Support for Dikhu project

Dimapur, July 15 (MExN): Notwithstanding the fears of land submersion, the village councils of Wanching and Chingphoi under Mon district have urged the government of Nagaland to go ahead with the proposed Dikhu power project. A copy of a letter addressed to the chief minister from the two village councils was received here today. 

The two villages contented that forest land and agriculture lands may be submerged by the power project but then “compensation has to be made by the government to the affected villages both in Mon and Longleng districts.” The letter informed that a number of villages under Mon are situated in the Dikhu catchments. They are Wanching, Chingphoi, Chingdang, Wakching, Kongan and Naginimora town.

The letter acknowledged that if the planned 140 Megawatt project with its  98 meters high Reservoir Dam and 261 meters high  Diversion Dam are erected, large portions of forest land and agricultural land of Wanching and Chingphoi villages under Mon district will be submerged.

“However, in this regard, the two villages feel that the government’s initiative to take up Hydro Power Project at Dikhu River is a fulfillment of the long felt need which will benefit not only to the villages in the Dikhu catchments but to the state and the country as a whole, specially when the country as a whole is facing acute power shortage,” the letter asserted.

Also, the village councils said, “years of investigation for feasibility have been conducted by different agencies.” The reports from these investigations “have shown that large portion of lands would be submerged along the Dikhu catchments.” But, the village explained again, “for the land submerged, compensation has to be made by the government to the affected villages both in Mon and Longleng districts.” Wanching and Chingphoi villages have requested the chief minister to “intervene” and “instruct the department in concern to take up the matter to start the project as scheduled.”

Earlier recently, a number of villages from the regions of Longleng district contiguous to Dikhu River had forwarded a representation to the state’s Power department demanding that the project should be shelved. Fears were expressed by the villages’ authorities that the electric project’s reservoir dam itself would submerge huge swathes of agriculture lands. The village authorities of B Namsang, Yongnyah, Tamlu, Tangha and Nian villages had demanded that the project should be stopped fearing the possibility of  90%  of the lands contiguous to the project’s  site would be submerged.