Dassu dam affectees continue protest

MANSEHRA: Continuing the protest on the 12 consecutive day, the 80-member committee of 4300 megawatts Dassu Hydropower Project affected families on Friday lauded World Bank guidelines to the federal government for the timely completion of the scheme.

“We appreciate the World Banks’ reservations on hurdles in way of smooth execution of this mega energy project as landowners whose houses and the land is acquired for this dam are still waiting for payments,” Raja Mohammad Arif, a member of committee, told participants of sit-in in Barsen area of Upper Kohistan on Friday. The committee members had been staging sit-in for the last two weeks. Arif said that they were protesting for the last 12 consecutive days and work on the dam was suspended but neither the federal government nor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government sincerely was holding talks with them to address their issues. Speaking on the occasion, another member of committee Shamsur Rehman Shams said that their protest would continue until their demands were met.