SHILLONG, Aug 23 ? Social activists in the North East are up in arms against the construction of mega dams in the region claiming it would bring ?untold suffering and land alienation among the indigenous poeple,? reports PTI. The Citizens Concern for Dams and Development (CCDD), a forum of people movements, NGOs, professional associations and leading citizens here said that the respective governments proposed to construct 168 large hydro-electric projects in the region and 28 of them were at the implementation stage and some others were also being developed.
Talking to media after its three-day consultation programme concluded here yesterday, the CCDD said that the region was not ?in need? of so much of power. Construction of mega dams would only benefit the implementing agencies. It would ?displace? the indigenous people and affect the fragile environment, the CCDD said.
On the 28 dams constructed they said these dams have been built in highly seismic zones and any probable disaster would be catastrophic particularly to the people living down streams. A Delhi-based activist Smitu Kothari of ?Lokayan? said the building of dams have become a serious problem in the country creating irreversible damage to the eco-system. Kothari said since Independence, 20 million people particularly of indigenous communities have been affected due to the construction of dams and mega hydro electric projects.
He opined that in view of the danger posed by these dams, some of them should be ?decomissioned?, as done in Canada and other European countries to prevent earthquakes. CCDD co-ordinator, Ramananda Wangkheirakpam said the commissioning of Loktak hydel project in Manipur in 1983 had displaced a large number of indigenous people who were still demanding compensation for their land.
He said due to siltation and non-releasing of the water from the dam, large cultivatible land around the Loktak lake had been submerged driving out its people from their land. Wangkheirakpam said the people have been demanding regular release of water from the dam and decommissioning it to enable the displaced persons to reoccupy their land. Similar problems have been faced by the people of Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura from the construction of big dams. According to another activist from Assam, B Khagen, 24 districts of Assam would be affected from the 2000 MW Gerukamukh hydro-electric project on lower Subansiri river.