JONAI, Aug 26 - Activists of the Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chatra Parishad (AJYCP), Dhemaji district committee, with support from the Gogamukh Anchalik committee, staged a protest against NHPC Limited demanding closure of the 2,000 MW Subansiri Lower Hydropower Project at Gogamukh Charali.
The protesters blocked the NH-15 in Gogamukh Charali and burnt effigies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and NHPC and shouted slogans on Thursday demanding closure of the Subansiri project and other dam projects in Arunachal.
The AJYCP leaders alleged that the State government, during the tripartite talks along with the Central government officials, assured them of halting all construction activities at the Subansiri Lower Project until experts assess the probable downstream impact and formulate an effective mitigation policy. But, the NHPC, after getting the go-ahead from the Centre and State, is continuing with the construction.
The student leaders cautioned the government not to play with the sentiments of the people of Lakhimpur, Dhemaji, Majuli and Jorhat districts and demanded immediate scrapping of the dam project.
Referring to the floods in Kerala, the protesters said the water released by the dams in Arunachal rivers will create a deluge in downstream of Assam.
�The mega dams constructed in Arunachal rivers will create an ecological catastrophe in downstream Assam and affect geography and demography in Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Majuli and Jorhat districts. We will continue our agitation, and the government will be responsible for any adverse situation,� said Priyanku Pratim Chutiya, president of the Dhemaji district unit of the AJYCP.
