Sikkim tribesfolk oppose proposed hydel projects
Saturday, July 7. It's day 18 of an indefinite hunger strike by tribespeople of Sikkim's Lepcha community and there's no end in sight. Protests against the imminent influx of a series of dams on the river Teesta and its tributaries in the remote mountain regions of North Sikkim district have gathered steam over the past month, but with chief minister Pawan Kumar Chamling away on an overseas vacation, talks with government are deadlocked.
The build-up Two months ago, Dawa Lepcha was desperately looking for means to rouse his fellow Lepchas against the "irreparable damages' that the proposed dams would cause to North Sikkim's ecosystem. He had been working at it for three years