Noted environmentalist Medha Patkar on Wednesday opposed construction of big dams in the North East to save the region from complete destruction. Addressing a huge rally in Guwahati, organised under the aegis of the Kisan Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS), she said the rivers must be saved at any cost.
She said the government divided people on the lines of caste and religion but now they are taking the name of development.
According to Patkar, "People want development of rivers, power, aquatic life and people of living on river banks and not just of corporate houses and a section of politicians."
The construction of dams involved scams amounting to several thousands of crore and some corporate houses and politicians were allegedly involved in this, she claimed.
She appreciated KMSS leader Akhil Gogoi for organising the rally and giving a voice to the farmers who would be the worst affected if dams are constructed on the Brahmaputra and its tributaries.
Patkar, later, fell ill and was rushed to a hospital, while leading a protest march from the Sonaram Field to the Kamrup (Metro) Deputy Commissioner's office but her condition was stated to be stable.
Meanwhile, tense situation prevailed near the Deputy Commissioner's Office when more than five thousand protestors gathered to submit a memorandum to the Prime Minister through the Deputy Commissioner. The district authorities declared the gathering illegal and asked the crowd to disperse within ten minutes. Akhil Gogoi pointed out that they had applied for necessary permission for holding a dharna at the Dispur Last Gate but was denied following they had sought permission for holding a rally at Sonaram Field and a protest march which was subsequently granted.
PermalinkSubmitted by kkp on Fri, 23/07/2010 - 20:24
@Rongmon Pegu: may be there are less money involves in wind and solar energy than in river and dam to fill the butty of our politicians and corporate houses and dalals.
PermalinkSubmitted by Himadree Buragohian on Fri, 30/07/2010 - 16:37
It is really appreciating for renowned environmentalist Medha Patkar and KMSS leader Akhil Gogoi to come out and protest for the greater welfare of the general masses who are a neglected lot by the Govt as their cries carry no meaning for the politicians and the bureaucrats.Kudos to such leaders pleading for the poor citizens.
PermalinkSubmitted by Molokhu on Sun, 08/08/2010 - 16:11
IN THE NAME OF 'USER RIGHT'
I read the news story “Chinese move on Brahmaputra: Govt action plan on user right”, reported by noted journalist Kalyan Barooah from New Delhi (‘The Assam Tribune’, Page 1; Saturday, July 24, 2010). While being in the Indian Union any small entity, be it a state, a group of people have to be vigilant against powerful forces which influence policy makers and decision takers. Unlike the fringe territories, the central mainland has a huge homogenous population, where from springs a powerful lobby which exhorts power overtly in politics and covertly in economic matters. The scene hasn’t changed much down the centuries.
When Buddhism was gaining popularity in India, the Brahmans came up with an interesting idea to retain power in the socio-economic-political and religious spheres. Gautam Buddha was shown as the ninth avatar of the Hindu mythical god of protection, Vishnu. By inducting such a tricky clause in the Purans and related religious scriptures, the identity of Buddhism as an independent religion was destroyed. Slowly Buddhism lost its grip in ancient India. Persons who constitute different policy making structures like the Committee of Secretaries (CoS) are the neo-Brahmins of modern India.
At a time when anti-dam agitation is taking the form of a mass movement, the CoS has come up with a strategy of major storage project in the three basins (which includes Subansiri, Siang and Lohit) under the disguise of a concept aptly named ‘User Right’. Whether China wants to dam or divert the Brahmaputra is not known. Whether China will or can divert the Brahmaputra is not known. Whether the story of a dam to divert the river by China is a propaganda by a section of Indian media in connivance with the Central and Corporate lobby is not known. But that the Central Governement is hand in gloves with giant corporations to exploit the hydro-power of north-eastern states is an open secret now. These power groups with an eye on profits worth billions and trillions would never sit idle over a so called storage project. Any conscious and thinking person would know what the storehouse would hold for power generators and the massive devastation that a minimal gush of water from such projects can cause downstream.
In the name of major storage project alias ‘User Right’, now India and its corporate masterminds will generate power even more than the stipulated 70,000 MWs to feed its evergrowing greed. In the national forum, mega dams are projected as ‘multi-purpose hydro-projects’. In the international forum, major storage projects will be showcased in the name of ‘User Right’ of India. It’s the formula of “Old wine in New bottle”, to fool north-eastern states and the world.
