‘Ready to give blood, but won’t allow dam’: Fury over Kulsi hydropower project

A CORRESPONDENT

AZARA: Opposition to the proposed 55-MW Kulsi Multipurpose Hydropower Project has intensified in South Kamrup, with representatives of various organisations and sections of the public holding a representative meeting at Chaygaon on Thursday and deciding to launch a coordinated movement against the project.

 The meeting was organised at the Srimanta Sankardev Kala-Krishti Bikash Kendra in Chaygaon by the Kulsi River Dam Resistance Committee, Kamrup district unit of the All Rabha Jatiya Parishad, Kamrup district unit of the Garo National Council, and Dorabeel Gocharan Pathar Suraksha Samiti.

  The meeting came days after the Assam Government handed over the Detailed Project Report (DPR) of the proposed 55-MW Kulsi Multipurpose Hydropower Project to the Assam Power Generation Corporation Limited (APGCL) at the Brahmaputra Board office on July 30.   Representatives of more than 50 people’s groups and organisations from the Kulsi river basin covering Assam and Meghalaya attended the meeting. The participants appealed to people and organisations cutting across political affiliations to unite in opposition to the proposed dam, citing concerns over the protection of nature, the river ecosystem, and the livelihoods of communities dependent on it.   A coordination committee named ‘Kulsi River Basin Nature and People’s Life Protection Committee’ was formed at the meeting to coordinate the next phase of the movement. It was also decided to constitute a full-fledged committee subsequently.

 Among the major resolutions adopted at the meeting were submission of memoranda to the concerned departments of the Central and Assam governments, the chief ministers and legislators of Assam and Meghalaya, and APGCL. The participants also decided to organise awareness programmes in different areas and prepare and distribute awareness leaflets among the people.  The meeting further called for the formation of an expert committee to examine the proposed project and decided to organise dharna programmes if necessary. It also resolved to involve various women’s and student organisations in the movement and hold a mass awareness meeting at Ukiam.   Participants at the meeting declared that they were ready to ‘give blood but will not allow the dam to be constructed,’ reflecting the growing resentment against the project.

 Also Read: Tribal Organisations Protest in Guwahati, Demand Withdrawal of Satellite Township and Kulsi Hydropower Projects