Diktat issued to dam workers to quit Siang Valley

Itanagar: Several organizations of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh have served a diktat to the employees and workers engaged in construction for 2700 MW Lower Siang Hydro- electric Project in West Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh, asking them to leave immediately. A number of organisations under the banner of Siang Bacho Federation (SBF) in a joint meeting held at Aalo, headquarters of West Siang district, yesterday, unanimously decided to ask employees working for various dam constriction companies to leave and stop running their offices in the Siang Valley, sources informed on Friday. It has also come out with a diktat that any person found to be accepting any form of benefit from the companies would be penalised by the forum according to the customary rules. They have asked local contractors to immediately stop installing stone crusher machines for supplying stones to dam-construction companies. The meeting has also resolved to oppose the public hearing scheduled to be held from April 17 next at Jeying, Rottung and Gumin Kiin for the Lower Siang Hydro-electric project. The organisations have decided to stop transportation of construction materials of power developers through Jonai-Pasighat, Silapather-Aalo and Lakimpur-Daporijo-Aalo in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, sources added. Earlier, various anti-dam protestors led by Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti raised strong protest resulting the executing agency NHPC to stop its work for construction of 2000 MW Lower Subansiri Hydro-electric Project at Gerukamukh, near Assam-Aruanchal border since December last. (UNI)