Lower Subansiri Dam: AASU On Agitation Mode!

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI: The AASU (All Assam Students’ Union) has termed the Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) signed between the State Government and the NHPC for the 2000-MW Lower Subansiri Hydroelectric Project (LSHP) is an extreme insult and deception to the people of the State. The students’ body is going to hold an emergent executive committee meeting at Gauhati University on August 27, 2019 on the issue. The AAU is going for an agitation against the decision.

In a statement issued to the media on Saturday, AASU president Dipanko Kumar Nath and general secretary Lurinjyoti Gogoi said that the LSHP has been a threat to the life and property of people in downstream Assam. People’s security has to be ascertained, they said. “The Centre and the State government have no courage to challenge the arguments and reasons shown by the experts’ committee from Assam. The gap between words and works of the BJP and its government is quite wide. On November 17, 2010 the then BJP president Rajnath Singh took part in the State BJP’s movement against the Subansiri lower dam at Gerukamukh. In his election campaign on February 22, 2014 Narendra Modi was on record favouring mini hydel power projects instead of big dams at Pasighat in Arunachal Pradesh. After the BJP coming to power, a tripartite talk was held in December, 2014 involving the AASU and other organizations, the State government and the Central government in New Delhi. A number of important decisions were taken, including an overall study of Lower Subansiri dam and the proposed 168 dams in Aruanchal Pradesh at the talk. Following differences cropping up between the expert committees of the State and that of the Centre on Lower Subansiri dam, a decision for holding another tripartite talk was taken. However, that tripartite talk has not been held even today,” the statement said.

AASU adviser Samujjal Bhattacharya said: “The people of Assam are well aware of ill effects of mega dams. They’ve the worst experience following the release of water from the 405-MW Ranganadi Project and a hydel project in Bhutan. Such an experience has made the people of the State aware of the would-be ill effects of a 2000-MW dam. The government should’ve held a meeting among experts from Assam, the Centre and overseas. However, the government has stopped short of holding such a meeting. The people of Assam won’t accept anything which the government wants to impose on them by virtue of its strength in the Assembly or the Parliament.”

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