`Big dams may cause massive floods, decrease water level
The decision of the Arunachal Pradesh government to build 103 dams
has triggered protests in Assam. Environmentalists are of the opinion that it will have a debilitating impact on Assam’s economy and the state would be turned into a wasteland.
Says Amarjyoti Barua, general manager of the Brahmaputra Board in Guwahati: “We were not consulted at all on this issue. The Arunachal government is going ahead with its big dam projects without understanding the negative impact it will have on our state. The dams are being built with the help of private parties. There is a tacit understanding between the state government and Delhi on this issue.”
Barua said that had China built a dam on Tsangpo (that Beijing denied later on), it would have impacted only one river, but Arunachal’s plans would affect a number of rivers in Assam. He lashed out at the officials for going ahead without even conducting “model tests” which would have determined the actual impact the dams would have.
But authorities in Arunachal are least convinced with the argument being dished out by Barua. For them, the dams are a lifeline for the state, because it would produce 65,000 MW of power.
Authorities in Arunachal are tight-lipped on the issue. Despite repeated attempts by TSI, power secretary of the state could not be contacted. His personal assistant said he was “not interested” in airing his views on this hot topic.
Bhuban Pegu, MLA from Jonai in Assam, said this was not something new. Earlier, some flood-hit areas in the state had to bear the brunt of the Ranganadi dam, an Arunachal Pradesh project commissioned by the North-Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO) in 2002. That was in the state’s lower Subansiri district.
“This project alone has not led to just the Ranganadi river drying up downstream but also created serious floods during the rainy season when the dam releases excess water. So you can well-imagine the havoc that 103 dams could wreak on the people of this region,” says Pegu.
He further added: “And remember that according to current rules, there is no provision for studying the environmental impact of dams downstream beyond a radius of 100 km. This rule has to be changed. Only then we can force the Arunachal government to backtrack on its commitment to build several dams in the state.”
Barua concurs: “These dams will, surely, affect marine life downstream.” He alleges that people with “vested interests in Arunachal took one of our reports and distorted it to suit their needs.” And just how bad could the impact be? “Assam’s groundwater level will fall if these dams are built. For all you know, the state could turn into another Rajasthan,” he said. But all these claims have failed to move the government in Itanagar.
The decision of the Arunachal Pradesh government to build 103 dams
has triggered protests in Assam. Environmentalists are of the opinion that it will have a debilitating impact on Assam’s economy and the state would be turned into a wasteland.Says Amarjyoti Barua, general manager of the Brahmaputra Board in Guwahati: “We were not consulted at all on this issue. The Arunachal government is going ahead with its big dam projects without understanding the negative impact it will have on our state. The dams are being built with the help of private parties. There is a tacit understanding between the state government and Delhi on this issue.”
Barua said that had China built a dam on Tsangpo (that Beijing denied later on), it would have impacted only one river, but Arunachal’s plans would affect a number of rivers in Assam. He lashed out at the officials for going ahead without even conducting “model tests” which would have determined the actual impact the dams would have.
But authorities in Arunachal are least convinced with the argument being dished out by Barua. For them, the dams are a lifeline for the state, because it would produce 65,000 MW of power.
Authorities in Arunachal are tight-lipped on the issue. Despite repeated attempts by TSI, power secretary of the state could not be contacted. His personal assistant said he was “not interested” in airing his views on this hot topic.
Bhuban Pegu, MLA from Jonai in Assam, said this was not something new. Earlier, some flood-hit areas in the state had to bear the brunt of the Ranganadi dam, an Arunachal Pradesh project commissioned by the North-Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO) in 2002. That was in the state’s lower Subansiri district.
“This project alone has not led to just the Ranganadi river drying up downstream but also created serious floods during the rainy season when the dam releases excess water. So you can well-imagine the havoc that 103 dams could wreak on the people of this region,” says Pegu.
He further added: “And remember that according to current rules, there is no provision for studying the environmental impact of dams downstream beyond a radius of 100 km. This rule has to be changed. Only then we can force the Arunachal government to backtrack on its commitment to build several dams in the state.”
