Issue of Big Dams in the North-East

                                             by Trishna and Neepjyoti

Big dams are a raging debate in India. Rivers, and big dams built across them, have created different kinds of furore in all sides of the country - in the west the Narmada Dam, in the North the Tehri Dam, in the South the Mulla-periyar dam and in the East the Lower Subansiri Hydroelectric Power Project, to just name a burning few. The cumulative issues regarding the ownership, use and flow of rivers is a platform for diabolic political, economic and social debates. Here lives of millions are at stake, so is the economic development, while some might say even the very political independence of the country.

The Lower Subansiri Hydroelectric project (LHSP) on the Subansiri river, a tributary of Brahmaputra in Assam, is a much publicly-opposed and politicized mega-dam in North-east India. This project started in 2007 by National Hydroelectric Power Corporation Ltd. on the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border, promises to provide 2000 mega-watt of power. This power production is understood to be for distribution mainly in mainland India. There is intense public opposition to this dam fearing the fragile nature of the eco-system, the tectonic instability of the Himalayan area in which it is being built, flooding of villages in the reservoir area (which will be about 35 sq.km size) as well as lack of availability of water in the downstream areas which are all highly agriculture-centric.

As a final year Planning student, my husband undertook his thesis on the socio-political implications of this LHSP. During the course of his thesis, he did a biking road-trip (which also includes some boat-rides with the bike!) to understand the issues of the LHSP by talking to the people and visiting the dam sites in the year 2011. Here is a photo essay of what he saw.

Photo Set-1: The Lower Subansiri Hydroelctric Project site:

Figure 1: The massiveness of the project can be understood by the size of the Ambassador cars at the base of the site.

Figure 2: The hillsides have been excavated to build reservoirs.

Figure 3: This is the normal width of the river, as against the width of the river in Figure 2 above. This area is also under excavation and cutting and will be eventually widened.

Photo Set 2: The impact of the dam in the down-stream:

Figure 4: Heavy siltation of the river Brahmaputra in Tezpur, which is located on the downstream of the Lower Subansiri Project.

Figure 5: Due to heavy siltation the river bed has reached the level of the bridge from which the photograph has been taken.

Figure 6: The rail bridge on the  far-side from which the photograph is taken is also facing a similar fate. The sand bed has reached the level of the rail-track.

Figure 7: Houses on the Subansiri river valley are getting submerged under heavy siltation. This particular house is already half submerged. The height of the ground has reached the windows.

Figure 8: Steps have been cut in the silt which is piling up around the house, to conveniently enter into the house.

Figure 9: As the house is getting immersed in silt outside, the dwellers have started raising their house-hold belongings on stilts to keep above water during the rains. As seen in this figure, the beds have been put on stilts and boards.

Figure 10: This was a 'chang-ghar' , meaning a house built on stilts, a style popular amongst tribal people. As evident, the stilts are no longer required.

Figure 11: This is a guava tree. After the whole tree trunk got submerged in the silt, now fruits can be plucked standing right next to it!

Authors Bio- Note:

Trishna and Neepjyoti are both Urban Planners from CEPT University, Ahmedabad. They are also alumni from the Department of Geography, Delhi School of Economics. Both are currently posted as Assistant Directors in the Directorate of Town & Country Planning, Assam. They share a love for travelling and photography.