AJYCP stages protest over sudden drying of Subansiri at SLHEP site

North Lakhimpur, Oct 28:  The Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuva Chatra Parichad (AJYCP) protested on Friday 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 since Friday morning.

The AJYCP’s protest demonstration was led by its president, Ratul Borgohain, where the effigy of the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) was also burned. The protesters demanded the scrapping of the 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 and the height of the dam with the protection of 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. Furthermore, he appealed to all the public and organisations to come forward in protest of what had been going on in the river since Friday morning.

The Lakhimpur district administration issued an advisory on Friday following the drying up of the Subansiri, alerting people living in the downstream areas prohibiting 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 ten to twelve hours and that the normal flow had been restored. He also informed that all five diversion tunnels at the construction site would be shut down soon and river water would flow through the gates of the dam. 

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

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