Friday, Aug 06, 2021 07:30 [IST]

Last Update: Friday, Aug 06, 2021 01:55 [IST]

POWER DEVELOPERS MUST GO BEYOND POWERING AFFECTED HOMES

Dear Editor,
It is astonishing and very shameful that two mega hydro power developers in Sikkim are sucking electricity from Teesta River flowing through Dikchu.
Thousands of families have lost their homes and property for hydel project development but the  irony is that two power Developers namely NHPC and Sneha Kinetics are not bothered to give just a fraction of percentage of the power they generate to the Dikchu Village.
As per the MOU, it is mandatory that they must adopt the place and provide surplus electricity since those families are sufferers. But these two companies are simply flouting MOU, they are more unto selling electricity in crores to powergrid. The wo developers together can do it but they aren't doing so, why ?
The Dikchu village experiences blackouts almost every day and frequent power outage exasperates residents. What if tomorrow angry consumers come down on street and reach out power stations of two developers? NHPC generates 510 MW and Sneha Kinetics generates 96MW.
Even if 5MW is provided uninterrupted to Dikchu then 365 Days there will be surplus power. Big question, who is eating into the power share of Dikchu? Or the power developers are hand in gloves with someone?                    
Your’s etc,
Concern Citizens of Dikchu

Sikkim at a Glance

  • Area: 7096 Sq Kms
  • Capital: Gangtok
  • Altitude: 5,840 ft
  • Population: 6.10 Lakhs
  • Topography: Hilly terrain elevation from 600 to over 28,509 ft above sea level
  • Climate:
  • Summer: Min- 13°C - Max 21°C
  • Winter: Min- 0.48°C - Max 13°C
  • Rainfall: 325 cms per annum
  • Language Spoken: Nepali, Bhutia, Lepcha, Tibetan, English, Hindi