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.
30 Jan 2014 - 2:14pm | AT News
Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi reviewed the situation in Sonitpur district with deputy commissioner Lalit Gogoi and police superintendent Sanyukta Parashar on Thursday.Immediately after laying the...
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GUWAHATI: The 5th Assam International Agri-Horticultural Show- 2018 is holding from Friday at Chowkidingee Playground in Dibrugarh. Chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal is opening...
5 Apr 2012 - 5:26pm | editor
The Centre sounds alert in Assam and its neighbouring states in view of ULFA Raising Day slated for April 8.
Dispur received the Home Ministry advisory on Wednesday with directives to tighten...
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Noted cultural activist, educationist and brother of music maestro Dr. Bhupen Hazarika breathed his last at a private hospital in Guwahati on Saturday. Late Hazarika, ex-music secretary of...
Over 14,000 selected candidates received appointment orders from Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi at a function in Sarusajai on Saturday. The appointment of lower and upper primary teachers is on contract basis. In his address, education minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the remaining TET successful candidates would also be appointed in a phase manner. On Saturday, 13,386 TET successful candidates received appointment orders as lower primary teachers.
Normalcy is back to the BTAD areas. There is no report of any new incidents of violence from Kokrajhar, Chirang and Dhubri districts during the last 48 hours. But night curfew is in place in all three districts and security forces are maintaining constant vigil. Altogether 77 people died in the strife since July 19, while over four lakh have been displaced.
All Assam Students Union has warned the government not to allow the immigrants to settle in the name of rehabilitation package. Addressing a press conference in Guwahati on Sunday, the AASU leaders said that they would keep a close vigil on the rehabilitation works to ensure that not even a single immigrant is allowed to get the benefit.
The CPI(M) blamed it all on Dispur for failing to prevent the ethnic clashes in BTAD areas and Dhubri. The party further accused BJP of trying to give the clashes a communal colour. Talking to reporters on Sunday, CPM leader Uddhab Barman said that the state government failed to act on time when the first incidents of attack took place on July 19 and 20. He refuted allegations made by Advani and others that Bangladeshi immigrants are behind the violence.
A group of hardcore militant managed to flee n Majuli during a heavy exchange of fire on Sunday. The encounter took place at Kakh Chapori in the wee hours. Acting on a tip off police raided a hideout at around 4 in the morning. As police reached the spot the militants resorted to firing from nearby woods. When retaliated, the encounter took place which continued for a few minutes before the militants fled. Three walkie talkies, mobile sets, some batteries and two bags containing items of personal use were recovered from the site.Police are continuing search operations in the area to nab the militants.
Journalists’ Forum Assam (JFA) has appealed to the people of Assam and northeast India to celebrate the forthcoming Independence Day (I-Day) defying the diktat of the militants. In a press statement, issued by JFA president Rupam Barua and secretary Nava Thakuria, the forum argues that both I-Day and Republic Day are two auspicious occasions for every patriotic Indian to pay their respect to hundred thousand martyrs of India's Freedom Movement.
Mentionable is that the anti-talk faction of the United liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) with many other outfits of the region have as usual called for a general strike on August 15. Others who have joined the chorus for boycotting the...
Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Union home minister Sushil Kumar Shindhe will visit to the violence-hit BTAD areas on Monday. According to Assam Pradesh Committee, the duo are scheduled to arrive at the Gopinath Bordoiloi International airport at 10-30 in the morning. They would straightly leave for Kokrajhar to BTAD by a helicopter. Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and other top officials of Assam Pradesh Congress Committee will also visit the BTAD area on the same day.
Health and education minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday said that high level probe would be ordered to ascertain the reasons behind the mysterious death of Madhurjya Barukiyal who was found floating in a pond inside the college campus on Friday.
According to AEC authority, Madhurjya, who hailed from Kamargaon in Golaghat, had gone to bath in the pond after playing a game of football on Friday evening. His body was later recovered from the pond. His body was sent for postmortem at the Guwahati Medical College and later taken to his hometown.
Family members of the boy claimed that it was a case of ragging and demanded a proper investigation into the incident.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi has constituted the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee to be led by Bhubneswar Kalita. Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, Union Minister Pawan Singh Ghatowar, former Union Ministers B K Handique and Santosh Mohan Dev and Hemprabha Saikia have been made executive members in the newly-constituted Pradesh Congress Committee.
The newly-constituted PCC has eight Vice Presidents and 11 general secretaries. All MPs of the party from Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha have been made permanent invitees to the Committee.
President of State Youth Congress and NSUI and all AICC office bearers from the state have been made permanent invitees. Former Speaker Seikh Chand Mohammed, state...
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has condemned the Mumbai violence and asked people to maintain calm. Talking to reporters in Guwahati after the violent protest in Mumbai, she talked his Maharashtra counterpart to ensure safety of the Assamese people in the state. The protesters suddenly turned violent and torched a media vehicle and damaged buses. They also pelted stones forcing police to open fire in the air and resorted to a lathi-charge to disperse the mob.
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