Assam: AJYCP stage protest at SLHEP site

North Lakhimpur: The Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chatra Parishad (AJYCP) on Saturday staged a protest at the entrance of the Subansiri Lower Hydro Electrical Power (SLHEP) plant’s dam site at Gerukamukh for the lack of response by the state government and other stakeholders following the sudden drying of the water in the Subansiri river from Friday morning.

The AJYCP’s protest demonstration was led by its president Ratul Borgohain where an effigy of National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) was also burnt.

The protesters demanded the scrapping of SLHEP dam for the safety and security of lives and ecosystems in the downstream areas of the hydroelectric plant.

Speaking to the media, the AJYCP’s President Borgohain said that the NHPC was going to complete the hydroelectric project by repeatedly disregarding all the required assessments of downstream impact, the height of the dam and the protection from the government.

He referred to the postponement of the commissioning of the SLHEP dam by the NHPC several times in the past for the repeated landslides. 

He appealed to all the public and organizations to come forward in protest of what had been going on in the river since Friday morning. 

The Lakhimpur district administration on Friday issued an advisory following the drying up of the Subansiri alerting people living in the downstream areas to prohibit fishing, boating, and swimming on the river.

Meanwhile, the Executive Director of SHELP Vipin Gupta, while speaking to this correspondent allayed fears about the possibility of any threat from the drying out of the Subansiri.

He said that the river dried out for 10-12 hours and the normal flow had been restored.

He also informed that all the five diversion tunnels at the construction site would be shut soon and the river water would flow through the gates of the dam.

However, the public here expressed deep concerns over the future of the Subansiri following its drying up since Friday morning.

They said that all the aquatic species on the river including the endangered Gangetic Dolphins and Golden Masheers could not withstand the dried river for more than two hours.

That means the entire aquatic ecosystem of the Subansiri in its downstream areas will never be the same again following Friday’s disaster. 

The SLHEP dam, which is supposed to become operational in January 2024 has been a concern for the public here as repeated landslides hit its construction work periodically.

The Subansiri, which presently flows just 5 km away from district headquarters in North Lakhimpur could cause devastation at any moment in the present situation.