The Golden River Hydro Electric Power Project and Its Impacts on Downstream
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Imperial Journal of Interdisciplinary Research (IJIR) Vol-2, Issue-9, 2016 ISSN: 2454-1362, http://www.onlinejournal.in The Golden River Hydro Electric Power Project and its impacts on Downstream Prof. TR. Gogoi USTM Abstract: Development must be relevant to need of upstream from the foothill regions. The huge people. Several Development big dams studies naturally created dam obstructed the entire have shown the human’s significant attected the monsoon discharge of the river for nearly three flow of the World’s major river by building drums, days. Subsequently, sudden outburst of the dam at the same time North Eastern Region has been created a catastrophic flood, the greatest ever in the identified as Indians future power house and 168 recorded history of the river. mega dams to generate 63328 mw hydro electric Power in Brahmaputra river. Now 22 projects Lower Subansiri HE Project: having potential of 15191 MV, in the Subansiri The Lower Subansiri is a inter-state hydroelectric tributarion along with the 2 GW lower Subansiri project to harness the hydel potential of the lower projects. reaches of the Subansiri River. The left bank of the dam is in Assam and the right bank of the dam, the powerhouse and’ most of submergence is in Introduction Arunachal. The dam is located at 2.3 km upstream The river Subansiri is called the River of gold. In of Gerukamukh, which is about 470 km from olden days the people of Subansiri Valley used to Guwahati, the capital of Assam and 16 km north of scan for gold in the sand of the river. Scientists Gogamukh on the National Highway connecting suspects that their might be a ‘gold field , North Lakhimpur to Dhemaji. (The scheme somewhere in the river course. In the word the envisages construction of 116 m high concrete ‘Subansiri’, subarna means gold and siri means gravity dam, 8 nos. of circular shaped pressure flow. In some places the river Subansiri is also shafts, 8 nos.. horse shoe shaped Head race known as Swarnashree. Mishing community lives Tunnels and a surface powerhouse to in the valley believe subansiri as their mother and accommodate 8 units of Francis turbines of 250 they call the river as Abanari Anne. Subansiri is MW capacity each with an installed capacity of called Lokong Chu (Tsari C hu) at its source. It is 2000 MW, for an annualgeneration of7421.59 MU one of the major tributary of the mighty with a storage capacity of about 1,34,500 x 106 m3 Brahmaputrain the northern bank, which (256402 cumecs, about 9,05,000 cusecs) (CWC, contributes 11 % of its discharge. Subansiri is a 1994) .. The trans- Himalayan Glacial river originating in the south of the Po Rom peak western part of Mount Impact analysis of Lower Pororu. The river runs down 520 kms from its Subansiri project: source till it falls on the Brahmaputra in Impact on Biodiversity and ecology of Subansiri Jamugurihat. The river bed is composed of black Valley: sand mixed with 50% of pebbles and 10% The construction ofNHPC’s Lower boulders. The mean daily discharge of the Subansiri project has repeatedly disrupted the Subansiri at Gerukamukh is 138842 m3/sec wildlife habitation of the area. NHPC started with (Goswarni, 1997).The average annual sediment construction activities in and near a protected yield at Chauldhoaghat is 94.83 X 103 m tonnes forest area without necessary clearance. During the (W APCOS 1993). The Subansiri River System construction phase, NHPC’s activities furthermore has a catchments area of 39,000 sq. km at the dam led to the disruption and destruction of habitats of site and of this catchments area about 14,000 sq. endangered species, including elephant, near km is located in Tibet and the rest in India. The the dam side. river originates at an elevation of 5591 meters above sea level. Hydrologic regime of the Subansiri River greatly changed during Socio-economic aspects: contemporary times after the Great Assam It is known that existing projects like the Earthquake (1950) and the aftermath of the floods. Gumti (Tripura) and the Loktak (Manipur) have That caused severe landslides in the mountains, had long term negative impacts on the people of and the Subansiri River channel was temporarily the region. The Kaptai dam built in the Chittagong blocked by rock debris at Sipomukh, about 2.5 km Hill tracks East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) Imperial Journal of Interdisciplinary Research (IJIR) Page 1185 Imperial Journal of Interdisciplinary Research (IJIR) Vol-2, Issue-9, 2016 ISSN: 2454-1362, http://www.onlinejournal.in submerged the traditional homeland of the Chakma unless a prior comprehensive downstream impact and Hajong communities, and forced them to studies are carried out to decide the viability of the migrate into Northeast India. This led to conflicts multiple project planned in Arunachal Pradesh and between local communities and the refugees. The downsteam communities in Assam acknowledged impending loss of their home, land ; and livelihood as projected affected person (pAPs), we will see has led to opposition to the Pagladiya project in violent conflicts in the Brahamputra basin over the Assam by the Bodos and the .Hmar and Nagas to issue of large dams in the future. “ ... the poor, the Tippaimukh project in Manipur. vulnerable groups amd future generations are likely to bear disproportionate share of the social Impact on fisheries: and environmental costs of large dam projects Dams destroy fisheries by changin g without gaining a commensurate share of the water flow and blocking fish from reaching economic benefit” breeding grounds and habitat upstream of the dam. Fish populations usually declirie. Some species disappear. As a result, people may lose an important source of proteins and income. Their lfiaditional way of life m~y also be destroyed. References: 1. Executive summary: Lower Subansiri Contribution to climate changes: Hydroelectric Power Project. January 2002, It is widely acknowledge that global Faridabad warming is accelerating more melting of glaciers 2. NORTH by NORTH EAST: Chakmas, dams, on the Himalayas and hereby altering the migration & conflict: SANJOY HAZARlKA hydrology of the rivers that spring from the 3. The Greater common Good’: Arundhati Roy, mountains. The increased siltation of river and 1999 unpredictable fluctuation of waters levels will pose 4. Rivers for Life: Rasi Salai, llhailand , a threat not only to the human and ecological en November 3, 2003, Inspirations and Insights nd vironment, but also to the river infrastructure from the 2 international meeting of Dam- projects. It is likely that the increased sediment affected People and their Allies load of the rivers will spread up the sedimentation 5. Sanctuary Asia, vol. XXX No. 1, feb 2005 of ‘reservoirs, thereby reducing the life span and page 55-57 economic viability of hydropower projects. 6. Financing dams in India: risk and challenges: published byIRN &”SANDRP, Feb. 2005 Conclusion: 7. The downstream impact of lower Subansiri As the Centre and States push for these project by Dr. Dinesh K Mishra hydel projects, large dams are emerging as a major issue of conflict in the region. It clearly shows that Imperial Journal of Interdisciplinary Research (IJIR) Page 1186 .