Barua concurs: “These dams will, surely, affect marine life downstream.” He alleges that people with “vested interests in Arunachal took one of our reports and distorted it to suit their needs.” And just how bad could the impact be? “Assam’s groundwater level will fall if these dams are built. For all you know, the state could turn into another Rajasthan,” he said. But all these claims have failed to move the government in Itanagar.
in this state after Memphis. But while watching the sprawling landscape – the surrounding mountains and the lush greenery – during the long drive from the airport to my place of stay hardly gave me the feeling of being in a densely populated place. I’d known Nashville to be a major hub of music, so on the very first day I decided to explore the famous music haunts – The Country Music Hall of Fame Museum and Ryman Auditorium called the ‘Mother Church of Country Music’. And although I’m no connoisseur of music, not even someone who has an average understanding of different genres of music, I was still enamoured. A music lover would definitely kowtow to this city, which has given country music, Christian pop music and jazz the popularity these music forms enjoy.
ultimately led to a military coup staged by Gen. Ayub Khan in October 1958,” says Tauseef Ahmed Khan, professor at Federal Urdu University, Karachi. “Again, it was a military dictator, Gen. Yahya Khan, who unleashed a genocide in former East Pakistan, culminating in the dismemberment of Pakistan in December 1971,” he adds. “When military dictator Gen. Zia-ul Haq sent Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto to the gallows on April 4, 1979, it constituted judicial murder, which eroded democratic ethos in Pakistan,” he says.
is no stranger to labour unrest. Memories of the violence that eripted on July 25, 2005, resulting in over 150 people getting injured in a clash between the police and the agitating workers of HMSI, still haunt the belt that aspires to be a global auto hub in the long run. In fact, the relation of this auto belt with labour unrest goes beyond the year 2005, when even the market leader, Maruti Suzuki (then Maruti Udyog Ltd) wasn’t spared. Its workers went on an indefinite strike due to the claimed forged incentive scheme. But the trouble had been brewing since the year 2000, when around 150 employees were retrenched and 2,200 more were forced to opt for voluntary retirement. The focus, however, was quickly shifted when one of the workers was found dead under inexplicable circumstances near the company's premises and another died in a nearby hospital. The strike in the year 2005 dragged on for three months, severely impacting the automaker’s profitability.
music lovers since 1961. But what is not known is his crusade to bring inexpensive drugs to cancer patients. The singer runs Janapaksham, a non-government organisation. And it’s through this outfit that he launched a social movement, pressuring the state government to hand over cheap medicines to cancer patients.
between Guards and the ethnic Baloch Sunni insurgents. The attack took place a little before a reconciliation meeting between the Guards and tribal chiefs; part of an effort to promote Shia-Sunni bonhomie in the region.
so much that he told the officials that no talks would be entertained until the labourers are compensated and rehabilitated. Even one month after the incident, only one man has been held. And the group is yet to take responsibility for the tragedy. The slow pace of the probe raises several questions. Experts who visited the site say the poor quality of construction materials led to the disaster.
only method for species of multi-cellular organisms to remain alive. If more organisms are born, more organisms survive beyond their reproductive age and the species does not become extinct. The life of each individual is not important as long as they reproduce. Even death has been programmed into the organism's DNA to make sure they do not compete for their offspring's resources. The species has thus become the new immortal organism. However, some species become extinct when all organisms die before being able to reproduce. Evolution had to find a better way to avoid death.
industry. India has given the world many magicians like Jadusamrat P.C. Sorcar Senior, Dhanpat Rai Gogia, better known as Gogia Pasha, Sorcar Junior, Gopinath Muthucad and many more. The line which separates the Indian magic or Hindustan ka jadoo from the western world is that Indian Magic and Indian magicians have for a long time played a crucial role in the spread of Indian culture, heritage and traditions. They have acted as cultural ambassadors of India to wherever in the world they have performed. Some of the unique magical mysteries that India entertained and mystified the world with are the Buzz Saw Illusion, The water of India, The floating Sadhu and the street levitation, the growing Mango tree, the Hindu Basket and not to forget, the famous Indian rope trick. It remains a mystery till date and and ranks high among "the world’s greatest illusions". 
