Regional
The King arrived in a royal helicopter at the Jogighopa facility on April 19 at around 9 am. He was received and warmly welcomed by Assam Public Health and Engineering Minister Jayanta Malla Baruah.
Digit
The notices have been given in light of the recent flash floods, which followed the glacial lake outburst...
Digital Desk: The Sikkim Government, Sikkim Urja Limited, and the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) have received notices from the National Green Tribunal (NGT) regarding an upcoming hearing on the breach of the Chungthang dam, which caused the recent catastrophic flash floods in the Himalayan state. On October 20, all three parties involved must appear before the court.
The notices have been given in light of the recent flash floods, which followed the glacial lake outburst from South Lhonak Lake on the intervening night of October 3 and 4, and which resulted in 7 fatalities and significant damage to the 1200 Mega Watt Sikkim Urja Teesta-III at Chungthang.
Prem Singh Tamang, the chief minister of Sikkim, blamed the previous Pawan Chamling government for carrying out subpar work on the dam shortly after the tragedy. "South Lhonak Lake did burst, but the Teesta-III dam failed and caused significant damage downstream as well. This is a result of poor work. This was carried out by the previous government." He stated that his government will launch an inquiry.
In 2017, the Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) administration led by former Sikkim chief minister Pawan Kumar Chamling commissioned the dam.
However, the statement made by Chief Minister Tamang has been refuted by Chamling's party. “The collapse of the Teesta-III dam must be forensically investigated. There should also be an investigation on whether enough was done to prevent Glacier Lake outburst flood,” P.D. Rai, senior vice-president of the SDF, countered, adding that the SDF government had worked on lowering the water level.
The state government is now developing the site for a 520 Mega Watt Teesta Stage IV Hydroelectric Project at the same time as the NGT's hearing.
Meanwhile, environmentalists have criticized Sikkim's dams. The Affected Citizens of Teesta (ACT) held a 915-day protest against Sikkim's hydroelectric projects from June 22, 2007, to September 27, 2009. Many people think that the ACT campaign was the reason that four hydroelectric projects in the Teesta basin were abandoned.
Leave A Comment