India:
Lepchas arrested for opposing mega hydro project
The old Lepcha tribe were isolated forest dwellers living harmoniously
with nature over centuries. They were hunters and gatherers
leading nomadic lives until mid-nineteenth century when they began
practicing settled agriculture. They are known
for their rich cultural heritage and for being sacred and restricted,
especially to outsiders.
The Lepchas inhabit
the Dzongu valley in the tiny Himalayan state of Sikkim, close to
the Chinese border. The area, with dense forest cover, has been
officially demarcated as a reserve for the community. It borders
the Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve and is located about 70 km
north to the State Capital, Gangtok, bounded to the south-east by
the Teesta river which the Lepchas consider their holy river. The
Teesta traverses a 414 km distance cutting across Sikkim, parts
of Darjeeling hills and the plains of Jalpaiguri before submerging
into the Brahmaputra in Bangladesh. With its dense forest cover
and rich biodiversity, the Teesta river basin hosts one of the 25
biodiversity hotspots in the world and any obstacle
in the natural flow of the turbulent river would eventually
bring about disaster
to the
local communities.
In 2003, an initiative
was launched to construct 162 massive hydroelectric schemes across
16 Indian states, nearly always located in the impoverished and
tribal areas of the north. Seven projects are proposed within the
Dzongu Reserve, in the river Teesta and its tributaries, such as
the Rangyang river where the 280mw Panan Hydropower Project is being
projected. The project has so far got environmental clearance but
is yet to get forest clearance and clearance from the Central Electricity
Authority (CEA). It is developed by Himagiri Hydro Energy Ltd promoted
by the Nagarjuna Fertilisers.
The setting up of mega
projects is being opposed by the Lepchas who consider them a threat
not only to the environment but also to their traditions and culture.
They fear that the river’s disappearance into a series of tunnels
will be accompanied by their own marginalisation. Two hydropower
projects already built, coupled with other factors, have started
taking their toll: landslips and landslides in the region have increased.
Lepchas have come together
to create the Affected Citizens of Teesta (ACT) and launch a campaign
in the classic form of a satyagraha (non-violence movement)
that includes marches, fasts and suchlike. ACT has been spearheading
the protests in Sikkim against mega hydro projects, especially in
the Protected Lepcha Reserve of Dzongu. They have managed to stall
four out of the six hydro projects located inside Dzongu and now
they are in for the Panan Hydropower Project.
Recently, on last February
7, Sikkim police arrested 43 protestors including 7 women and two
juveniles of the ACT based on a complaint filed by the general manager
of the Himagiri Hydro Energy Private Limited, developers of the
Panan Hydropower project. The arrested activists included Dawa Lepcha,
General Secretary, Tenzing Lepcha and Gyatso Lepcha, the President
of the Concerned Lepchas of Sikkim (CLOS) and the Vice President
of the Sangha of Dzongu. Two juvenile protestors were, however,
released. The rest was taken in to police custody where they were
kept in prison on charges of arson and trespass at the project dam
site.
This is the first time
in the history of Dzongu that police went inside the Lepcha Reserve
and arrested so many people.
ACT had been demanding
unconditional release of the arrested members on grounds of arbitrary
arrests. They finally applied for a bail petition and on March 9,
the ACT activists were granted bail.
"Dzongu is
all that is left to us, how can we let them destroy it?"
Article based on information
provided by Souparna Lahiri, e-mail: souparna.lahiri@gmail.com,
and Voice of Sikkim,
http://www.voiceofsikkim.com/ACT/Environment/ACT/
