Water issue: Assam, AP at loggerheads

After the friction between Tamul Nadu and Kerala over the Mullaperiyar dam, now two north eastern states of country, Assam and Arumachal Pradesh, seem to be at the loggerheads for equal benefits of river water in the region.

Assam Government is advocating for setting up of the North East Water Resource Authority (NEWRA), which will look after all the issues concerning the proposed 168 hydel projects.

Assam Power Minister, Pradyut Bordoloi, recently said that his government is not against the proposed mega-hydel projects of the upper reaches of Brahmaputra, but added that impact of such projects in the downstream areas in Assam cannot be ignored.

He further threatened that if the Arunachal Pradesh will continue its opposition in setting up of the NEWRA, Assam Government will be forced to take necessary constitutional action.

Reacting to this, Tanga Bhailing, a senior minister of Arunachal Pradesh, has said that his government would never support the NEWRA because hydel-projects in that state are identified as the main source of income. Arunachal Pradesh has already constituted a ‘state water regulatory committee’ to deal with the issue.

While more than 80 per cent of the construction work of the Lower Subanshiri project has already been completed, influential groups like the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU), Krishak Mikti Sangram Samiti (KMSS), All Assam Jatiyatabadi Yuva Chatra Parishad (AJYCP) and others have intensified their agitation and have blocked the roads.

Trucks carrying materials to the construction site have been stopped for months. Five turbines that were ferried along the Brahmaputra in April last were forced to start reverse journey.

At a time when protest against setting up of big-dam in seismic zone V is being intensified, Assam Government has formed a group of ministers (GoM) to handle the issue. Chairman Pradyut Bordoloi of GoM has appealed the agitated groups to come forward for talks. However, KMSS secretary, one of the Team Anna member and farmers’ leader Akhil Gogoi, alleged that the government was trying to divide the united forces against the big dam for its vested interest.