Hydro power station opposed by residents of Chitral
Gul Hamaad Farooqi
CHITRAL: Residents of Jughor, Bakarbad and Chamarkun have registered protest against a proposed hydro power house which is constructing by former district Nazim Chitral Maghfirat Shah.
An emergency meeting in this connection was held here at Jughor, attended by elders of the area, under the leadership of Subadar retired Ghulam Samdani. Addressing to protest public meeting Bashiruddin condemned dual policy of former District Nazim because ‘he had provoked the public against construction of Professional Development Center of Aga Khan University at Jughor and had termed it a threat to Islamic norms but his children are reading in AKES schools’.
He alleged that now he os constructing a hydro power house but it is not clear that who will provide fund for this purpose. The speakers said that if fund is providing from Norwegian government or Aga Khan Foundation then they will never accept it because Norwegian have committed blasphemy.
Moreover they said that the former Nazim has not obtained a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from WAPDA or Sarhad Hydro Development Organization (SHYDO). They expressed their fear and reservation that in case of constructing of water reservoir (dam) the whole population will be threatened because in case of a dam breach 3 villages can be washed away. Spill way of the power house is lower than irrigation channel for Chamarkun, Bakarbad etc. They said that if water were converted for power house then more than 5 villages would be deprived from water and their crops would be withered (dried).
A unanimous resolution was also passed during the emergency meeting. Through a resolution they said that after construction of this hydro power house different irrigation channel will face shortage of water as a result a vast area of agriculture land would be disturbed. The speakers further demanded of the provincial and federal government as well as district administration to bound constructor of this power house to resolve problems of concerned people and to satisfy them that their cultivable land would not be disturbed as well as design and location of the water dam should to change so as to save the populated area from havoc in case of breaking the dam.
Those who spoke on the occasion were Hassan Master, Zahir Shah PPP leader, Sher Afgan, Gul Aga former Director NADRA, Bashiruddin, Ghulam Umar Mujahid, Imran etc. A large number of people comprising notables of the area attended the emergency meeting and decided that they will continue their protest as well as approach the court if their genuine demands were not fulfilled.
May God Almighty guide our fellow Muslim brothers b/c they are blackmailed by religious clergy.