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.
13 May 2012 - 12:39pm | editor
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Amarjyoti Kalita has been sent to jail after police produced the prime accused in the gory GS Road molestation incident before a lower court on Tuesday. Amarjyoti’s police custody ended on Monday. He was produced before the Kamrup CJM court on Tuesday where he was remanded to judicial custody. Notably, police got remand of Kalita after he was brought back to Guwahati from Vanarash where he surrendered.
Much to a major concern grew about the healthcare of the displaced people, there is report of death of three persons in relief camps in Dhubri. According to officials, a 32 year-old person died of fever at the Belapara school camp at Tamaharhat in the district. This was followed by the death of a 72-old-year women at the Kamadanga HS Madrassa relief camp. This is apart from the death of an infant died within minutes of its birth at Tilapara ME Madrassa at Suparighat. Inmates at the camp alleged that the trio were not provided any medical assistance.
Law and order seems to have improved in BTAD areas. Curfew was relaxed in Kokrajhar for two more. But night curfew continued in Chirang and Dhubri district. There was no fresh incidence of violence anywhere and curfew in Kokrajhar would be in force between 8 evening and 6 in the evening. Health and Education minister Himanta Biswa Sarma also visited Kokrajhar and assured that adequate medical facilities for relief camps inmates would be ensured. He said free text books and other educational materials would be provided to students.
Union Home Minister P Chidambaram on Tuesday faced slogan-shouting refugees at one of the three camps he visited this morning in Dhubri district, which had witnessed ethnic violence. Chidambaram, who left for Dhubri early in the morning from Guwahati in a special chopper and landed at the Panbari BSF camp, visited two other camps - Borkanda and Takimari. In Lakhiganj, the refugees shouted slogans against the administration and demanded that the government act fast to confiscate arms of the former Bodo Liberation Tiger militants. They also alleged that basic facilities like healthcare were inadequate in the camps. The Home Minister, who arrived in Guwahati, is on a two-day trip to the lower...
ULFA’s anti talk has claimed responsibility of the Goalpara the blast that killed an army jawan. In an email statement, assistant information and publicity secretary of the outfit said that the blast was carried out by its members. He also claimed that three Army personnel were killed and nine others injured in the attack.
An Army jawan was killed and six others were injured when a powerful IED exploded in Goalpara district on Tuesday. The blast took place near the Naranarayan Setu at Jugigupa at around 10.20 in the morning when an Army convoy was passing.
A vehicle in the convoy, which was on its way from Kokrajhar to Agia, was also blown off in the explosion. The injured jawans have been shifted to the Basistha Army Hospital in Guwahati.The blast exploded when Union Home Minister P Chidambaram and senior BJP leader L K Advani are on a stock taking visit to the BTAD areas.
Normal life in Assam remains heavily disrupted following large scale power cuts after the regional grid tripped because of heavy load. It took place following the collapse of Northern and Eastern grids.
According to sources, there was heavy load and power frequency came down from the normal 49.9 per cent to 38.34 per cent leading to the collapse of the grid.
The collapse led to power cuts throughout the state. But the situation is likely to improve with additional power inputs from Samaguri, Kathalguri and Namrup Thermal Power Plants which has so far been unaffected by the grid failure.
BJP veteran L.K. Advani on Tuesday said took on Delhi nd Dispur alleging inaction in dealing with the influx problem that has resulted in the on going ethnic clash in BTAD areas. During his visit to the refugee camps in Dhurbri on Tuesday, he said that the situation has arisen mainly because of criminal delay in dealing with the situation.
Advani hoped that no other community is made a refugee in their own country like Kashmiri Pandits.He urged Prime Minister, the Congress president and Assam Chief Minister to introspect on how this situation arose.
BJP veteran L K Advani on Monday blamed border influx for the on going ethnic clash in BTASD areas. Advani, who is here on a two-day visit, said that its not a group clash. According to him, the problem arose due to large scale infiltration of illegal immigrants. He called distressing that in 2012 these kinds of things are happening. He said that if the situation was not taken care of in time it could deteriorate. His visit follows a fact-finding tour by a BJP team led by party's national general secretary Vijay Goel.
The government has shunted out Kokrajhar and Chirang deputy commissioners just before Union home minister arrived in the violence hit BTAD areas. Kokrajhar DC D Gilfilon and Chirang DC U N Bora have been moved out in the name of administrative reshuffle following the violence in the Bodoland Territorial Areas Districts. Rastriya Madhyamik Siksha Abhiyan Mission director Jayanta Narlekar has been named as the new DC of Kokrajhar. Commissioner of the Guwahati Municipal Corporation Puru Gupta been named as the new DC of Chirang.
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