A late-night crackdown by the police and paramilitary forces on anti-mega dam protesters in Lakhimpur district triggered raging protests at several places in Assam on Monday.

The police arrested more than 200 protesters, who since December 16 had been blocking vehicles transporting equipment and construction materials, through National Highway 52, for the NHPC's 2,000-MW Lower Subonsiri hydroelectric project at Gerukamukh in Arunachal Pradesh.

TRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao has written a letter to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy, seeking cancellation of contracts for the Polavaram irrigation project in the coastal area.
The letter, sent on Sunday, also demands that no construction work be taken up at the project, as reportedly directed by the Centre and the Supreme Court, TRS said in a release here.

BHUBANESWAR: Members cutting across party lines on Monday demanded scrapping of the MoU for the Sindol project even as Speaker Pradeep Amat suggested setting up of a House Committee to gauge public opinion on the project with the Government readily agreeing to it.

The Speaker’s intervention followed after the Government claimed there would be no submergence while Opposition members said a large number of villages in four Western Orissa districts would be under water due to the project.

BHUBANESWAR: The controversial Sindol hydro power project rocked the Assembly on Thursday with the Congress and the BJP demanding a discussion ahead of the adjournment motion on the impending drought situation in the State.
Raising the issue during Zero Hour, Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh sought to know the motive of the Government for going ahead with the Sindol project when it is opposing Polavaram multi-irrigation project of Andhra Pradesh and fighting a case against the neighbouring state in the Supreme Court.

There have been problems with the implementation of the Forest Rights Act, a landmark legislation of the UPA-I government. The problems have been to a great extent on account of discrepancy in rules. By nature, rules are supposed to supplement and complement the law. I will resolve these discrepancies. For instance, gram sabhas are being constituted at the panchayat level instead of at village or habitation level. In the PESA areas, I can take action through orders under Article 12 as it is within the Centre’s purview.

Fear of submergence haunts Kurturu, a village nestled in the Papi hills of the Eastern Ghats in Andhra Pradesh.

In 2005, a band of officials, an unusual sight in this remote village in West Godavari district, visited the place and marked a rock.

BHUBANESWAR: The Centre is reported to have taken a stand that the Andhra Pradesh Government cannot go ahead with the Polavaram dam without consent from Orissa and Chhattisgarh governments.

Centre had recently granted environment and forest clearances to the Polavaram project despite strong protest from the State Government.

The clearances had, however, come with conditions.

Hyderabad Union environment minister Jairam Ramesh on Tuesday warned Uttrakhand of central intervention if the state government fails to take action against illegal sand mining in the state.

Ramesh slammed the Uttarakhand government for its inaction against the illegal sand mining in the state and said that sending show-cause or closure notices to the state would be Centre

Bhubaneswar: With a view to expanding irrigation coverage to additional three lakh hectares of land, the Odisha government has planned to invest Rs 12,000 crore during the next three years on major and medium projects, said principal secretary, water resources department, Suresh Mohapatra.

Briefing newsmen here Mohapatra said that the thrust is now to complete the ongoing 12 medium and eight ma

The Chief Minister, Mr N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, on Monday directed the irrigation officials to prepare a comprehensive report on the status of Indira Sagar Polavaram Project and Dr BR Ambedkar Pranahitha-Chevella Sujala Sravanthi.

The Chief Minister held a detailed review on the two irrigation projects with the minister, Mr Sudarshan Reddy, and senior department officials.