hunger strike
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 […]
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 […]
Lepcha Victory Over Dam Builders
Young Lepcha activists fighting the destruction of their lands in the Dzongu region of Sikkim have won a major victory. The Indian press reported last week that the state government of Sikkim has agreed to cancel plans for four modest-sized dams in the Dzongu, a region in the north of the Indian state that is […]
Lepcha Hunger Strike Resumes
The Lepchas have resumed their hunger strike, protesting plans for a huge power dam on the Teesta River that threatens the integrity of their sacred Dzongu Reserve in North Sikkim. Dawa Lepcha, Tenzing Lepcha, and Gebu Lepcha began the strike on Monday last week. Acting once again under the aegis of the group Affected Citizens […]
Lepcha Protests Continue Over Dam Threat
Protests by the Lepchas about the Sikkim government’s plans to build dams which would damage their sacred Dzongu reserve have continued over the past few months. While protesters demonstrate and politicians argue, the first huge dam on the Teesta River, a 510 MW project referred to as Teesta V, is set to be completed in […]
Lepchas Continue Protests Over Proposed Dams
Turmoil among the Lepchas, caused by proposed hydropower dams near their communities in northern Sikkim, has increased over the past five weeks. A report on July 18th indicates that the Lepchas in Dzongu are growing increasingly resentful that the government of the Indian state of Sikkim is ignoring their protests. The article describes the divisions […]
Dam Building Threatens Sacred Lepcha Landscape
Lepcha leaders have started a hunger strike to protest the construction of a hydropower dam that threatens the natural and sacred environment of the Teesta River in Sikkim. The Teesta drains south out of the Himalayas and falls thousands of feet through the mountains before emptying into the Brahamaputra River in Bangladesh. The projected dam, […]
