Gangtok: The Citizens Action Party (CAP) of Sikkim organised a protest rally on Thursday, marching from Gangtok’s Amdo Golai to the District Administration Centre. The protest was directed against the recent sale of the state government’s stake in Teesta Urja Private Limited to Greenco, a private company.
Previously, the state government held a 60.4 percent share in the hydroelectricity plant.
CAP Sikkim voiced its concerns over the lack of public consultation or transparency before the stake was sold. Albert Gurung, spokesperson for CAP, criticised the SKM government for not creating any assets for the future generation of Sikkim and solely blaming the previous government for corruption in the hydroelectric project.
He highlighted the devastating consequences of the recent Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) on October 3, which claimed many lives and caused significant property damage worth over 100 Crores Rupees.
Gurung targeted the Teesta Stage 3 dam in Chungthang, which was destroyed in the GLOF, stating that the Chief Minister had labeled it as substandard and promised an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
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However, no such investigation has been initiated, and without proper scrutiny, the SKM government proceeded to sell the stakes to Greenco, a Mauritius-based company. Gurung expressed concerns that this move would pave the way for more dams in Sikkim, exacerbating the already strained capacity of the Teesta river.
CAP emphasised that the Teesta river’s capacity to accommodate more dams has reached its limit, resulting in injustice to the residents of Dzongu, Chungthang, Lachen, and Lachung, as well as thousands affected by the GLOF.
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