Affected Citizens of Teesta
A Film about the Teesta
Minket Lepcha, a woman from Darjeeling, has devoted several years to promoting and protecting the Teesta River through her skills as a filmmaker. A news story published on May 10 in EastMojo, an online news platform from northeastern India, provided details about the film she has produced and the effects it is having on audiences. […]
Protecting the Dzongu: A Recent History
In 2006, the Lepchas of Sikkim became alarmed about proposals to build dams in the Teesta River basin, including ones in their Dzongu Reserve. Their protests, and their other responses to the dam-builders, form the subject of an article in Live History India, a digital platform that launched in 2017 to examine and reveal the […]
The Sacred River
Despite protests by the Lepchas that the Teesta River and its tributaries are sacred, the Government of Sikkim continues to press for additional hydroelectric dams. India Climate Dialogue published a review last week by Athar Parvaiz of the reasons for Lepcha opposition to the dams, which are in various stages of planning. The government of […]
Recent Lepcha History Retold
Indian photojournalist Nikhil Roshan visited Passingdang, a village in the Dzongu Reserve of Sikkim, to assess the feelings of the Lepcha toward the proposed dams that threaten their culture and society.
Chief Minister of Sikkim Becomes an Environmentalist
The Chief Minister of Sikkim, Pawan Chamling, has suddenly become an open supporter of the natural environment. In the past, Mr. Chamling has staunchly defended the construction of large hydroelectric power dams for the Dzongu region of northwestern Sikkim, an area that is sacred to the Lepcha people. He sees these controversial dams as viable […]
Lepcha Organization Congratulates Itself
Despite the distance from Sikkim to Vermont, a Lepcha leader referred to a famous poem by Robert Frost when he summarized recent events related to the destruction of the Dzongu Reserve. At an annual general meeting of the Affected Citizens of Teesta (ACT), the primary Lepcha organization fighting the construction of power dams in their […]
Negotiations Begin in Sikkim
Last week, the Chief Minister of Sikkim, Pawan Kumar Chamling, defended his decision to proceed with the construction of power dams in the northern part of his state, despite the opposition of many Lepcha people. The activist organization spearheading the agitation, Affected Citizens of Teesta (ACT), had agreed to stop protesting the dams with its […]
ACT Suspends Hunger Strike
Affected Citizens of Teesta (ACT), the Lepcha activist group that opposes the construction of dams in the Dzongu region of northern Sikkim, has suspended its long-lasting relay hunger strike. ACT opposes the proposed power dams because they threaten the natural ecology and the sacred character of the Dzongu, an area in the Himalayas that is […]
Power Dam in the Dzongu Reserve
A war of words continues in Sikkim over a proposed hydroelectric power project that endangers the natural ecology and spiritual values of the Dzongu Reserve, the homeland of the Lepcha people. Early last week, news stories in India reported that a White Paper presented by the Sikkim State Government, “Development of Hydropower Resources of Sikkim,” […]
Second Anniversary of Lepcha Hunger Strike
Last week, Affected Citizens of Teesta (ACT), the citizen pressure group trying to save the sacred Dzongu region of Sikkim from hydropower projects, entered its third year of hunger strikes. The government of Sikkim, a small state in the Himalayas on India’s northern border with Tibet, is planning numerous large dams to develop power which […]
