Assam: Cargo reaches Lower Subansiri HE Project site despite protests

Dhemaji: Despite protests, the cargo meant for the 2000-MW Lower Subansiri Hydro Electric Project (LSHEP) at Gerukamukh in Dhemaji district on the Assam-Arunachal border has now reached the project site, said reports. The cargo was taken to its destination after the police detained groups of protesters blocking the movement of goods to the plant at Laluk in the wee hours of Wednesday.

Five vehicles carrying various equipment and types of machinery for the river dam project by National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) Ltd were blocked by anti-dam protesters as the vehicles arrived at Laluk in Lakhimpur district en route to Gerukamukh on Tuesday.

The protesters, led by the Lakhimpur district unit of Asom Jatiyabadi Yuva Chatra Parishad (AJYCP), Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) and Veer Lachit Sena, demonstrated on National Highway-15 at Laluk Tiniali. Protesters demanded the closure of the hydroelectric project over river Subansiri at Gerukamukh.

The cargo was cleared from the blockade of the demonstrators as police arrested the protesting AJYCP activists at 2 am on Wednesday. However, they were released later on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, NHPC chairman-cum-managing director (CMD) Abhay Kumar Singh recently said that the LSHEP would be completed by 2022.

Last week, Union power secretary Sanjay Nandan Sahai visited the hydroelectric project along with Arunachal Pradesh chief secretary Naresh Kumar, NHPC CMD AK Singh, Union joint secretary of power Tanmay Kumar and Arunachal Pradesh commissioner (power) PS Lokhande.

The Union power secretary visited all the sites of the LSHEP and took information about the progress of the ongoing construction activities. He also inaugurated the re-starting of powerhouse works.

Sahai also attended an exhibition organised by farmer-producer companies registered for livelihood interventions initiated by NHPC in the field of piggery, sericulture and handloom.

The Lower Subansiri project has been stuck for the past eight years due to various issues. The run-of-the-river project on the Subansiri, a tributary of the Brahmaputra river, is mostly situated in Arunachal Pradesh. However, some parts of the submergence area fall in Assam.

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