Latest news with #Assam-MeghalayaJointProtectionCommittee
Time of India
6 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Assam & Meghalaya villagers protest proposed dam on Kulsi
Guwahati: Hundreds of people from Assam, joined by residents from adjoining Meghalaya, organised a protest march at Chaygaon in Kamrup district on Wednesday, opposing a proposed 55 MW hydel power project along the interstate border near Ukiam. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The demonstration comes in response to the joint Assam-Meghalaya move to build the dam by evicting villages located near the Kulsi river. More than a dozen organisations participated in the rally, including units of the All Assam Students' Union, All Rabha Students' Union, Assam-Meghalaya Joint Protection Committee, Ukiam-Kyrsai group, Garo National Council (Assam Zone), and Bongaon Anchalik Committee of the All Assam Tribal Sangha. These groups represent a cross-section of tribal and non-tribal communities — Khasi, Gorkha, Bengali, Koch-Rajbongshi, Garo, Rabha, Bodo, and others. Memorandums were submitted to Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma and Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma, demanding that the project be scrapped. Protesters said the proposed dam, located upstream on the Kulsi river — a major tributary of the Brahmaputra — would devastate agricultural livelihoods in Kamrup, affect wetlands such as Chandubi Lake, and destroy habitats of endangered Gangetic river dolphin. The fishing community downstream has also voiced opposition, raising concerns after CM Sarma announced the proposed project following a meeting with his Meghalaya counterpart. Kulsi is considered the agricultural lifeline of south Kamrup district. The river originates from the confluence of the Khri (Sri), Dilma (Ghoga), and Dron rivers at the "Tribeni Sangam" in Ukiam, flowing onward as a vital Brahmaputra tributary. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now "The crops and natural vegetation of south Kamrup depend on the Kulsi's flow. Installing a 62-metre-high dam at Ukiam would severely disrupt this ecosystem," read the memorandum sent to the CMs via the Chaygaon circle officer. Protesters also warned of the risks during monsoon, citing past cloudburst incidents. They fear that in the event of excess rainfall, a sudden release from the dam's reservoir could cause large-scale devastation downstream. According to the memorandum, the proposed project is expected to affect several villages in Assam's Kamrup district and Meghalaya's West Khasi Hills. These include Ukiam, Barjhar, Dighalbil, Warygrow, Krishnapur, Umthali, Mekhamdal, Darifang, and others. Kulsi is home to the endangered Gangetic river dolphin, or Sihu, Assam's state aquatic animal, listed on the IUCN Red List, the memorandum stated.
The Hindu
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Joint Assam-Meghalaya hydropower project opposed
Members of 19 organisations hit the streets in a southwestern Assam town on Wednesday (June 25, 2025) to oppose a 55-megawatt hydropower project planned jointly by the governments of Assam and Meghalaya on the Kulsi River, a natural habitat of the endangered Gangetic river dolphin. The protest rally culminated in these organisations submitting a memorandum each to Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and his Meghalaya counterpart Conrad K. Sangma via the Circle Officer of Kamrup district's Chhaygaon, about 40 km from Guwahati. The organisations include the local units of the All Rabha Students' Union, Assam-Meghalaya Joint Protection Committee, Garo National Council, Khasi Students' Union, All Assam Koch Rajbanshi Students' Union, All Assam Bengali Youth Students' Federation, All Assam Gorkha Students' Union, All Assam Tribal Sangha, and Christian Forum. The two Chief Ministers announced the plan for the 55-MW hydropower and irrigation project after a meeting on June 2 to resolve the remaining six of 12 disputed sectors along their 885-km interstate border. The other six areas of difference were resolved through an agreement in March 2022. The Kulsi River, a tributary of the Brahmaputra, flows down from the West Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya. The organisations said in the memorandum that a protest meeting was convened at Ukiam, near the site of the proposed hydropower project, on June 9. They said that people in Assam and Meghalaya to be affected by the project, agreed that the dam plan was 'unreasonable' and would kill the lifeline of the cultivators and fishermen in the area, apart from harming the environment irreparably. The organisations said the natural vegetation and crops are dependent on the Kulsi River, whose water level falls significantly during the dry season. 'If the proposed 55 MW Kulsi Hydropower Project is installed at Ukiam, it will affect the southern Kamrup district areas from Ukiam to Nagarbera,' they said, adding that release of excess water from the dam during the monsoon would also create havoc in these areas. The organisations stated that the dam-controlled ebb and flow of the river would impact at least 12 wetlands in the area, including Chandubi, which is known as the fifth-largest tectonic lake in the world. Chandubi, they pointed out, would be 3 km from the site of the proposed 62-metre-high dam. The organisations listed 16 villages in Assam's Kamrup district and three in Meghalaya's West Khasi Hills district, which would be affected by the proposed dam. Apart from Ukiam, a revenue village, all the others are forest villages inhabited by generations of Garo, Khasi, and Rabha tribal people. 'Although they have applied for title certificates under the Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act of 2006, they will not be eligible for compensation if shifted by the authorities to facilitate the project for the lack of land documents,' the organisations said. 'The Kulsi river is the natural habitat of the Gangetic river dolphin (Platanista gangetica), locally known as sihu. Featuring in the IUCN's Red List, it is was declared the State Aquatic Animal in 2009 and the National Aquatic Animal in 2010. The proposed hydropower project will be destructive for the animal,' the organisations said. 'Therefore, we demand that the proposal for such a devastating project be reconsidered by the governments of Assam and Meghalaya and cancelled immediately,' the organisations said. Similar protests have led to the cancellation or relocation of other proposed power projects in Assam this year. While the Asian Development Bank cancelled a $435.25 million loan for a controversial solar power project in the Karbi Anglong district, the Assam government decided to relocate a thermal power project of the Adani Group from the Kokrajhar district.
