Dimapur, July 30 (MExN): Dissension and anger continue to rise against the dubious Tipaimukh dam, raising the statement from the peoples that only a dictator would go ahead with the dam’s construction. The visit of the Parliamentary Committee of the Bangladesh government is nearing, but communities in the region of Tipaimukh dam are not going to accept their lot without a fight.
In yet another irate section of concerned civil society, the Citizens Concern for Dams and Development, the Committee on Land and Natural Resources and the Action against Tipaimukh Dam Project today issued a joint statement assuring that “series of events” will be launched if the dam is not scrapped immediately.
“It is written on the wall,” the statement from the three organizations stated referring to resistance from all sides against Tipaimukh dam. “The only supporter remains the government of India and the state of Manipur. From the ongoing 15 years resistance in Manipur to the mass anti-dam mobilization in Bangladesh to the recent gathering against the dam in the Barak valley in Assam, it is clear that dam must be abandoned. Only a despot or a dictatorial government will continue with forceful implementation,” they stated.
The organizations said the visit of the Parliamentary Committee from Bangladesh, is welcome as representatives and neighbors ‘if they come seeking to know more about the dam.’ But nothing more, the statement implied. “…we would respectfully urge them to desist (from) any form of agreement with India. By agreeing to this dam, impacts on the downstream in Bangladesh or in Assam or in Manipur or Mizoram will go. We will continue to work with our friends living in downstream to stop this dam from coming up,” the organizations said. “…it is strange that the Indian government gave a warm welcome to a political party of our neighboring country but has not till date given any kind of hearing to those who are going to be affected by the dam in Manipur, Assam and Mizoram,” it stated. It was reaffirmed by the organizations that the people’s opposition to the dam remains as firm as it was fifteen years ago. “We will continue to fight against forceful damming of Barak river, we will defend against forceful dislocation of our peoples, resist any attempt to disregard and sacrilege our culture, economy and identity,” the statement assured.
They made clear that the land and environment is crucial for the survival of the peoples who have grown with the river. ‘Whether in the downstream or upstream of the dam, lives of all forms, the ecosystem, the economy and culture have evolved with this river.
But these all, the organizations reminded, are going to be affected critically by the huge dam. “Any form of compensation, compensatory forestation or other ‘benefits’ cannot replace what has evolved over generations,” they reminded.
Ironically, the organizations stated, the Government of Manipur in the past have twice passed in the assembly resolving against allowing the dam. “But undemocratic processes that rules Manipur have led to the signing of MoU with NEEPCO, and now with NHPC. The government have not for once explained to the people what these MoUs are, how they have passed and how they have changed their position since the Assembly resolution in 1995 and 1997,” the statement said. They have demanded that the government should “change its course on this dam.”
If the dam is built, it will stand to represent an example of a repressive development, the organizations said. In the event the proposed dam is not scrapped “we will line up a series of events,” they added.
