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.
12 Jun 2015 - 1:04pm | AT News
Guwahati based journalist Babul Gogoi is leaving for Switzerland on Saturday to attend the 29th session of the Human Rights Council starting from June 15.
16 Sep 2017 - 6:51pm | AT Kokrajhar Bureau
Bodo community’s greatest novelist,Sahitya Pensioner Chittaranjan Mashahary has been hospitalised due to aillment two-day back at Kokrajhar RNB civil hospital. Mushahary has been suffering from...
14 Jul 2012 - 5:21am | editor
The Assam government on Friday set up a one-member inquiry commission on the recent incident in the heart of the city. Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has set up the panel under Additional Chief Secretary...
9 Dec 2012 - 12:41am | editor
Deputy Chief of Bodoland Territorial Council Kampa Borgayari said that immigration was politically motivated and supported by religious extremist forces. In his address at a seminar in Delhi on...
Police rescued eight minor girls from placement agencies allegedly involved in human trafficking during a raid in Delhi. Altogether 4 persons, including a woman, have been arrested in this connection. The arrested have been identified as Ravinder Yadav, Pradeep Toppo, Vimal Kerketta and Babita. Acting on a tip-off police raided four placement agencies Babita Enterprises, India Maid Bureau, Deepika Placement Agency and Mission Welfare Society where the minor girls were rescued.
They were allegedly involved in trafficking of the minor girls from Assam, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. Out of these rescued girls, four belong to Assam, one from Chhattisgarh and three from Jharkhand. After their...
Kaziranga National Park is reeling under devastating flood wave forcing the birds and animals to leave the famed site. Animals from the world heritage site is moving to highlands. But the situation is going fropm bad to worse from Sunday. The park authorities have been closely monitoring the situation to save the animals who are shifting to the nearby hills.
According to water resource department sources, the water levels of the Brahmaputra and its tributaries are likely to rise during the next 24 hours where more new areas may come under the surging waters.
Flood situation takes a devastating turn on Monday following incessant rainfall during the last 24 hours.The water levels of the Brahmaputra and is tributaries are rising alarmingly and the waters spilling to more and more areas where over 3 lakh people have been rendered homeless.
The situation deteriorated on Sunday when rains breached dykes in parts of Sonitpur and Lakhimpur districts inundating several villages where a huge tracts of cropland have been ravaged. The current wave has so far claimed eight lives beside affecting nearly 3 lakh people.
Flash flood this years has marooned 14 districts so far. These include Lakhimpur, Dhemaji, Dibrugarh, Tinsukia, Barpeta, Kamrup (Rural),...
Music is a language that binds people together and that is exactly what the Celebration Of World Music Day at Blue Berry Hill, Goa did on June 21. With the theme Celebrating Together In Harmony, the Music Mania Foundation of Goa brought artistes from around India and gathered at one place to perform and explore different genres of music.
Blue Berry Hill, a venue known for its scenic beauty came ablaze a little behind schedule at 8pm. Well the crowd did not complain for the delay as they were into a real treat from the word go.
The show begun with Goas very own rock band, Noxious Ire. This three piece band lit the venue on fire with a set of mixed genre which included both originals and...
The All Assam Students' Union has asked Dispur to ensure the construction of the proposed 500-bed hospital in Sivasagar at an earlier date. The influential students organization sent a memorandum to Sivasagar deputy commissioner to make the government's stand clear on the matter within 15 days.
Te oil giant had decided to set up a multi-purpose hospital and announced its decision to undertake the mega project in Sivasagar. It also asked the government to provide a proper venue, which is yet to chosen.AASU leaders in Sivasagar said that they submitted a memorandum to top officials of ONGC with a 20-point charter of demands, including construction of 1000-bed hospital in the district last...
The condition of the renowned Assamese poet Hiren Bhattacharjya refuses to improve. But experts from Delhi and Kolkata are providing the best possible treatment at the Dispur Hospital where he has been undergoing treatment for the last couple of days.
He has been suffering from lungs and urinary infections and was put on invasive ventilation support after his condition deteriorated.
According to doctors attending on this renowned poet, they are closely monitoring the his condition and that he is still not out of danger. Further, the poet was in a very advanced stage of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
The Science Express-Biodiversity Special train of the Union ministry of environment and forest arrived at Kamakhya railway junction in Guwahati on Saturday. The special train was inaugurated jointly by the mission director of Sarva Sikhsha Abhijan, L S Changsang and N F Railways general manager R S Virdi.
Eight of the coaches are dedicated to showcasing the biodiversity of the northeast, trans-Himalaya and Himalayas, Gangetic plain, desert and semi-arid zone, western ghat, Deccan peninsula, coasts and islands. The other coaches exhibit climate change, energy, water conservation and petroleum among the other branches of science. The train will be here for four days.
Yet another mid air mishap was averted in Guwahati on Saturday. An Indian Air Force aircraft on Saturday made a 'delayed landing' at the Lokpriyo Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport. But according to defence sources, there was no technical problem in the craft.
The IL-76 'Gajraj' aircraft, flying to Delhi from Bangalore via Guwahati, developed "certain problems mid-air and made a delayed landing as necessary arrangements were made on the ground in case there was emergency. The aircraft circled over the airport for nearly two hours before landing. Airport Authority of India made the arrangements for the landing and to deal with any emergency.
Comments
Pages
Add new comment