Strike in Sikkim against power projects enters 577th day

The ongoing relay hunger strike by Affected Citizens of Teesta against the proposed mega hydel power projects in North Sikkim reached its 577th day on Friday. The longest protest in the history of Sikkim has not received a response from the State Government.

Mr Dawa Lepcha General Secretary of Affected Citizens of Teesta told reporters that the protest is being held to protect the indigenous Lepchas and the fragile bio-diversity of Dzongu from the mega hydel power projects. MORE...

Hydel protest gets National tribal support

Gangtok , Sikkim : The protest against the mega hydroelectric power projects in North Sikkim today received support from Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad — a national body for tribals.

The president of the Parishad, Somjibhai Damor, met members of Affected Citizens of Teesta (ACT) and expressed his support for the protest centered on the Lepcha reserve of Dzongu.

“Tribals across the country are being suppressed in the name of development. We will come together and voice our protest at the national level,” said Damor, who was elected seven times to the Lok Sabha from Gujarat.

He also stressed on the need for opening a branch of the parishad in Sikkim. He was speaking before a gathering at BL House here on Sonam Gyatso Marg where ACT members have been on relay hunger strike for the past 111 days.

Damor was accompanied by Birsa Tirkey, the president of the Bengal unit of the Parishad, and L.S. Tamang, the president of the Kalimpong-based Indigenous Lepcha Tribal Association.

“There are 53 tribal MPs and we will request all of them to raise the issue in the next session of Parliament,” Tirkey said.

The Parishad members will visit Dzongu tomorrow for an on-the-spot assessment.

Source: The Telegraph

Central team to visit and inspect Sikkim power projects

Gangtok , Sikkim : A Central team will visit Sikkim soon to inspect the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation project sites at Rambi which suffered a loss of over Rs 100 crore following recent flash floods in the area.

"The Centre is sending a senior official to assess the damages done by flood to the NHPC's Teesta Low Dam Project," said Mr OP Thakur, general manager of the NHPC. "The joint secretary of the Union power ministry along with NHPC chairman Mr SK Garg will visit the NHPC sites at Rambi and Kalijhora soon," Mr Thakur, added.

The team will also visit the NHPC project site at Singtam in East Sikkim, said a NHPC official.
"They will inspect the progress of work of the Sikkim project, which is already running one year behind schedule," the official, added.

It may be recalled that the Teesta had flooded the NHPC project sites recently, washing away costly equipment and construction materials.

"This was the most dangerous flood occurred in the past 40 years n the state," Mr Thakur, added.

Meanwhile, construction works of the NHPC are yet to be restored.

Source: The Statesman

BJP Sikkim leaders point out idle hydel projects

Gangtok , Sikkim : The state BJP unit has identified eight non-functional power projects as an alternative to the 26 mega power projects that the state government has proposed to set up at Dzongu in North Sikkim.

More than 75 per cent of the hydroelectric power projects in Sikkim are non-functional. These include the Chatten hydel power plant, Rabum hydel power plant, Lagyap hydel power plant, Jali hydel power plant, Topakhani hydel power plant, Nimtar hydel power plant, Rothak hydel power plant and Rimbi hydel power plant, the BJP leaders, said.

“Many of new hydroelectric power projects started by private companies or through joint collaboration with the state government may also end up in a similar manner as the other power projects. When the power projects which require no further investment for construction of the dam, channel, power plants, staff quarters, roads and machinery, can not be run profitably, the possibility of new projects being shut down immediately after beginning operations can not be ruled out”, said Mr HR Pradhan, president of the Sikkim BJP unit.

“Many of the projects may not have the capacity to generate the power which has been indicated in the report and many of them may have been prepared on the basis of a very short period of discharge of the water flow and hence the generation capacity is highly inflated. With the inflated generation capacity, the private companies may have taken loans from financial institutions for an amount much higher than what was needed,” Mr Pradhan, added.

He urged the state government to provide detailed reports of the hydroelectric projects it has sanctioned. The report must include the following points: which are the projects; what is the generation capacity of the project; what is the period of water discharge; a list of sanctioned letters; cost of the project; capital cost of each megawatt of power generation; what is the peak and lean period of production throughout 365 days; what is the total investment for each of the power projects; sources of finance; what is the period of repayment; which are the institutions that are funding the projects; what is the rate of interest being paid to the lending institutions; what is the percent share from the power generation in return; how many years would it take for the recovery to be made; who has given the surety for borrowing; if it is given by the state government, how was this decided; who undertook the environment impact studies and what is the level of dependency of the studies; what is the life of the project envisaged when factors like siltation, infrastructure building is taken into consideration; what is the amount expected from revenue once operations start on a yearly basis; what profit the investor is likely to make; what is the credibility of the institutions/companies which are taking up the projects and what will happen if the investor of the hydel project absconds before completing projects and who will be responsible for that?

Source: The Statesman

Four Hydel Power Project workers splashed away

Gangtok , Sikkim : Four surveyors engaged at the site of the Panan mega-hydel power project in Dzongu, North Sikkim, were washed away by a flash flood of the Tholung Chu river last night.

The victims have been identified as Surendra Kumar (Tamil Nadu), N. Bisht (Uttarakhand), O.P. Mattoo (Bihar) and Arjun Majhi (Siliguri). All of them were employees of Shivalik Geological Survey, a Hyderabad-based agency, engaged by Himagiri Pvt. Ltd. The 280MW power project is being built by Himagiri.

The quartet were reportedly engaged in drilling the river bank at Lingzya in Upper Dzongu when the accident occurred. Their equipment was also washed away.

The news reached the district headquarters in Mangan this morning and a police team was sent to look for the bodies. “The search party was at it till late in the evening, but the bodies have not been traced,” senior superintendent of police (North) S.T. Bhutia told The Telegraph.

Affected Citizens of Teesta, an apolitical body, is protesting against the Panan project on religious and environmental grounds.

Source: The Telegraph