Guwahati, Jan. 6: The Assam government may be caught in a Catch-22 situation over the anti-dam lobby’s sustained demand to stop work on the Lower Subansiri hydel project, but will not hesitate to crack the whip to maintain order. A government official today said, “We will, however, not crawl. Necessary instructions have been issued to check law-and-order issues,” when asked about Dispur’s response to Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti’s (KMSS) vow to continue the blockade till the experts’ reports came in.

- Dispur invites KMSS and other organisations for discussions tomorrow
Guwahati, Jan. 3: Dispur this evening formally invited the anti-dam groups for talks on January 5 while issuing a separate public appeal asking them to withdraw their blockade of supplies to the Lower Subansiri hydel project, in a bid to end the standoff that began on December 16. CMO sources said home secretary G.D. Tripathi this evening issued the formal letters to Lakhimpur-based groups through the district administration and to the Guwahati-based organisations through the special branch of the police.

The Assam Government today invited protesters against Lower Subansiri dam project for talks, as a result of which the ongoing agitation was suspended, reports PTI. “We will hold the talks on January 5 at the secretariat with the agitation leaders, civil society and experts,” Government spokesman and Power Minister Pradyut Bordoloi told reporters here. Talks will be held with the Missing Students Union, All Assam Students Union (AASU) and Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS), spearheading the movement since December 16, the Minister said.

Over two dozen organisations in Assam staged an indefinite blockade on a national highway on Monday as part of campaigns to prevent the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) from constructing a dam and a 2,000-MW project in adjoining Arunachal Pradesh.

The protest is being spearheaded by two apex anti-dam groups – the All Assam Students' Union (AASU) and the Krishak Mukti Samaj Samity (KMSS) – which are holding demonstrations along NH 52 and preventing trucks from carrying machineries and equipment to the NHPC project site in Arunachal Pradesh.

NORTH LAKHIMPUR, Jan 1 – The Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti and its associate organisations have decided to continue with their ongoing blockade against NHPC in North Lakhimpur and Chaul Dhowa Ghat for an indefinite period after their temporary halt to the programme ended today.
This was announced by the KMSS and its associate organisations like MMK, AATASU, AADSU, AAMSU and AJYCP in North Lakhimpur today.

Guwahati, Dec. 27: Police today resorted to lathicharge and used rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse anti-dam protesters blocking National Highway 52 in Lakhimpur district of Assam. Lakhimpur superintendent of police David Neitam told The Telegraph that the police were compelled to use force when around 800 anti-dam protesters started hurling stones on civilian vehicles plying at Chauldowa near Gogamukh on the highway.

Guwahati, Dec. 20: The Opposition AIUDF today sought permanent resident certificate (PRC) for internally displaced persons.
Speaking in the Assembly, AIUDF legislator from Baghbor Sherman Ali Ahmed made a strong case for issuance of the official document on the ground that since those affected by erosion were not rehabilitated, they faced a lot of problem when they had to go out to eke out a living.

Agitators have hobbled government plans to harness the Northeast’s rivers — 168 dams have been planned in Arunachal Pradesh alone — to generate hydro-electric power for the country. Protests have stopped construction of the country’s largest dam on the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border. Though governments see big dams and hydro-power as the big ticket to the states’ future, but locals are out on the streets in disagreement, stalling a number of these projects.

NORTH LAKHIMPUR, Dec 16 – The Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) and several other organisations opposing the construction of the mega dam over river Subansiri in Gerukamukh today blocked vehilces carrying construction materials to the NHPC worksite on the outskirts of North Lakhimpur.

Assam government today announced that there was scope for negotiation with persons and organisations opposing construction of a mega dam upstream of Brahmaputra river, reports PTI.

“The government is prepared to talk to anyone on the issue. We love our state as much as they do,” State Power Minister Pradyut Bordoloi told reporters here.