Arunachal Pradesh postpones public hearing as anti-dam protests get violent

With the anti dam stir gaining ground in Arunachal Pradesh, the state government has postponed the public hearing for the third phase of a hydroelectric project on the Siang river.       The 2,700 MW Lower Siang project by J P associates will be built in Rottung near Aalo town of East Siang district in the state.

Siang goes dry, says Arunachal Pradesh minister

Activists campaigning against damming of the Brahmaputra river system in Arunachal Pradesh have countered the recent statement by the state’s Minister of Water Resources Tako Dabi about drying up of the Siang river, a tribuitary of the Brahmaputra.

Letters - January 31, 2012

Safe or unsafe?

Passive neighbour

India and Bangladesh breathed a sigh of relief last month after China denied it had plans to divert waters of Brahmaputra River to its arid region. At a press conference in Beijing on October 12, the Chinese Vice-Minister of Water Resources Jiao Yong said such a project on Yarlung Zangbo River, as it is known in Tibet where its headwaters is, would affect relations with downstream countries. This statement came with an admission that the project is neither technically feasible nor environmentally sound. But Beijing has not given up on its plans for the Brahmaputra.

Teesta deal likely

A protracted negotiation between Dhaka and Delhi on sharing the Teesta river is likely to end soon. The governments are set to sign an interim treaty on sharing the trans-boundary river water for 15 years, until they can strike a long-term agreement.

Assam's dam crisis

ASSAM is on the brink of a movement, like the one that ended with the 1984 Assam Accord. This time the concern is not illegal immigrants but dams proposed upstream in Arunachal Pradesh.

Don’t tame the Brahmaputra, train it

Why is the river so notorious? Interviewee:  Nayan Sharma

Dams in the north-east will also ruin livelihoods

After neglecting the north-east for years, Delhi now feels the need to initiate "developmental" activities in the region. There is good reason. Indo-Chinese ties are improving. Moreover, a sub-regional economic grouping -- comprising India, China, Myanmar and Bangladesh -- is very likely to be made, rendering the north-east a promising commercial prospect. National and transnational companies have already made plans to make their presence felt.

Churning issue

the Supreme Court (sc) has asked the Union government to consider linking the country's rivers within 10 years, advancing the government's own deadline. Earlier, the Union ministry of water resources had filed an affidavit stating that this project, which it claimed would control flood and drought conditions, would be completed by 2043.