no one has so far been arrested.
The north eastern airports are being put on alert as the home ministry reports are apprehending terrorists strike before the 26th January. Quoting the official sources agency stories here say the intelligence output, plans have been hatched by the ULFA to hijack an aircraft to enlarge its profile on international level and also to cover up its dwindling cadres.The authorities in the Northeast have put on high alert immediately after receiving the intelligence inputs, while the Bagdogra and Kolkata airports have also been alerted as the security forces were not keen on taking any chances. Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) jawans have been looking after these airports with the state...
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