{"id":30005,"date":"2012-06-21T13:38:00","date_gmt":"2012-06-21T13:38:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2020-10-01T11:31:01","modified_gmt":"2020-10-01T11:31:01","slug":"5005-as-indian-policymakers-join-rio-2-anti-dam-activists-arrested","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/energy\/5005-as-indian-policymakers-join-rio-2-anti-dam-activists-arrested\/","title":{"rendered":"As Indian policymakers join Rio+20, anti dam activists arrested"},"content":{"rendered":"

Guest post by Mubina Akhtar<\/em><\/p>\n

While policy makers, experts, and activists meet for the UN conference\u00a0Rio + 20 this week, thousands of miles away in north-east India\u2019s\u00a0Assam state, 22 farmers are languishing in the Lakhimpur jail for\u00a0taking up cudgels to protect the environment.<\/p>\n

These poor farmers, supporters of the anti-dam movement of Lakhimpur\u00a0district, were arrested on the night of May 11, from the temporary\u00a0camp of Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (the organisation spearheading\u00a0the anti dam movement in northeast India) from Ghagarmukh near the\u00a0Lower Subansiri dam site.<\/p>\n

While the traumatised families of these activists await their early\u00a0release, the bail process has been complicated because the activists\u00a0are also implicated on various false charges in an effort to dampen\u00a0the spirit of the anti mega-dam movement that is gaining momentum in\u00a0the region.<\/p>\n

These people fighting for the protection of the environment are being\u00a0treated as petty criminals. It has been alleged that the arrests were\u00a0made at the behest of the deputy commissioner of Lakhimpur,\u00a0Anuwaruddin Chaudhary, himself a renowned ornithologist and\u00a0environmentalist.<\/p>\n

There is a total lack of transparency around the implementation of the\u00a02000-megawatt Lower Subansiri hydroelectric power project that is the\u00a0cause of all this turmoil. But the Lower Subansiri project is just one\u00a0of many planned mega-hydro projects on the upper reaches of the\u00a0Brahmaputra River in Arunachal Pradesh state that have been mired in\u00a0controversy. \u00a0A series of projects are in the pipeline, including the\u00a03000-megawatt Dibang, 1630-megawatt Demwe Lower, the Nyamjang Chhu,\u00a0Siang Lower, and Tato project. But these massive dam projects are\u00a0located in a highly seismic zone, and for a flood-prone state like\u00a0Assam, raise grave concerns.<\/p>\n

The projects threaten to magnify the flood problems of the state. The\u00a0two districts of Lakhimpur and Dhemaji have borne the brunt of damage\u00a0caused by flash floods. Already hundreds have lost their lives and\u00a0many more have been made homeless in these two districts. A flood\u00a0caused by a dam created havoc in Lakhimpur district on last year\u2019s\u00a0Independence Day. A family trying to take shelter on a treetop was\u00a0washed away while helpless bystanders including the administration\u00a0only looked on.<\/p>\n

Alongside local communities, environmentalists are also opposing these\u00a0mega dams since no serious attempts have been made to prepare a\u00a0comprehensive environment impact assessment for these projects.<\/p>\n

As delegates at Rio+20 discuss the \u201cGreen Economy\u201d in the context of\u00a0sustainable development and poverty eradication, the question that\u00a0haunts those living in the far nooks of India is \u2013 how can these\u00a0projects that pose a grave threat to agriculture, forests, fisheries,\u00a0water resources and the rich bio-diversity of the region be acceptable\u00a0in the context and ideals of the Green Economy?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Guest post by Mubina Akhtar While policy makers, experts, and activists meet for the UN conference\u00a0Rio + 20 this week, thousands of miles away in north-east India\u2019s\u00a0Assam state, 22 farmers are languishing in the Lakhimpur jail for\u00a0taking up cudgels to protect the environment. These poor farmers, supporters of the anti-dam movement of Lakhimpur\u00a0district, were arrested […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20000243,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[757,764],"tags":[],"hashtags":[],"country":[],"class_list":["post-30005","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-energy","category-nature"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAs Indian policymakers join Rio+20, anti dam activists arrested | Dialogue Earth<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/energy\/5005-as-indian-policymakers-join-rio-2-anti-dam-activists-arrested\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta 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