that discussion. And why not? Just consider the numbers. The Indian Railways ferries over 18 million passengers and two million tonnes of freight daily. It is the country's single largest employer, with 1.4 million people on its payrolls. It possesses 8,000 locomotives, 200,000 freight wagons and 50,000 passenger coaches - they run over a total route length of 63,000-plus kilometers. It is not without reason that the Indian Railways is often described as "the spine of the elephant that is India". Of course, there is much more to the Indian Railways than mere statistics. Today, those, who can afford, fly around the world in Boeing and Airbus aircraft or zip from place to place in the swankiest of SUVs. But the romance of a train journey hasn't diminished a whit since the time Theroux was growing up in a New England state of the US. "Ever since childhood," he wrote, "I have seldom heard a train and not wished I was on it." Or listen to what Bill Aitken, Scottish by birth, Indian at heart and inveterate railway lover, has to say. It was on a trip from the Kumbh Mela in Allahabad circa 1960 that it dawned on him that "the system created by the mind of George Stephenson does echo a grand design worthy of the Almighty".
the suffering and the dying people even 12 years after her death. The Albanian nun founded the Missionaries of Charity in 1950 "to give whole-hearted and free service to the poorest of the poor." She set up the landmark institutions of Nirmal Hriday (home for the dying), Shanti Nagar (a place for lepers) and Nirmala Shishu Bhavan (children's home). In 1979, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
on the Lord's balcony with the Prudential Cup, he showed to the world what India was capable of. ‘Paaji’ of Indian cricket gave an entirely new dimension to the sport. It is only because of him we see a brigade of fast bowlers emerging from every nook and corner of this country. Of course, how our IPL stars can forget this gentleman? He came up with ICL. To counter that move, BCCI came up with IPL. Thanks ‘paaji!'
world over. But she isn't feeling well. I know this, both as a professor of hydrology and also as high priest (Mahant) of a temple. And when I take my holy dip at sunrise every morning at Tulsi Ghat, my soul is sorely split. I want to do my holy dip and I know that the river is severely polluted.
Ustad Shujaat Hussain Khan. Concert halls from Delhi to Dallas fill up for masters of Indian music. Both Hindustani and Carnatic music employs an array of instruments. The Indian musical tradition has been passed on through generations from guru to shishya. It has been dominated by a handful of families. But individuals have made their mark too, such as Shubha Mudgal. She says, “While serious students of music still learn under the guidance of a guru, there are also modern designer-gurukuls set up by musicians often with corporate funding." Classical music is among our most prized treasures. Trends come and go; the fan-base for India’s classical music survives.
to New Delhi to get her treated or rather operated at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). Suffering from lung tumor, Amisha has been at the mercy of the discerning apathy of the AIIMS while Khairul continues to run from pillar to pillar to dodge all the subtle suggestions of shifting the patient from AIIMS to some private nursing home (or private ward as is often termed over there) where the doctors would be too willing to get her operated albeit at a price, even though nothing in writing is ever given to him for obvious reasons. While Amisha’s life continues to hang in perpetual limbo, question remains as to whether Khairul would eventually be able to cut through the labyrinth of red tape, indifference and the unofficial, unwritten discrimination that happens towards the helpless and hapless. One then wonders why on earth a country of India’s size, stature and hype, should have only one AIIMS like hospital? Or given the incredible rush of patients from across the country in addition to the Herculean burden of keeping the army of ailing VVIPs happily healthy, can the doctors of AIIMS be completely held responsible for their apathy? Khairul is no exception. There are millions like him who wander everyday, fight and lose everyday in their quest to seek what is legitimately their due rights in a country which would any day love to champion the cause of socialism and call itself a welfare state. Well, welfare does happen only if one comes in the right kind of vehicle or has the right kind of connections. Khairul may have no idea as to what Human Development Index of UNDP is and why India has been ranked so low in that but, he is the ultimate reflection of that low ranking. And ironically it is the same reason why the Indian cities have been imbibed with slums.