BJP support for Subansiri

Guwahati, Aug. 10: BJP legislator Ashok Singhal today advocated construction of the 2,000MW Lower Subansiri hydroelectric project at Gerukamukh on the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border.

Singhal was participating in a debate in the Assembly today on the cut motion moved by the Opposition members on supplementary demand of a grant made by the water resources department.

He said the Lower Subansiri project will not only help control floods in Assam and produce power but also help establish India's riparian rights over use of water from the Brahmaputra that originates from Tibet.

Singhal, who represents Dhekiajuli, said it was vital for India to establish its right over the Brahmaputra by utilising its water as there is no water-sharing arrangement or water treaty between India and China.

According to him, most protests against the dam were not justified.

He said when China has constructed the giant Three Gorges Dam, which will generate 18,000MW of power, unnecessary hue and cry has been raised here over safety of the 2,000MW Lower Subansiri dam.

He pointed out that while Assam had been reeling under an acute power shortage, 15 per cent free power from the 2,000MW hydroelectric project could be shared between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.

Apart from the All Assam Students' Union (AASU), the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS), Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chatra Parishad, the AGP and a number of organisations had opposed the construction of the Lower Subansiri project without taking the people of Assam into confidence and expressing apprehension over the safety of the mega dam and also the possible adverse downstream impact in Assam.