Imphal April 28, 2008: Armed miscreants destroyed drilling machines and other equipments used in the construction works of the Tipaimukh Multipurpose Hydel Project (tmhp) late yesterday afternoon, an official report said Monday.
Due to the threats of dire consequences from the miscreants who destroyed the machines and other equipments, the engineers and labourers have run away from the site and reported the matter to the North Eastern Power Cooperation, NEEPCO at Silchar today, the report added.
A total of 13 engineers and 79 labourers of the NEEPCO are engaged in the soil testing works at the dam site located in the interiors of Churachandpur district bordering Assam and Mizoram.
A 1,500 mw project, one of the largest in the region, it is to generate power from the Barak river, the second largest river in the region. The site of the dam is almost on the border with Mizoram. The proposed 164m-high dam will come up 500 m downstream of the confluence of the Barak and Tuivai rivers. Its reservoir will have a storage capacity of 15,900 million cm with a maximum depth of 1,725.5 m.
The North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (neepco), the government agency entrusted with the building of power projects in the northeast, has been handed the project. In November 2005, it floated a global tender for the project and in July 2006, the pre-bid qualification of the tender for the first phase was opened.
The revised cost of the project is Rs 5,163.86 crore.
Many civil organizations like the Citizens Concern for Dams and Projects with the support of almost all the civil bodies in Manipur are opposing the construction of the dam citing the impact of the dam to the flora and fauna of the region as well as considering the large scale displacement to be caused by the construction of the dam.
Source: Imphal Free Press