Mega dams: Jairam Ramesh will take public hearing on Sept 10

Guwahati: Amid protests against setting up of mega dams on the Subansiri, Siang and other tributaries of the Brahmaputra river in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, Union Minister of Forest and Environment Jairam Ramesh fixed September 10 and 11 as dates for public hearing on the issue.

On September 10, the Union Minister will take a public hearing here and the next day, he will visit Pasighat area in Arunachal Pradesh for discussing the situation with concerned people and organisations.

All Assam Students Union (AASU), Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chatra Parishad (AJYCP), Krishak Mukti Sangram Samittee (KMSS) and few other organizations are protesting the 2000 MW Lower Subansiri Hydro Electric Power Project, being implemented by public sector National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC).

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, AASU claimed two mega hydrel project in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh and the proposed construction of 168 river embankments will change the geography and environment of Assam.

An AASU spokesperson said, ?After completion of the Lower Subansiril hydel project at Gerukamukh in Dhemaji district, lakhs of people in Dhemaji, Lakhimpur and Sonitpur district will be affected.”

?The 600 MW Kameng Hydro Project in West Kameng district in Arunachal Pradesh will also affect Nameri National Park and Pakke Reserve Forest in Sonitpur district,? the AASU claimed.

The AASU had already submitted a 494-page report to central government on the impact of the mega dams.

Last week, AGP staged a massive dharna at the NHPC project site at Gerukamukh and demanded immediate stalling of the project.