A strong earthquake, measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale and of long duration, was the fifth in a row in last 40 days, which hit northeastern India on Sept 22, 2009. Located in foothills of Himalaya, northeastern India is bracketed in the highest seismic zone of South Asia, where the three Eurasian, Indian, and Myanmar tectonic plates collide in a subduction mechanism. With this unique tectonic setting and coupled with massive geo-tectonic movements recorded during the past several years, geo-scientists have placed this region in the most fragile zone in the seismic map of the continent. Northeastern India has experienced some of the most devastating earthquakes during the past hundred years. Statistics shows that between 1897 and 1952, there were 44 earthquakes that measured 6.5 or more on the Richter scale. Similarly, between 1953 and 1992, the region had 21 earthquakes of similar intensity.
Ignoring the geological and seismic vulnerability and recent warning of the rapid melting of the Himalayas, India is going for a 162.8 meters high Dam on the Barak River of northeastern India, with a storage capacity of 15,900 million cubic meters. Besides this seismic vulnerability with its hidden dangers of a massive disaster dam, it has also sparked another serious controversy on water sharing between India and Bangladesh in relation to the Farakka Barrage conflict. India is taking advantages of its regional hegemony and geo-position as upper riparian, causing colossal damage to the agro-economy of Bangladesh by unilateral and disproportionate diversion of the Ganges's water by the barrage. The case of Tipaimukh dam is, however, different from Farakka Barrage, as it would have a huge storage reservoir. FULL STORY
Ignoring the geological and seismic vulnerability and recent warning of the rapid melting of the Himalayas, India is going for a 162.8 meters high Dam on the Barak River of northeastern India, with a storage capacity of 15,900 million cubic meters. Besides this seismic vulnerability with its hidden dangers of a massive disaster dam, it has also sparked another serious controversy on water sharing between India and Bangladesh in relation to the Farakka Barrage conflict. India is taking advantages of its regional hegemony and geo-position as upper riparian, causing colossal damage to the agro-economy of Bangladesh by unilateral and disproportionate diversion of the Ganges's water by the barrage. The case of Tipaimukh dam is, however, different from Farakka Barrage, as it would have a huge storage reservoir. FULL STORY
