KMSS gheraos DoNER minister over dam remark

GUWAHATI: Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) activists on Sunday gheraoed DoNER minister Gen (retd) V K Singh at a city hotel.
The KMSS activists staged a protest against Singh after the minister on Saturday advocated resumption of construction of the 2000 MW Lower Subansiri Hydroelectric Project (LSHEP) at Gerukamukh in Arunachal Pradesh.
Since 5 am, the KMSS activists blocked the entrance of the hotel chanting slogans against Singh.Later, the DoNER minister invited the KMSS leaders to a discussion and assured them that the Centre would not go ahead with the construction of big dams in Arunachal Pradesh without holding talks with the anti-dam organizations and the people of Assam.
Coming out from the hotel, he assured the protesters, "Without the consent of the public, nothing will happen."
Although KMSS freed the entrance after his assurance, the activists warned the NDA government that it would face intense agitation if it decided to construct big dams in the highly seismic northeast.
KMSS submitted a six-point memorandum to Singh expressing their grievances over construction of the big dams without conducting proper cumulative impact studies.