Authorities of the National Hydro Power Corporation Limited have urged both the central and state government to resolve the relentless blockade of goods, fuels and machinery to its dam site at Gerukamukh along the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border by anti-dam protestors in Assam.
The NHPC officials have urged the governments to resolve the blockade to bring succour to the company staff and families living in the dam site as well as to help resume work on the project.
Several organisations headed by Krishak Mukti Sangram Samity have imposed a blockade on the supply of goods, machinery and fuels to the dam site of the 2000 MW Lower Subansiri Hydropower Project of the NHPC, demanding complete halt to the work apprehending 'catastrophic' downstream impact in Assam valley.
NHPC officials, including Executive Director A K Chabria, General Manager Omprakash and others have said the blockade has halted work at the dam site besides causing scarcity of food, drinking water and fuels for the NHPC staff families living in the dam site.
"We are ready to talk with anti-dam protestors, but we and our families should be spared inhuman sufferings," said an official.
The NHPC officials also reiterated that the fear of catastrophic downstream impact due to construction of the dam was not justified given that the company has the experience of building and operating 14 mega dams within India and outside during the last 35 years.
They said the structure of the concrete gravity dam is on a solid foundation that would definitely withstand the impact of mega earthquakes. They said the recent mega quake in Sikkim could do no damage to the NHPC dam on Teesta River there.
NHPC officials also said the apprehension that Subansiri River would dry up was baseless. They claimed that the reservoir of the dam is so designed that in case of a very high discharge from the river, the water would be released downstream in a regulated manner to prevent adverse impact downstream.
