Assam, Meghalaya govts to build hydel project on dolphin habitat Kulsi river

Guwahati: Ignoring warnings by environmentalists, the Assam and Meghalaya governments have decided to jointly set up a 55MW hydro power project on the Kulsi, a small river known as a nesting ground for the endangered river dolphins.

This was decided in a meeting between Assam Chief Himanta Biswa Sarma and his Meghalaya counterpart Conrad K Sangma, in Guwahati on Monday.

"We have decided to set up the project after discussion with the local communities as it will lead to displacements of soma villages. While both the states will get benefts from the power to be generated on the Kulsi river, Assam will get additional benefits of irrigation," Sarma told reporters.

Kulsi is a small tributary of the Brahmaputra that flows down from Meghalaya's West Khasi Hills district to Kamrup district of Assam. About 60km long river with average width of 70 to 80 meters flows in Assam before it meets the Brahmaputra. Sources said the dam for the project is likely to be constructed along the inter-state border.

In the meeting, the two CMs also diccused ways to solve the long inter-state boundary disputes and the problem of flash floods.

Dolphin conservation

Satellite tagging of the river dolphins in the Kulsi in December 2024.

Although the two CMs did not talk about the concerns over future of dolphins in the river, conservationists fear adverse impact of the dam on the river dolphins, an endangered species and the national aquatic species. The first-ever nationwide census of river dolphins carried out by the Dehradun-based Wildlife Institute of India (WII) counted at least 17 river dolphins in the 60kms stretch of the Kuksi.

The census, which was conducted with the help of the state forest departments, counted 6,327 river dolphins in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Assam and Punjab.

The report was released by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in March this year. The survey found 584 dolphins in the Brahmaputra basins, including 51 in its tributaries. In the report, the experts expressed concerns over on construction of big dams on the dolphin habitats.

"Although it is difficult to say the extend of impact the project may have on the future of dolphins in the Kulsi, hydro power projects always have adverse impact on the downstream," said a conservatinist based in Assam.

The local people had several times urged the two state governments against going ahead with the hydro project on the Kulsi saying this could endanger the future of the dolphins. They also objected to the rampant sand mining taking place in the river beds and construction of several bridges. There are 14 bridges over the Kulsi and construction of the pillars on the river beds have affected free movement of the dolphins, says the conservation experts.

In December last year, the WII also carried out first satellite tagging of a Gangetic river dolphin in the Kulsi river to study its movement and behaviour patterns for future conservation activities.