“Oh Umngot! You must not remain only a memory,” was the slogan echoing through parts of Meghalaya last week.
Tides of protests in people of the Khasi community have been bubbling for weeks to protect the crystal-clear waters
Several landowning families in the East Khasi Hills district are opposing the dam on the impression that the proposed dam would submerge their cultivable land. Official documents of the project say that residents of 13 villages along the river may end up losing 296 hectares of land due to submergence.
Also Read : Dibang River Power Project: Biggest Project, Maximum Concerns
The initial survey for the hydroelectric power project kicked off in 2007. The North East Slow Food & Agrobiodiversity Society that has been working with local community of Umsawwar in the East Khasi Hills says that if the dam is constructed, it would go against the Articles 25, 26, 31, and 32 of the UN Declaration on the Rights of the Indegenious Peoples, of which India is also a signee. They further add that the proposed dam would bring about a negative impact in the lives of the local communities.
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