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AASU, TMPK
flay Govt role on mega dams
Guwahati,
March 09:
The All Assam Students Union (AASU) and the Mising Students
Union (TMPK) today came down heavily on the Assam Government for
its failure to stop construction of mega dams in neighbouring
Arunachal Pradesh, and its incompetence in dealing with floods
and erosion.In a joint press meet held here, both the student
bodies chastised the State Government for its’ “failure to stop
construction work of the Lower Subansiri hydro-electricity
project, even though the interim report of an expert committee
had stated that work should not continue till a down stream
impact assessment was done”.
The student groups, aggrieved over the Government’s
response to the threat from the mega dam, said that they had
decided on a protest action on March 12, where they would
jointly highlight the issue in Guwahati. The demonstration has
been designed to focus on the “government’s poor response to the
issue of big dams”. Giving reasons for the proposed protest
action, the student groups revealed that an expert committee
comprising technical personnel from Gauhati University,
Dibrugarh University, and IIT Guwahati had emphasised the need
for a thorough downstream impact assessment of the Lower
Subansiri project. The committee in its interim reported also
mentioned that work should be suspended till such a study was
carried out. However, the National Hydro-electric Power
Corporation (NHPC) has not heeded this advice, and the Assam
Government too has not acted on it. In such a situation, both
the student groups believe that there is no alternative left to
show their opposition to a development that “is likely to put at
risk a large number of people in Assam”. In the press meet, the
role of a House Committee formed to study the issue of the dam
also attracted criticism. According to the student groups, the
committee was asking for an extension even at a time work on the
dam was going when on. AASU adviser Samujjal Bhattacharya was
blunt in stating that the Assam Government did not care for the
interest of the local people, but “was taking dictation from the
Union Government”. Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has compromised
with those pushing for the dam and with New Delhi, he asserted.
Bhattacharya was of the belief that not just for the Lower
Subansiri dam, but down stream impact assessment was a requisite
for all the mega dams proposed to be built in the North East. “A
cumulative impact assessment is a must in this regard,” he
noted.
Johan Doley of the Mising Students Union was equally
forthright in condemning the State Government’s stance regarding
the dam, and said, “Gogoi had yielded to pressure, and so far
nothing positive has been done to protect the interest of the
people who would suffer from the dam”. He further revealed that
the construction of anti-erosion measures near Matmora had
serious flaws on both the ends of the geo-tubes, and the company
responsible for the project has not erected concrete porcupines,
which is considered essential to stop erosion by the Brahmaputra.
President of the All Assam Students Union, Shankar Prasad Ray,
told the media that the AASU was not anti development, but
development should be achieved while ensuring the long term
security of the people. Unfortunately, the Assam Government has
failed to shoulder this responsibility by aligning itself to
those promoting the controversial Lower Subansiri dam. The
students groups said that they were open to associate themselves
with likeminded groups which would favour their stance vis-à-vis
mega dams in the North East, but was not inclined to go in for a
legal redress at this point of time.
AASU, TMPK
flay Govt role on mega dams
Guwahati,
March 09:The
All Assam Students Union (AASU) and the Mising Students Union (TMPK)
today came down heavily on the Assam Government for its failure
to stop construction of mega dams in neighbouring Arunachal
Pradesh, and its incompetence in dealing with floods and
erosion. In a joint press meet held here, both the student
bodies chastised the State Government for its’ “failure to stop
construction work of the Lower Subansiri hydro-electricity
project, even though the interim report of an expert committee
had stated that work should not continue till a down stream
impact assessment was done”. The student groups, aggrieved over
the Government’s response to the threat from the mega dam, said
that they had decided on a protest action on March 12, where
they would jointly highlight the issue in Guwahati. The
demonstration has been designed to focus on the “government’s
poor response to the issue of big dams”. Giving reasons for the
proposed protest action, the student groups revealed that an
expert committee comprising technical personnel from Gauhati
University, Dibrugarh University, and IIT Guwahati had
emphasised the need for a thorough downstream impact assessment
of the Lower Subansiri project.
The committee in its interim reported also mentioned
that work should be suspended till such a study was carried out.
However, the National Hydro-electric Power Corporation (NHPC)
has not heeded this advice, and the Assam Government too has not
acted on it.
In such a situation, both the student groups believe
that there is no alternative left to show their opposition to a
development that “is likely to put at risk a large number of
people in Assam”. In the press meet, the role of a House
Committee formed to study the issue of the dam also attracted
criticism. According to the student groups, the committee was
asking for an extension even at a time work on the dam was going
when on. AASU adviser Samujjal Bhattacharya was blunt in
stating that the Assam Government did not care for the interest
of the local people, but “was taking dictation from the Union
Government”. Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has compromised with
those pushing for the dam and with New Delhi, he asserted.
Bhattacharya was of the belief that not just for the
Lower Subansiri dam, but down stream impact assessment was a
requisite for all the mega dams proposed to be built in the
North East. “A cumulative impact assessment is a must in this
regard,” he noted.
Johan Doley of the Mising Students Union was equally
forthright in condemning the State Government’s stance regarding
the dam, and said, “Gogoi had yielded to pressure, and so far
nothing positive has been done to protect the interest of the
people who would suffer from the dam”. He further revealed that
the construction of anti-erosion measures near Matmora had
serious flaws on both the ends of the geo-tubes, and the company
responsible for the project has not erected concrete porcupines,
which is considered essential to stop erosion by the Brahmaputra. |
