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.
18 Jan 2014 - 10:30am | AT News
At least five persons were killed when a vehicle carrying them to Manipur met with a tragic mishap at the National Highway 31 in Kamrup district on Saturday. The mishap took place near Baihata...
2 Jun 2016 - 9:00pm | AT Kokrajhar Bureau
Two students from Upendra National (UN) Academy, Kokrajhar scripted highest marks in History and Bodo subject in today’s declared HS results, besides the Academy scored 100% pass percentage both in...
22 Sep 2014 - 5:34pm | AT News
Rainwaters continue to wreak havoc in Guwahati with more and more areas of the premier north eastern city coming under the waters on Monday. This has forced the authorities to order shut down of all...
30 Mar 2018 - 12:28pm | Anonymous
GOLAGHAT: Event after unstoppable poaching there has been steep rise in rhino population in Kaziranga if the just concluded census on the world heritage site is any indication. According to the...
The first Horizon Series Cultural Programme of the year 2013 was successfully held on 5th January 2013 from 6 pm onwards at Soul Speak Studio hall, Dimapur. The main programme saw performances from three artistes- Chuba Jamir, Kagholi Chisi and Toshi Aier.Chuba Jamir, who is also known as Kishore Kumar of Nagaland presented songs in Hindi, Engish and Ao including his latest remix of the you tube sensation Gangnam Style in Hindi which turn out to be a hit with the audience. Kagholi Chisi sang a few cover songs and Toshi Aier presented 3 Ao songs.A regular feature of Horizon Series programme is the open mic cum jam session with the intention of giving a platform to artistes wanting to perform...
ULFA seems to have stepped up its activities in the run up to the Republic Day. A hardcore ULFA militant was killed in an encounter with security forces in Assam's Tinsukia district. Acting on a tip-off about the presence of a group of five ULFA cadres in Hebeda village, police launched an operation in the area.In an ensuing encounter the militant was killed while others managed to escape. The slain militant was identified as Debojit Duara alias Wangli Asom. His elder brother, also a suspected ULFA militant, was killed in an encounter in 2007. Police recovered a grenade and some ammunition from the slain militant. A massive combing operation was launched in the area to arrest other...
Security forces recovered two Improvised Explosive Devices from Nagajan area near Duliajan on Friday evening.The IEDs were planted near oil pipe lines in the area. Later, the army's bomb squad team defused the IEDs. ULFA’s anti-talk faction led by Paresh Baruah is active in upper Assam and is trying to trigger explosions in few areas ahead of the Republic Day.
Massive protest over rape and molestation is spreading across the state on Saturday. Members of the All Assam Association of the Deaf staged a demonstration here to protest against the rape of a mentally challenged woman allegedly by CRPF men in Lakhimpur district.Wearing pieces of black cloth across their mouths and held placards, the protestors shouted slogans demanding capital punishment for the culprits.The protest was triggered by an incident in North Lakhimpur, when two CRPF personnel allegedly raped a mentally challenged woman in Chaulduwa area in Lakhimpur town on Thursday.
Tinsukia police have arrested five persons for gangraping a 13-year-old girl on Friday. The incident took place at Sukanpukhuri tea estate under Makum police station on the intervening night of January 2-3 after one of the accused, Jogeshwar Mali, lost his cellphone.According to police, Tusu incited her husband and his friends to punish the girl and the four caught hold of the girl at a lonely stretch of the estate and raped her.The police arrested Tusu, Mali and his friends Sanesh Nayak, Tirnath Mali, Ram Chandra Patnaik after the girl told the family about the incident.
A lower court in Lakhimpur has jailed a CRPF jawan on Friday charging him with raping a physically challenged woman on Thursday. Three of his colleagues are on the run. The incident took place at Chauldhowa village. According to eyewitness, about four CRPF personnel forcibly took the physically challenged woman, who was passing by the CRPF camp on NH 52 in the area to the nearby jungle. Some locals raised an alarm. While they managed to catch Mohan Singh, the others fled. The victim has been sent for medical examinations.
In a huge setback for Congress ahead of the panchayat elections, a senior Congress leader in BTAD area has been sent to jail on Friday a day after he was caught red handed when he found with a woman Thursday morning. BTC Congress Committee chief convener Bikramsingh Brahma who stayed at the woman's house had forcefully slept with the victim to be discovered by her husband.After being thrashed by local residents, police produced him before the Chirang court on Friday where he was remanded to judicial custody. The Congress has expelled Brahma from the party.
Every year the Education Research and Development Foundation (ERDF) honors eminent personalities of the state in recognition of their contribution in different fields to mark the advent of New Year. This year ERDF selected some senior citizens of the state to wish good health and long life so that they can continue their service to the society.The 2013 edition of the felicitation programme was held at the Regional Institute of Science & Technology (RIST) for ten senior citizens. The function began with welcome address of the dignitaries to the Dais by N I Laskar, Director, Corporate Communication ERDF. Dr H K Baruah, Director (Academics), ERDF welcomed the guests. Felicitation of...
A cycle rally was set on the roll at Bokakhat this morning with an objective to generate awareness among the masses for conservation of precious wildlife in Kaziranga National Park and its fringe areas in Assam. The rally has been organised by Aaranyak, a society working for bio-diversity conservation in association with Upatyaka, a conservation organization and State Forest Department.The rally which will culminate on January 5 at Garhpal, Sootea in Sonitpur district in the North Bank of Brahmaputra, was flagged off today at Bokakhat by local MLA Arun Phukan in presence of Kaziranga NP Director N.K. Vasu, prominent citizens of Bokakhat, officer-in-charge of Bokakhat Police station,...
Assam Times "Reporter"
The Assam Times is an online news portal that tells the tales of people from all walks of life. “Assam” here does not confine to today’s geographical boundary and goes beyond the barriers. We welcome news and articles on/from the entire northeastern states - Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Sikkim and Meghalaya. First time writers, please send a short note about yourself along with your Facebook/Twitter ID, contact details and a small photograph for your Reporter's ID Card.
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