ACT rejects Review Committee offer, continues hunger strike

Gangtok, Sep 11 (UNI) The Affected Citizens of Teesta (ACT) today turned down the request of the Sikkim government to withdraw its relay hunger strike alleging that the government had no sincere intention to resolve the hydel power project issue.

The ACT is on a relay hunger strike since June 20 to protest the proposed implementation of mega power projects at Dzongu in north Sikkim.

The state government had constituted a Review Committee on September four to look into all aspects of the projects. The work for five such projects in north Sikkim, including the 280 MW project, being developed by a Hyderabad-based company, had been stopped.

The committee headed by the chief secretary was to submit its report within 100 days.

The ACT also turned down the berth given to its president in the Review Committee.

Branding the review committee as an ''eyewash'', the ACT said the question of reviewing the projects did not arise as three projects were ''completely inside'' the Kanchenjunga National Park.

The ACT also slammed the Review Committee and announced its decision to oppose the projects in Dzongu ''in the interest of national security and integrity.'' ACT general secretary Dawa Lepcha said, ''We will accept nothing less than the complete scrapping of projects in Dzongu.'' Mr Lepcha and another ACT member were on an indefinite hunger strike since the past 63 days. However, they had called off the strike following an appeal from the Chief Minister.

''We had called off our strike hoping for a sincere solution from the government,'' Mr Lepcha said.

UNI