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.
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Normal life remained totally paralysed amid sporadic incidents of violence during the 12-hour bandh called by Karbi Students' Youth Council in Karbi Anglong district on Saturday. Bandh supporters set...
Hundreds of Northeast people are back to the southern cities to resume work a few days after they got the real story of rumour. Three special trains have been deployed in Guwahati for Bangalore to meet the rush. The overall situation is under control and this comes two days after three special trains left for Bangalore from Guwahati on Sunday taking back those who had fled the capital of Karnataka fearing attacks on them. The situation eased on Monday.
A seven member central team on Tuesday visited the violence-hit Dhubri and took stock of the ground situation in the entire areas. Led by joint secretary of home ministry for north east Shambhu Singh, the team of senior officials is scheduled to visit Kokrajhar on Wednesday and Chirang district on Thursday.
The officials talked to the district administration as well as the relief camp inmates. The team visited relief camps at Barkanda People's Academy, Maspara LP School, Indranarayan Academy and Bilasipara College and interacted with the people at the camp.
The Railways announced an ex-gratia of Rs 15,000 each to the family of two passengers who died in the NJP incident where the victims were thrown out of a Guwahati bound train in West Bengal. The kin of the passengers who were residents of Hailakandi district in Assam will be given an ex-gratia of Rs 15,000 each.
Four injured passengers all having confirmed tickets for journey up to Guwahati will get an ex-gratia of Rs 5,000 each. The seven other injured passengers will get an ex-gratia of Rs 500 each.
ULFA’s pro-talk faction called it an unfortunate one. In a statement, the outfit’s publicity secretary Mithinga Daimary said that Sarania played an important role in striking the peace deal with the government. Daimary further said that they would probe the allegations and that if found guilty, he would have to face the stern action.
NDRF team on Tuesday launched an operation on the river Brahmaputra in Kharghuli area to recover the bodies of Binit Jain and his servant. The operation was launched on the basis of confessional statements by Sarania and his aides who dumped the bodies on the river.
Some startling revelations seem to have surfaced when police raided a camp where top ULFA leader Hira Sarania stayed till he was arrested from Nalbari on Monday. A team of city police on Tuesday morning raided his designated camp and seizes an AK-56 rifle, 30 rounds of bullets and 12 lakh rupees in cash.
A lower court on Tuesday sent Hira Sarania to police custody for 6 days a day after he was arrested on murder and robbery charges by Guwahati police. He was remanded to police custody after he was produced before the chief judicial magistrate on Tuesday.
One more Assamese youth was found dead in Hyderabad on Monday. Identified as Sanjeev Sinha, the body was recovered near a railway station in the morning. He hailed from Lakhipur in Cachar district and was on his way to home following rumours of impending attack.
ULFA’s anti-talk faction slammed chief minister Tarun Gogoi for his claim that Assam has not even a single immigrant. In a statement sent to media on Monday, the outfit’s chairman Abhijeet Asom said that the Centre was responsible for the large scale influx from across the Indo-Bangla border. He further alleged that AIUDF president Badruddin Ajmal has been trying to create a communal divide in the state.
ULFA’s anti-talk faction has blamed immigration migration from across the Indo-Bangladesh border for the crisis that cripples the state. In a statement, the outfit blamed Centre’s apathy in protecting the Assamese working in the southern cities. Ulfa chairman Abhijeet Asom expressed concern over the worsening situation in BTAD areas and Dhubri. It further said that they won’t allow any immigrant to destroy the future of the indigenous people of Assam.
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