A CORRESPONDENT
AZARA: Opposition to the proposed Kulsi multipurpose hydropower project intensified across South Kamrup on Friday after the Brahmaputra Board formally handed over the Detailed Project Report (DPR) and all related project documents to Assam Power Generation Corporation Limited (APGCL), paving the way for implementation of the long-pending project.
Several organisations held separate press conferences on Friday, strongly opposing the proposed dam and warning of a democratic mass agitation if the government proceeds with the project.
The renewed protests come despite Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma’s statement on June 29 last year that the project would not be implemented if the local people did not support it. However, following the transfer of the DPR, organisations alleged that the government had completed all necessary formalities to move ahead with the project, ignoring public opposition.
The proposed Kulsi Multipurpose Project, to be constructed across the Kulsi river on the Assam-Meghalaya border near Ukiam, envisages a 60-foot-high dam with an installed capacity of 55 MW of hydropower generation. The project also aims to provide irrigation facilities to around 26,000 hectares of agricultural land and help mitigate flash floods. The estimated cost of the project is Rs 1,454.95 crore.
On Thursday, the Brahmaputra Board, under the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti, officially transferred the DPR and all related project records to APGCL at Guwahati. The documents were handed over by Abhay Kumar, General Manager of CWES on behalf of the Brahmaputra Board, to Saurabh Saikia, Chief General Manager of APGCL.
Local organisations, however, alleged that the project would severely affect riverside communities and the fragile ecological balance of the region. They warned that a large-scale public movement would be launched if construction work begins.
At the first press conference, organised by the Kulsi River Dam Resistance Committee, speakers including President Chabin Chandra Rabha, Organising Secretary Mrityunjay Rabha, Buddheswar Rabha of the Nikhil Rabha National Council, Garo National Council President Anendra Marak, environmental activist Prasanna Kalita, and Debajit Choudhury strongly opposed the proposed dam.
A second press conference was organised by the Chaygaon Regional Committee of the Nikhil Rabha Students’ Union. Addressing the media, committee President Laskar Rabha, All Assam Koch Rajbongshi Students’ Union Vice-President Munindra Das, and Chaygaon Regional Students’ Union General Secretary Hirak Jyoti Shalai reiterated their opposition to the project.