Halt construction of Mapithel Dam: APC
Source: Hueiyen News Service

Imphal, April 13 2013 : The Asian Peasant Coalition (APC) has demanded the Government of Manipur as well as the Government of India to halt construction of Mapithel Dam of the Thoubal Multipurpose Hydroelectric Project in North East, India that will forcefully evict villagers of Chadong Village, Ukhrul District in Manipur.

In a statement, Rahmat Ajiguna, APC deputy secretary general, stated that, "the Mapithel Dam construction started without taking free prior and informed consent of the affected villagers both in the downstream and upstream areas in 1978.There is no health, environmental, social, cultural, economic and seismic impact assessment along the Thoubal River" .

"The Mapithel Dam will submerge huge tract of prime agricultural lands along the Thoubal River that would affect the livelihood of the people of Thoubal River, such as Tumukhong, Itham, Moirangpurel, Laikhong, and Saichang and other nearby villages, " stated P.Chennaiah, APC South Asia Coordinator.

"We condemn the Manipur police for forcefully occupying the Chadong village and now insisting on conducting the verification.

Since March 2, 2013, public curfew has been declared in Chadong Village under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which prohibits gathering of more than five people in the village," remarked Ajiguna, also the secretary general of the Aliansi Gerakan Reforma Agraria (AGRA) based in Indonesia.

"On 4th April, the Government of Manipur still insists on the verification despite peoples' objections and despite their (people) decisions not to cooperate with the verification process.

We also denounce the brutal dispersal of the villagers who protested on 3rd April 2013.Police fired several rounds of tear gas to disperse protesting villagers, many of them women, who blocked all the two roads leading to the Chadong Village," P.Chennaiah exclaimed, also the general secretary of the Andhra Pradesh Vyavasaya Vruthidarula Union or A Federation of Unions of Agricultural Workers, Marginal Farmers and Fisher People (APVVU).

Both the peasant leaders ended by saying that, "the dam will never supply proper electricity to the people of Manipur and the assurance given by the government is false.

We call on the government of India and Manipur to halt the Mapithel dam and stop the militarization against the protesting villagers.

The government should protect its people" .

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