February 3, 2003	Monday	Zilhaj 1,1423

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HARIPUR, Feb 2: The Haripur district council has rejected the proposed small dam on river Dor, threatening to block the road leading to Abbottabad if the project was not shelved.

Union council Nazimeen, who are also members of the district council, while talking to Dawn here on Sunday, said they would launch a protest movement against the proposed project.

They included Aslam Khan Bagra, Sardar Saleem Khan, Saeed Ahmad Abbasi, Ahmad Sultan Khan, Matihur Rehman Qasmi and Masood Shah.

They had earlier moved a resolution in the council session, rejecting the proposed project, and also took out a procession to express their resentment. The procession was led by district Naib Nazim Riaz Khan Jadoon.

The procession, which started from the district council hall, turned into a public meeting at the main chowk. This suspended the vehicular traffic for about half an hour.

The councillors termed the project a conspiracy against the people of Haripur, adding that since the agriculture system of the district, involving 300,000 families of unskilled manpower, hinged on the only natural water source of river Dor, the project would turn 200,000 kanals of fertile land barren.

A vast stretch of Haripur’s arable land had already been severely hit by the continuing drought, reducing the yield of vegetables and other crops, they said.

The accumulation of water upstream at district Abbottabad would completely ruin the remaining small portion of agricultural land, they added.

The people of Haripur rendered many sacrifices in the past when they vacated their homes and lands for the gigantic project of Tarbela Dam, Ghazi Barotha dam, Khanpur dam and the Hattar industrial estate. In return, they received nothing, said Saeed Ahmad Abbasi, Nazim UC Shah Maqsood.

The councillors threatened that they would launch a protest movement if the proposed project was not abandoned.

The project, to be funded by Japan, was approved by the provincial government last month.