Guwahati/Dhemaji, July 25: The North East Dialogue Forum, an NGO, demanded a judicial probe into the release of excess water from Ranganadi dam that wreaked havoc in Lakhimpur district of Assam and the KMSS announced an agitation against big dams on a day repairs started on the breached Ranganadi dyke at Bogalijan in Lakhimpur.
The forum today alleged that Lakhimpur had to face devastating floods since July 12 because the North East Electric Power Corporation (Neepco) Ltd released water unannounced from its 405MW Ranganadi hydroelectric project. Several hectares of cropland were inundated, 11 persons died and several went missing.
The Neepco authorities have refuted the allegations. Its technical director V.K. Singh had said, "Releasing reservoir water is routine and the amount released would not affect the people. It is the breached dykes on the Ranaganadi that caused the flood."
A 17.5m stretch of the Ranganadi dyke had got breached at Bogalijan village on July 11, flooding several villages and Lakhimpur town. Work to repair it started today.
"They (Neepco) cannot wash their hands off as lives were lost due to their negligence. An independent probe, headed by a retired judge, needs to be carried out by a team of riverology experts. A report on the impact of dams on people living downstream of the Ranganadi and the Dikrong needs to be prepared. The Neepco hydel project, when commissioned in 2001, did not conduct any cumulative or downstream impact study. Unless these studies are conducted, Neepco cannot release water," K.K. Chatradhara, a dam expert and a member of the forum, told reporters in Guwahati this afternoon.
Both the Ranganadi and the Dikrong originate in lower Arunachal Pradesh and flow into Assam through Lakhimpur. Water released from Ranganadi dam, located at Yazali in Lower Subansiri district of Arunachal, is diverted through a channel into the Dikrong. The forum alleged that this aggravated the flood situation while Neepco has said the scenario would have been grimmer if the water was not diverted.
U. Nobokishore, another member of the forum, said, "Water stored in Ranganadi reservoir stops the natural flow of water. During monsoon, the water level in both the Dikrong and Ranganadi rises. When the dam's reserve water is released in a river already in spate, flooding is inevitable. This had been happening since 2004."
The forum demanded decommissioning of the 110MW Pare hydroelectric project on the Dikrong, 25km from Itanagar. The project is expected to be commissioned by November this year. "The Dikrong is already burdened by channelled water from Ranganadi. If another dam is built on it, it will completely devastate its downstream area - Bihpuria in Lakhimpur. If this dam is built, Assam will face an even grimmer flood situation next monsoon," Nobokishore warned.
The Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS), the All Assam Students' Union and Ulfa (I) have also demanded that the Ranganadi project be stopped.
KMSS leader Akhil Gogoi today said they would launch an agitation against the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation's (NHPC) Lower Subansiri hydroelectric project and Neepco in Lakhimpur on Thursday. "It will be the beginning of our agitation against both the dams," he said and threatened to intensify the agitation if the government fails to pay heed to the demand. Addressing people at Bogalijan village, which was affected by the breached Ranganadi dyke, Akhil said Neepco, which is responsible for the devastation, must pay Rs 1 crore to every family that lost a member to floods and compensate all those who lost their houses and properties for 20 years.
