ES Reporter

ITANAGAR, Nov 1: The Siang Indigenous Farmers Forum (SIFF) on Thursday sought an apology from State Power Minister, Tamiyo Taga for his alleged statement made in the mass public gathering recently, where he called upon all to support 10,000MW multi-purpose hydel project on the Siang River.
It was alleged that Taga asked CBOs, student unions and other like-minded people not to obstruct and let the power developer complete the projects as early as possible for speedy development.
"It is surprising to know that Taga who is well aware of the fact that if proposed 10000 megawatts MPH at Upper Siang if ever constructed would lead to large-scale forced eviction, massive environmental degradation and social upheaval tried to misguide his own people for selfish politics,” said Tasik Pangkam, general secretary to the SIFF while interacting with presspersons on Thursday.
Launching a tirade against the Minister, Pangkham said “while we have been fighting vigorously against the proposed dam, the Minister is now bent upon wiping us out by giving support to power developers despite knowing the pendency of the disputes.
“Being a political leader from Adi belt, Taga should have endorsed our fight instead of supporting the power developers,” he added. He asked Taga to visit affected areas, interact with affected people, thoroughly study the consequences and acquaint himself with the ground reality.
Also informing about the assurance given by Chief Minister, Pema Khandu to solve the stalemate over the dam with power developers in a meeting held on December 2 last year, Pangkam expressed resentment that no action has been initiated so far to solve the issue.
He said several towns including Gelling, Tuting, Yingkiong and Geku would also get submerged if the dam is constructed.
The forum which has been rigorously protesting since NITI Aayog announced to merge Stage I and Stage II of the power project over the Siang River are worried about its possible impacts on the environment, social and threat to downstream areas once the dam is built. 

---

Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

<< Back to News List