Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, Aug 23:
Action Committee Against Tipaimukh Dam Project (ACTIP) has outrightly rejected Power Minister Francis Ngajokpa's statement made on August 20 on power shortage of the State as a deliberate attempt to hide his incompetency, ineptitude and total failure to manage the Power department and wild imagination for implementing the Tipaimukh Dam project.
Conversely, ACTIP welcomed the attempts to underscore the need for better utilisation of renewable energy sources.
In a statement jointly by its convenor Nanda Kamei and co-convenors Thokchom Ratan, Oinam Bikramjit and Kinderson Pamei, ACTIP asserted Manipur has generated excess electric power from various sources, However, due to political ineptitude and complete mismanagement besides irresponsible and insincerity of Ministers and officials concerned, Manipur is compelled to siphon off huge public money annually denying the right of regular power supply through regular and daily load shedding.
The Government of Manipur, instead of clearing up and strengthening the accumulated messes in Power department, is busy bullying and misleading the people to allow implementing of the economically unviable, controversy and already rejected Tipaimukh dam project against the wishes and desires of the tribal and indigenous people of Manipur, Mizoram and Bangladesh, ACTIP charged.
The Tipaimukh Dam project to be built at the second highest seismological zone of the world only next to California, USA had apprised that the updated cost at December 2004 Price Level by Central Electric Authority and found the project tariff to be economically unviable, the statement pointed out, while asserting that Tipaimukh dam is, unquestionably, not for the people of Manipur.
'It is too heavy for us to surrender one-third of geographical area just for 45 MW of Electric Power and the project would submerge permanently 293.53 sq km of arable lands and forests apart from endangering many rare flora an fauna and dislocating thousand of indigenous people from their very land', the ACTIP statement said, adding if these are the development, the Govt of Manipur is being planned, then the people should forgo so called development.