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Indefinite blockade launched against NHPC dam in Assam
Guwahati, December 16, 2011
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An indefinite blockade against transportation of raw materials and equipment for an NHPC hydel power project at Gerukamukh on the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border has been launched jointly by various anti-big dam organisations today.
Thousands of protesters have come together in north Lakhimpur district of Assam and blocked the national highway 52 that leads to the NHPC dam site in neighbouring Arunachal Pradesh.
The blockade call has been given by several organisations, including the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) and Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chatra Parishad (AJYCP).
Leaders and members of various groups, including the AASU and different political parties, have also joined the protests.
KMSS general secretary Akhil Gogoi said the blockade will continue till the NHPC is forced to stop their construction activities at Gerukamukh.
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"We will block all trucks and vehicles carrying raw materials and other equipment to the dam site. Of course, we will allow essentials, like ration for the workers, to move," he said.
Mr Gogoi said work at the transmission towers that are being built to carry the power out of the dam will also be blocked by the protesters.
"If we do not apply these strategies to pressurise NHPC and the government, our voices will go unheard," he added.
The anti-big dam protesters had forced the administration to stop a turbine-carrying truck at Lakhimpur since December 1.
The NHPC is building a 2000 MW hydel power project on lower Subansiri river at Gerukamukh, which has led to widespread protests in downstream areas of Assam.
The anti-big dam activists want a comprehensive downstream impact study before the proposed dams are built in Arunachal Pradesh.
NNN
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