Stop work on Subansiri Lower Hydroelectric Project: AASU

A CORRESPONDENT

LAKHIMPUR: All Assam Students' Union (AASU) general secretary Lurinjyoti Gogoi once again raised his voice against the Subansiri Lower Hydroelectric Project (SLHP) set up at Gerukamukh along the Assam-Arunachal boundary in Dhemaji district. The AASU general secretary demanded that the National Hydro Power Corporation (NHPC), the Union Government and the State government put a stop to the construction of the mega dam project until all the genuine grievances are addressed. People are concerned that the project might cause devastation in the downstream area of Subansiri Valley.

In this regard, Gogoi has also warned that negligence on the part of the NHPC and governments at the Centre and in the State towards the genuine demands of the people regarding the sensitive issue will lead to intensified agitation once again.

The AASU general secretary raised the demand after he visited the SLHP construction site. Notably, a delegation of AASU including vice-president Chittaranjan Basumatary, finance secretary Krishna Das, cultural secretary Anil Gogoi, dignitaries of Lakhimpur, Dhemaji and Dibrugarh district committees, led by the general secretary, visited the SLHP project site on Thursday in the wake of the news about the collapse of a guard wall of the dam due to the heavy downpour during this week.

In this regard, while contacted, the AASU general secretary told The Sentinel on Friday that the collapse of the guard wall of the Subansiri dam was 100 per cent true.

"The foothill of Arunachal Pradesh, where the SLHP has been constructed, is not suitable for the run-of-the-river project, which will consist of a concrete gravity dam with 116 metres height from the river bed level and 130 metres from the foundation with a length of 284 metres to produce 2,000MW electricity. The place is in a highly seismic zone and the dam will not be able to resist earthquakes. Moreover, such guard walls cannot tolerate landslides and as a result, the guard wall collapse on the impact of showers lasting for a few days. The decision of constructing such a mega dam project on brittle rock surface is not a scientific decision," Gogoi asserted. He further expressed resentment over NHPC constructing the project without studying the downstream and environmental impact.

"At present, the project is redesigned. The public hearing which is to be conducted after the redesigning of the project has still not been organized by the NHPC and the governments. Moreover, the National Green Tribunal, in its verdict, suggested that the NHPC should move forward with the construction of the dam after holding talks with the various organizations which have been protesting against the project. But the AASU has not been invited for any such talks, be it the NHPC or the Union or State governments. So, our organization has demanded that the SLHP construction work stops until all the apprehensions are resolved scientifically in order to save the Subansiri valley civilization, the biodiversity and the life and properties of the people of Lakhimpur, Dhemaji, Majuli and Biswanath districts," he added. In this regard, he called upon the State and the Centre to take immediate steps.