Villagers Oppose Construction of Block Hydel Project Tunnel in Arunachal

With the rising protest against the contruction of mega hydro power project in Arunachal Pradesh, villagers of the hills state which shares the border with China, blocked a tunnel of the under-construction power project in Tawang on Sunday.

A report says the villagers of Kudung, Yusum and Tsekhar of Tawang district in the hills state blocked the 500 meter long tunnel of the 600 MW hydro power project which was constructed by the NHPC. They filled the tunnel with rocks.

The villagers also sent the tunnel workers back to the construction site.

Thousands of people from local tribes, NGOs and anti-dam organisations raised their voice in the issue and demanded that the Arunachal government and Union government halt all mega hydro power projects in the state immediately.

Meanwhile, a public hearing for the massive 2700 MW lower siang hydel project was postponed after the protest was launched by the local people and organisations this month.

Arunachal government plans to build 168 dams in the state, aiming at generation of more than 63,000 MW of power.