KMSS: Have the Assam experts surrendered before big dams?

Guwahati, June 11: While carrying on the tirade against the proposed big dams in the region, Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) chief Akhil Gogoi today questioned the sincerity of the expert committee by asking if they had surrendered before the possibility of big dams in the region.

During a press meet in the city, Gogoi gave out minutes of the recent meeting between the expert committee and the panel from Central Government that took place on June 2 in the city, while stating that the attitude of the expert committee from Assam seems that of sheer defeatism. Gogoi said that right after the meeting, the Expert Committee’s Coordinator Prof Jatin Kalita had said that the NHPC has agreed to the fact that the site for the Lower Subansiri Project is not fit for the structure. He also allegedly stated that the NHPC had agreed to reduce the dam’s height for the purpose. To this, the Central Electricity Authority’s Hydro Member KM Garg said that lowering the height will rob the structure of its flood control abilities. Commenting on this note of exchange, Gogoi said that if there is a problem than the project should be cancelled altogether, why should there be a decrease in height? He also said here that it is clear from the stated conversation that the dam’s height would not be reduced. Here he questioned as to why the experts of Assam are making such frivolous statements to give false impressions to the state’s people.

Gogoi also talked of a member from the Assam expert committee who had allegedly stated that a cosmetic change is enough to show the dam in a good light to the people. Gogoi said that only this particular member of the expert committee has betrayed the trust of the people and wholeheartedly supported the big dam project. He also added here that both the NHPC and the other experts from Assam have confirmed this fact.

Gogoi also said that the Assam experts had also pointed out to the fact that the Lower Subansiri’s anti earthquake pga value of 0.38g is not enough for such a massive structure. It was pointed out that the Saraighat Bridge has the same value and hence it cant be accepted for such a huge structure. The experts had stated that the project must have an anti earthquake pga value of 0.50g atleast. This opinion has also been supported by the Thatte–Reddy Committee of the Central Government.

Gogoi said in this regard that there is a twist to this angle as the NHPC had claimed that the problem related to the earthquake issue has been solved. Gogoi said that NHPC had granted a Rs 1.86 lakh project to three professors from the Civil Engineering Department of the IIT Guwahati, Arup Sarma, Hemanta Kaushik and Sandeep Das, to look into the earthquake issue. The three professors, without consulting anything with the expert committee, gave in their results while claiming that the dam was safe from earthquakes. Gogoi questioned the intentions of the expert committee by stating that the committee had been formed after a people’s movement took place over the issue, and they are betraying the people’s trust by not talking about such contentious issues which were brought up at the meeting. Gogoi also warned the members of the expert committee that they would not be left in peace if they indeed betray the trust of the people. He has asked the expert committee members to clear their stand in this regard.

Gogoi also took the example of the recent disaster where 24 engineering students were drowned at the Larji Dam site in Himachal Pradesh on June 8 after excessive water was suddenly let off on the Beas River in Mandi district. Gogoi pointed out that the dam was a comparatively small structure that had the capacity for producing electricity for 126 MW. But since the river’s flow was strong, the Himachal Pradesh government had been producing electricity for upto 188 MW. Gogoi said that on the day the tragedy happened, the National Grid Load Despatch Centre at Shimla had stated that 64 MW of electricity should be produced from the dam or else the strong water flow of the river for producing higher megawatts of electricity has the potential threat to flood the Aut location which lies on the National Highway that goes towards Chandigarh and Manali. Gogoi stated here that on that fateful day, 50 cubic metres per second of water was let off from the dam at 6:15 pm which made the river’s water level rise by six feet, which eventually swept off the students to their death.

Gogoi further said that this incident serves as a very important lesson for Assam. He gave out four big dam projects that are being undertaken which have the potential of creating a much larger catastrophe than anything seen in this smaller yet tragic accident. He pointed out that in Arunachal Pradesh alone, about 168 proposals have been taken up for constructing mega dams in the state. Coming to examples of the mega dams, Gogoi stated that the Lower Subansiri has a capacity of 2000 MW and lets off six cubic metres per second at its lowest intensity, but releases about 2560 cubic metres per second at its peak. Then there is the Lower Damway at Sadiya which has a capacity of 1750 MW. It lets off 35 cubic metres per second of water at its lowest but releases a massive 1729 cubic metres per second of water at its peak moment. The next example was that of Lower Siang that has a capacity of 2700 MW, and lets off 328 cubic metres per second of water at its lowest moment but then again releases about an alarming 5063 cubic metres per second water at its peak moments. The last example here was that of the Dibang project that has the capacity of 2880 MW, which gives off 326 cubic metres per second of water at its lowest, but releases 1441 cubic metres per second of water at its peak moments.

Gogoi pointed out in this regard that all the water released from these dams would eventually enter the Brahmaputra and this massive amount of water would be entering the river at 8233 cubic metres per seconds. He also pointed out that the expert committee has conceded to the fact such a strong wave of water can practically flood the Dibru Saikhowa Reserve Forest under a watery blanket of about 12 feet. Gogoi questioned as to why are the expert committee members silent on such vital points?

Gogoi said here that the KMSS is going to submit a memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to include the resolution of a big dam free North Eastern region within his government’s 100 days agenda. Gogoi also stated that since BJP State chief and Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal is an MP from Lakhimpur, he can directly plead for the cause with Modi on a personal level.

(Source) The Sentinel Assam – The Largest Media group of North-East India — focused on news publishing. Combined circulation of the group is over 120,000 newspapers per day, making it the largest newspaper group in the region. The Sentinel is the only English daily in the Northeast India with five editions published simultaneously from Guwahati, Dibrugarh, Shillong, Silchar and Itanagar. For all local, news from Assam, national and international news please visit http://www.sentinelassam.com/