48 die while building Sikkim hydel power projects

GANGTOK: A forum opposing construction of hydel power projects in Sikkim has claimed that the state Labour Department has said that 48 people died during the construction of 510 MW hydro electricity project at Dikchu in East district in the state.

Quoting state Labour Department's reply under Right to Information Act, vice-president of the Affected Citizens of Teesta (ACT), Tseten Lepcha said, "Most of those who lost lives during the construction work by state-owned National Hydro Power Corporation Ltd were labourers."

ACT, a non-political organisation, has been spearheading a campaign against hydel power projects in the Himalayan state since June 20, 2007.

Lepcha said that the state government is going ahead with the hydel project with full knowledge of the threats to the lives of the workers. "For NHPC, the loss of lives did not matter as the unfortunate labourers hardly had a voice," he said.

RTI reply has also revealed that six others died during survey work at Panan Hydel Project and Teesta Stage-III in North district. The projects were being developed by Hyderabad-based Himgiri Hydro Energy Pvt Ltd and Delhi-based Teesta Urja Ltd respectively.