The Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chhatra Parishad’s Tinsukia district unit on Monday staged a three-hour sit-in from 3pm at Margherita town against the Centre’s push to construct big dams in the Northeast, including the Dibang dam located in Lower Dibang Valley district of Arunachal Pradesh.
The AJYCP unit later sent a memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The protest comes days after the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Assam government to resume work on the Lower Subansiri hydel power project.
The AJYCP unit demanded that big dams like Pagladia (under construction) on the Pagladia river, Khandongdam (completed) on the Kopili, Umrong (completed) on the Umrong nallah, Lower Subansiri (under construction) on the Subansiri, Karbi Langpi (completed) on the Borpani and Dibang multipurpose project (under construction) — must be stopped with immediate effect as these will harm the people of the Northeast and damage the flora and fauna of the region. The protesters shouted slogans against big dams and demanded construction of small dams.
AJYCP district secretary Kanchan Bora told The Telegraph, “The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, which was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has already approved Rs 1,600 crore for expenditure on pre-investment activities of Dibang multipurpose project. This dam will be 278 metres high, the highest in the country once completed. Experts are wary that in case it breaks, the entire eastern Arunachal Pradesh and Upper Assam would be under water. The water will reach Tinsukia district in 15 minutes and the hills of Margherita and Ledo will also go under water. More than three lakh trees will be felled to clear the land for this project. We are in favour of small dams. We have been protesting against big dams right from the beginning.”
The organisation also expressed concern over floods and erosion in the district.
AJYCP’s Tinsukia unit president Surojit Moran said, “Although the flood situation has improved in the past few days, erosion continues to plague people living near the rivers. A vast area in Margherita subdivision has been witnessing floods and erosion caused by the Buri Dehing for the past 40 years. Hundreds of people have become homeless and several acres of land have been gobbled up by the river. The historic Raja Ali or Pengaree Fort and the nearby crematorium are also on the brink of extinction. I appeal to the government to use advanced technology to check erosion.”
At the time of approval of Dibang multipurpose project, the Centre had said it was envisaged as a storage-based hydroelectric project with flood moderation as the key objective.
The construction of the dam shall prevent the sizable downstream area from floods. The project has all statuary clearances — environment and forest.
Several organisations, including the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti and the Asom Songrami Manch, had on Saturday criticised the state government for signing the pact with the NHPC to complete the 2,000MW Lower Subansiri hydroelectric project at Geruamukh.
The Asom Songrami Manch recalled the death of 22 people and inundation of over 500 villages in Assam because of release of excess water from Ranganadi hydel project in Arunachal Pradesh on June 14, 2008.