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.
Even after 36 hours police have no clue on the whereabouts of 16 dam workers kidnapped by suspected KPLT in Karbi Anglong district on Sunday. Search operation is going on in the hills district since suspected KPLT militants kidnapped the workers from private a hydel project at Longlit area under Manja police station.
According to police, a joint team of police Central Reserve Police Force, Cobra force and Army are carrying out search operations at all probable locations in the district to rescue the abducted dam workers. Karbi People’s Liberation Tigers has yet to claim the responsibility.
A 54 year old woman died and her husband has been injured when a gang of dacoits unleashed a reign of terror in the hearof Guwahati on Tuesday. The sensational incident took place in Machkhowa when a gang of seven armed youths forcibly stormed the house of Basir Ali in Kedar Road and tied Ali, his wife and their housemaid. Then they looted gold ornaments and other valuable properties worth several lakhs and vanished from the spot. A seriously injured wife of Aliwas rushed to the hospital following complaint of breathing difficulties whereshe was declared dead. Policemen rushed to the spot but by then the dacoits disappeared from the spot.
A police officer was arrested in Morigaon district on Sunday after his vehicle collided with another car and he fired at the crowd which gathered at the spot.According to information, Bhaktiram Kakoty, a circle inspector, was caught by the public at Moirabari town in the afternoon after his car crashed into another vehicle.Kakoty then fired into the crowd before he was overpowered by the public and handed over to the police.
Assam state BJP unit on Sunday demanded Chief minister Tarun Gogoi’s resignation alleging its failure on the crucial law and order front.Talking to reporters on Sunday in Barpeta, state committee spokesperson Sarbananda Sonowal said that Gogoi who also holds the home portfolio, has failed in ensuring law and order in the state.Participating at the state BJP executive committee's meeting in Barpeta, he said that the Gogoi government had assured that women in Assam would get adequate protection.H claimed that during 2006-2011, 11,553 women were kidnapped and 7,163 women raped in the state when Tarun Gogoi holds the home totally failed to administrate the police force properly.
The Opposition Asom Gana Parishad would launch an agitation across the state on June 12 in protest against construction of big dams, price rise and corruption. Addressing a press conference in Guwahati on Sunday, party president Prafulla Kumar Mahanta said that the agitation would cover all districts. He lashes out at Tarun Gogoi alleging that the Chief Minister was making false claim of achievements. Mahanta said that the Tarun Gogoi-led state government has given go ahead to big dams in the state without proper study by group of experts.
Only 50 days are left for the London Olympic. For the first time archer Jayanta Talukdar will be seen in action. The archer, who hails from Assam, is the only member of the Indian men's recurve team to have booked an Olympic berth. Talking to a media group in New Delhi, he said that he was confident of a medal if he maintains his current form on the big stage. Talukdar was the first Indian to win a World Cup gold medal, when he triumphed in Croatia in 2006. He repeated the feat in the same country three years later. At present, his aim is to earn a team Olympic berth, in partnership with Rahul Banerjee and Tarundeep Rai.
Cachar police is on a massive operation to nab a youth who allegedly raped minor girl Cachar district on Saturday. The incident took place at Sonai where girl was lured to his house by her neighbour, a driver by profession, when she was playing outside her home at Sonai area and allegedly raped her. The girl's father filed an FIR at Sonai Police station and a search has been launched to nab the absconding man. The girl has been sent to Silchar Medical College Hospital for medical examination.
At least 50 people had a narrow escape when an Air India plane noselanded at the Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport on Sunday.
The incident took place in the morning when the Silchar-Guwahati plane with 50 people on board took off. The flight lost one of its front wheels during take off forcing the pilots to make emergency landing. None of the 52 people - 48 passengers and four crew members were injured in the emergency landing, the sources said.
Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi thanked the pilots for saving the lives of the people on board. Gogoi spoke to Urmila over phone and conveyed his thanks to her and the co-pilot for showing alacrity, courage and dexterity by landing the...
Uncertainty is over. Somnath Dasgupta will take over as the vice-chancellor of Assam University in Silchar.Dasgupta is the director of the National Centre of Experimental Mineralogy and Petrology (NCEMP) under the University of Allahabad.
Dasgupta will replace Tapodhir Bhattacharjee and will be the fifth vice chancellor of the central varsity, which was established in 1994. Dasgupta has been appointed as the new vice-chancellor of Assam University. He is replacing Tapodhir Bhattacharjee.
Several organisations of Bishnupriya Manipuri community have urged Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi to dissolve the Bishnupriya Manipuri Development Council alleging large scale corruption and irregularities in the utilization of government grants-in-aid.
President of Nikhil Bishnupriya Manipuri Mahasabha Debendra Kumar Sinha, in a memorandum alleged that the Council had indulged in large scale corruption in the utilisation of government grants-in-aid of Rs 10 crore provided during 2010-11.
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