Five workers killed as dam overflows in Meghalaya

F
ive persons were killed as water overflowed from a dam at a hydel power project in Jaintia Hills district of Meghalaya on Thursday.

Officials of the Meghalaya State Electricity Board (MeSEB) confirmed the deaths of five workers after water gushed through a tunnel, linking the 63-metre-high dam in the 126-MW Myntdu-Leshka Hydroelectric Project.

“The mishap followed the overflowing of the dam due to heavy rains,” said chief project manager Elias Lyngdoh. He said five more workers were still missing and the chances of their survival were slim.

The hills of the Northeast are young by geological standards and are prone to landslips and earthquakes. “These are the primary reasons why big dams in the Northeast are a threat to life and environment,” said anti-dam activist Akhil Gogoi.

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‘Fake encounter’ in Manipur again

M
anipur was rocked by two alleged fake encounter deaths on July 23. On Thursday night, Assam Rifles claimed to have shot three militants. By Friday, wife of one of the suspected militant claimed that her husband had been killed in a fake encounter.

Soldiers of 28 Assam Rifles claimed to have shot 38-year-old R.K. Brajamani alias Bijili along with two others in an operation in Thoubal district around 11.15 pm on Thursday.

Speaking to the media, Brajamani’s wife Chaoba said her husband was whisked away by some unknown men (said to be security personnel on plain clothes) on 7 October.

“My husband’s guilt, if any, could have been probed. If this trend continues, all women in Manipur will become widows,” she said.

Brajamani, an alleged former member of People’s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK) and father of a one and half year-old child, was released from jail a few months back.

Chaoba said both of them were living with HIV/AIDS and were under medication. Contrary to Chaoba’s version, the Assam Rifles said in a statement that the trio shot on Thursday night were all PREPAK militants.

Three 9 mm pistols with magazines, 5 live rounds, 6 assorted live ammunition and cartridge of an AK rifle were recovered from the slain militants, the statement added.

Bodies of the alleged militants have been sent to RIMS mortuary in Imphal for post-mortem.

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5 killed as Meghalaya dam overflows

W
ater from an overflowing hydropower project killed five persons in Meghalaya, underscoring the perils of dams in ecologically fragile Northeast.

Officials of the Meghalaya State Electricity Board (MeSEB) on Friday confirmed the death of five workers after water gushed through a tunnel linking the 63-metre high dam of the 126 MW Myntdu-Leshka Hydroelectric Project in Jaintia Hills district of the State. The incident occurred Thursday evening following heavy rain.

Cleared in May 2004 by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, this project undertaken on river Myntdu by MeSEB initially for Rs 363 crore, is expected to be commissioned by December this year.

“We have recovered five bodies from the tunnel. The mishap followed the overflowing of the dam due to heavy rains," said Elias Lyngdoh, chief project manager of Myntdu-Leshka. He added five more workers were still missing, adding the chances of their survival were slim.

Senior MeSEB officials in Shillong said they were trying to get more details of the mishap from the project site.

The hills of the Northeast, notably, are young by geological standards and are prone to landslips. Besides, the region is also highly earthquake-prone. “These are the primary reasons why big dams in the Northeast are a threat to life and environment,” said anti-dam activist Akhil Gogoi.

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