Within a brief spell of one month the killer spiders have reached Guwahati. One person has been injured when two venomous spiders attacked him on Monday night. The incident of spider attack took place in Gootanagar area near Maligaon in Guwahati. According to the injured person, two big spiders were spotted in the evening and attacked him before trying to escape. Later, he was rushed to the hospital. Notably, spider terror initially struck at Sadiya where one person died and ten others are undergoing treatment after they were attacked.
The National Human Rights Commission has expressed grave concern over the cases of crime against women in Assam. Wrapping up its camp in Guwahati on Tuesday, NHRC chairman Justice (retd) K G Balakrishnan said that though the overall scenario regarding human rights in Assam but there were some areas that needs to be taklen care of. Most cases against women are related to physical and mental harassment, rape, abduction, domestic violence, marital discordant other forms of violence. The camp disposed of 50 cases and passed directives to the concerned authorities to pay Rs 35 lakh as monetary relief to the victims of their next of kins.
Three persons sustained injury when a section of people clashed with policemen in Kokrajhar district on Tuesday.The incident took place at Joypur during a 24-hour bandh called by the All Bodoland Minority Students Union (ABMSU) in Kokrajhar district. A section of protesters started pelting stones at a police team led by Additional Superintendent of Police H K Nath forcing them to use lathis, gas shells and finally fired several rounds in the air to disperse them. Three persons sustained injuries in the clash between police and the bandh supporters and they were admitted to hospital. Police also picked up around 10-12 picketeers.
Security forces seized a powerful Improvised Explosive Device in Goalpara district along the Meghalaya border on Tuesday. The IED weighing 3 KG was found by a local boy of a remote village in the district. He informed the police. Later Army bomb defusal team defused the IED. Police called it an ULFA attempt to target security personnel. ULFA and GNLA had set up few camps in the bordering area of Assam and Meghalaya and operating unlawful activities there, said the police.
The Sanskriti Anveshak forum of Vivekananda Kendra Institute of Culture, Guwahati organized a Lecture Series on: Cultural Pluralism: Focus Northeast India. The first talk of the series on the Arunachal Pradesh Perspective was organised on Friday, 25 May, 2012 at 5.30 pm. in the Williamson Magor Auditorium of the Institute at Uzan Bazar, Guwahati. The talk was delivered by Dr. Joram Begi, Director, Higher...
The national human rights commission on Monday blamed the Assam government for starvation deaths in Bhuban valley tea estate a few months back. Led by a its chairman KG Balakrishnan, the Commission has asked the State Govt. to pay rupees two lakh each to the two tea garden workers and rupees one lakh each to about 13 dependents of the workers who died due to starvation. The Commission has also directed the State Govt. to inquire whether the tea association of India was distributing the foodgrains properly among the workers or not.
The delegation heard 50 pending cases of human rights violations in the State of Assam at its Camp Sitting in Guwahati. Out of 17 cases, which the Full...
The national human rights Commission on Monday asked the State Government to identify the child victims without any further delay and give financial assistance to them and sent compliance report along with proof of payment within eight weeks. The Commission observed that the negligence of officer led to orphaned children not getting timely assistance despite the fact so many years have past since the riots.
In the cases relating to force prostitution of three women in Kachar district, the Commission has asked the State Govt. to pay rupees one lakh each to the three victims. The State Government has also been asked to inquire whether there is any organized activity going on in the State...
Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal strongly defended protest against big dams in the North East. Addressing a gathering in Guwahati, he said that the dam had been taken up without transperancy. He said that dams are required for power generation. But, he said, the process has to be transparent and any such projects should be taken up only with the consent of the local and affected people. He asked the KMSS activists and their leader Akhil Gogoi to unite with other such movements in states like Uttarakhand and create a nation-wide movement.
The centre has increased its share under the Project Tiger to 90 per cent from the current 50 per cent. This was stated in a letter by Union Minister of State for Environment & Forests Jayanthi Natarajan to Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi. According to the letter, the state’s share will be now only 10 per cent. This will also be applicable for the tiger reserves in the North East region.
Gogoi had in 2008 submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh proposing reduction of the state's share to the level of 10 per cent in the centrally sponsored scheme of Project Tiger.
KMSS leader Akhil Gogoi on Monday ended his indefinite hunger strike against the NHPC-owned big dams in Gerukamukh. Gogoi who began fast unto death in Digholipukhuri on Saturday took the decision after Team Anna member and social activist Arvind Kejriwal visited him at the Guwahati Medical College Hospital on Monday. Later, he rushed to the Dighalipukhuri with Kejriwal where he broke his fast in presence of his supporters. But the protest is set to go countrywide after he got assuance from the Team Anna member.
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