Members of the All Assam Students’ Union (AAAU) Dibrugarh district AASU unit staged a massive protest in Dibrugarh town on Friday seeking complete halt in construction activities of the 2,000-MW Subansiri Lower Hydroelectric Project (SLHEP) coming up at the Assam-Arunachal border at Gerukamukh in Lakhimpur district. Recently, one of the guard walls of the hydropower project’s powerhouse had collapsed under surging floodwaters causing huge concern among the people residing in the downstream areas in the north bank of the Brahmaputra.
From 2003 itself when the Centre gave nod to the Subansiri Lower Hydro Electric Project, the All Assam Students’ Union and several other organisations have been strongly opposing the construction of the mega dam claiming that it would become a major disaster for people living in Lakhimpur, Dhemaji and Majuli districts. The SLHEP also known as the Subansiri dam is a run-of-the-river dam which is different from the conventional dams. These type of dams do not have huge reservoirs but generate electricity by harnessing the energy of flowing water. The Subansiri Lower Hydroelectric Project hydroelectric project lies partly in Assam and partly in Arunachal Pradesh. The dam itself is located 2.3 km upstream of Subansiri river in Arunachal Pradesh.
“We have seen that the guard walls of the Subansiri dam has collapsed several times in the last two years. Imagine what will happen in the event of a major earthquake as the whole dam can collapse. The government must immediately halt its construction as its built in a earthquake-prone area. We have seen the annual flood and devastation in Assam caused by the Ranganadi dam which has a capacity of only 405 MW. Imagine the devastation the 2,000 MW Subansiri river dam can cause to the people living in the downstream areas. The NHPC must stop its construction activities. Not only the Subansiri dam, the Centre must stop construction of all mega dams in the north east region,” Aasu Dibrugarh district president Bulbul Dutta said.
