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.
23 Feb 2010 - 3:56am | editor
The prestigious Tufts University’s Dr Jean Mayer Award for Global Citizenship this year goes to eminent journalist Sanjoy Hazarika.
Hazarika, the pride of North eastern India was awarded...
14 Mar 2012 - 2:54am | editor
The Assam Government won’t allow Meghalaya to proceed with the claim over Koinadhara. Talking to reporters at the Assam Assembly House premises on Tuesday, the forest minister said that Dispur...
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At least 850 special police officers have threatened self immolation if the authorities fail to implement the promises. Addressing a press conference in Lumding on Wednesday, the policemen who...
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The poor medical facilities in tea estates of Assam have come into focus once again after a tea worker died due to lack of treatment after being bitten by a snake on Thursday. Twenty Eight year old...
Three persons died when a speeding train rammed into a tempo in which they were traveling in the outskirt of Guwahati on Friday.
The accident took place in Chaygaon in Boko early in the wee hours where the Chilarai Expressed rammed into a tempo when it reached the Bamunigaon Nadiyapara. Three persons died on the spot while another was seriously injured. The deceased has been identified as Safiqul Hauque, Robin Rabha and Hantiram Boro.
A small group of ULFA managed to sneak into Assam to monger trouble in the run up to the Independence Day celebrations. This is what available with police. According to information, the ULFA group sneaked into Assam from their camps in Myanmar and some of other cadres are currently sheltered in Tirap, Changlang and Lohit districts of Arunachal Pradesh and Mon district of Nagaland.
Senior ULFA anti-talk faction leaders including Nayan Medhi and Rajiv Das are in Majuli River island and directing cadres in the region to plan subversive activities. Tibrajit Hazarika, Rupanta Kakati, Arpajyoti Lahkar and Pradeep Gogoi are holed up in districts in Tinsukia and Dibrugarh to strike.
A general security alert is in place across the state in view ULFA’s move to monger trouble with subversive activities in the run-up to Independence Day celebrations. According to police, a general security alert has been sounded and security tightened throughout the state. It is apprehended that ULFA faction led by Paresh Baruah is in a mood to desperately to carry out subversive activities to show its presence felt.
The recent ULFA attack in Goalpara district was planned by senior ULFA leader Drishti Rajkhowa who has recently shifted to Garo Hills of neighbouring Meghalaya and has been staying in a camp of Garo National Liberation Army.
Assam Chief Minister's Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau raided R H Khan for second consecutive days on Friday. A team of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau led by Raunaq Ali Hazarika, conducted the Friday’s raid at his farms house in Chachal area in Guwahati.
Notably, on Thursday the Bureau officials raided the residence of the accused located in Tarun Nagar area. The officials said that some documents were seized from the residence. Khan, currently lodged in Guwahati Central Jail, was arrested in 2009 after the multi-crore scam of diversion of development fund allotted to the N C Hills Autonomous Council to DHD(J) came to light.
One person was crushed to death by a train in Guwahati on Friday. The accident took place in Bharalumukh in the morning where Pramod Chandra Daimary, a retired employees with an insurance company was crushed to death by the speeding Rajdhani Express. Police suspect it to be a case of suicide.
Army said that the jawan accused in the molestation case would have to face the action very soon. In a statement, army said that the inquiry into the allegations of molestation of a girl was complete. According to army, unlike the normal court process, in the Army a court is formed to try a particular case to ensure speedy justice as we believe that justice delayed in justice denied.
The Army's Dah Division in an letter to the All Tai Ahom Students' Union (ATASU) and a women organisation Mahila Samiti, said the Army took over the case from the civil court to ensure speedy justice for the victim. Notably, the girl was allegedly molested by an Army jawan near Nitaipukhuri in Demow in...
The situation in BTAD areas and Dhubri is rapidly improving. But the security forces are still patrolling in these violence-hit areas.Flag-march by army and patrolling by police and para-military was continuing with security pickets being set up in the affected areas.In Kokrajhar, 19 fixed security pickets have been set up with 15 in Chirang, four in Dhubri and six in Bongagaigaon districts so far.A delegation of Jamatia Islamia, National Integration Council along with several other organisations have visited Kokrajhar and urged the government and the Centre to ensure that such incidents of violence do not repeat.
Dispur on Friday made it plain and simple that only genuine people displaced in violence-hit BTAD areas and Dhubri would be rehabilitated. Disclosing this, an official statement said that there is an apprehension among people that people who were not displaced during the recent happenings in the BTAD area will also be rehabilitated in those districts.
It further reads that only the genuinely displaced people of the area will be rehabilitated and there is no need of any apprehension that anyone who was not displaced during the recent incidents will be rehabilitated in the area.Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi had announced that the August 15 was fixed as deadline to send back the inmates of the...
Police on Friday arrested four poachers in the Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary. They were arrested a joint team of the police and forest personnel in Morigaon district. Acting on a tip-off, a joint team of police and forest personnel launched a joint operation at Jhargaon village and arrested the poachers. A 2.2 mm pistol and several rounds of ammunition have been recovered from the poachers who have been identified as Abdul Hussain, Faizul Haque, Mohammad Abdullah and Ismail Ali.
In a significant move, the Golaghat Bar Association (GBA) suspended five of its member advocates from the association and issued show-cause notices to them. The suspended advocates were Jayanta Kumar Goswami, Bituparna Gogoi, Ranjit Soreng, Mintu Kumar Bora and Pratul Borbora. “The Bar Association at an Executive Body meeting held on 24th and 25th of July passed a resolution suspending the Advocates for their alleged professional misconduct” said association secretary Tridiv Bezbarua. It was also decided by the association that a show-cause notice would be issued to the suspended Advocates as to why they conducted such professional misconduct, Bezbarua said. It is to be noted...
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