Drilling work starts at Tipaimukh dam

Aizawl, Jan 2: The North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO) has started work on the multipurpose hydel power project at Tipaimukh in Manipur, sources said here today.

NEEPCO officials said the public-sector undertaking presently deals with underground drilling at the project's reservoir site and the full-fledged work is expected to start this year.

Meanwhile, about 15 tribal chiefs from Tipaimukh area have submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh recently in New Delhi against the Rs 6,800 crore project.

They have alleged that eight villages upstream of Barak river in south Assam would be totally inundated and another 90 villages in Asom and bordering Mizoram-Manipur would be partially affected due to the dam.

UNI