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

Modi's birthday celebrated

17 Sep 2016 - 7:27pm | Shajid Khan
Following the saffron party's move to celebrate Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 66th birthday  on Saturday  as 'sewa divas' (day of service) the grassroot level workers of BJP Bhergaon...

Two injured in firing

2 Jun 2017 - 10:29pm | AT Kokrajhar Bureau
At least two persons, including an Army officer and a civilian received bullet injuries following indiscriminate firing by suspected militants late Thursday evening at Oxiguri Raimona area in...

AUDF MLA arrested in Dhubri

20 Aug 2007 - 3:19am | pragmoni
Dhubri police today arrested an MLA Rashul Haq Bahadur with six others. Rashul belongs to AUDF founded by Aagar baron Badaruddin Ajmal just before last assembly election to fight against Congress and...

Theft at the Jania sattra

20 Sep 2011 - 1:17pm | editor
Thieves broke the entrance door on September 18 of the Jania Sattra and taken away gold and silver ornaments, cash and destroyed the alter of the naamghar. Jania satra was established by the...

Other Contents by Author

Guwahati : Punjab Police today caught a ULFA leader Hemanta Roy from Jalandhar town on Monday. This was informed by the Assam Police. Roy is believed to be a senior member of the ULFA’s 709 battalion, the strongest among five battalions of the outfit. He will be produced before the Jalandhar district court tomorrow. He has been remanded into police custody. A team of Assam police will rush to Punjab shortly to bring him back to Assam
Bokajan : Three more Hindi-speaking people were killed and 3 others seriously injured at Parakhowa under Howraghat police station on Sunday evening when militant fired indiscriminately in a local bazaar at about 7.45 PM. Details are awaited.
Diphu : Militants again shot dead four Hindi speaking people in Karbi-Anglong district on Saturday late night. Police said a group of 10-15 heavily armed militants abducted six persons of two family, including a woman, from upper Deihori village and took them to Rongbong ghat under Shantipur out post of Bokajan police station, lined them up and fired indiscriminately. Four persons died on the spot while two other managed to escape with heavy injury. The deceased were identified as Mohan Kanu, 35; his wife Sheela Gupta, 30; Nandalal Swami, 20; and Mahabir Swami, 25. Ram Swami, 30 and Kanu Swami managed to escape from the spot though they were injured by gunshots. Later they informed police...
Kaziranga : Atlast some good news from Kaziranga. The stepped up vigilance in Kaziranga is working. On Friday evening a team of forest guards lead by Ikramul Mujib captured three poachers from a Karbi Village near Burapahar range of Kaziranga, The name of these poachers are Sikari Signer of Fulaguri Khristan Bosti, Longsing Lekthe of Fulaguri and Rongbong Engti of Amguri village. In another incident a poacher called Jabli Rongpi surrendered at the office of the Range Officer on Friday. All of them have confessed their involvement in poaching in Kaziranga
Popular Assamese singer Sangeeta Kakatis new video album -" Mor Priya Geet" is a perfect blend.Popular Assamese singer, Sangeeta Kakatis new assamese album" Mor Priya Geet" composing of eight songs has been released. The famous song " Rongmone Patiba Rongore Mela" of the National Games and " Khelo aaha Khel" written by Dr Nirmal Prabha Bordoloi is a part of this album.The theme song has been written by Ashim Bora and music is by Rajib Kalita. The clippings of football, hockey, atheletics etc have been shown in both the songs. Besides this, the pictures of famous sportsmen from Assam like Bhugeshwar Baruah, Dipankar Bhattacharya have also been shown in the...
On August 15 this year India will celebrate the 60 th Independence Day to commemorate its independence from British rule and its birth as a sovereign nation on that day in 1947 . Sixty years ago on this day flag hoisting ceremonies and cultural programs took place in all the state capitals. In all the cities around India the flag hoisting ceremony was done by politicians belonging to that constituency. In Assam, it was so arranged that India's national flag, which replaced the flag of the revolution, would be hoisted on behalf of the organ of revolution, the Indian National Congress and not the Government. So it came to pass that Maulana M. Tayyebulla, as the President of Assam...
Guwahati : Ace archer Jayanta Talukdar has been chosen for the Arjuna award. He would be the third sports person from Assam, after Bhogeswar Baruah (1966) and Monalisa Barua Mehta (1987), who would receive this prestigious award.Jayanta, a member of Tata Archery Academy, Jamshedpur, was born in Guwahati in the year 1987. The archer came into the limelight in 2004 when he lead the Indian team to its win first in the Junior World Championship by winning a silver medal in Britain. This was just the beginning. In 2006, Jayanta created history as he became the first Indian Archer to win a gold medal in the FITA Meteksan Archery World Cup at Porec, Croatia. He also bagged a gold medal in SAF...
Diphu : Suspected Kuki and Karbi National Liberation Front ( KNLF) activists gunned down 12 hindi speaking people at Delaware under Arkoma outpost under Bokajan Police station on Friday. Investigations are on and police are questioning a lot of people in the area. Meanwhile reports of violence have also come in from Diphu town.
Guwahati :Police killed one and captured four in an encounter with ULFA operatives in Lichchubari hillock, near Hengerabari, a residential area which is hardly one and a half kilometers away from Assam’s capital city Dispur on late Thursday evening. Police sources said that a team of police and special commando force reached the Lichuchbagan hillock at 11.00 PM as they had some specific information about the presence of a group of ULFA militants in the area. When they reached the top they noticed some people moving around suspiciously and asked them to stop. The group responded by throwing a grenade on the petrol and tried to run away. The grenade missed the target and exploded...
Guwahati : Kidnapped Tea garden executive Anirudhdha Tanti was released today near Odalguri in BTAD at about 12.30 PM. He was kidnapped on 31st July from Hirajuli Tea Garden when he was on the way to his quarter from the factory at about 11.30 PM. He is the youngest son of Ex MLA Bhimananda Tanti of Rangapara Constituency