MANSEHRA: Landowners and the representatives of Wapda and district administration on Monday sat together to resolve a dispute over the price of the 4,230 megawatts Dasu hydropower project in Kohistan.

However, the dialogue remained unsuccessful. The landowners warned Wapda against resumption of work on the project. They even announced they won’t allow the authorities from doing a survey on the project until their demands, especially payment of land’s market price, were not met.

The landowners had forced Wapda last month to stop work on the project.

Earlier this year, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif inaugurated work on the project, for which the Executive Committee of National Economic Council approved Rs486 billion on March 28. The Monday talks took place at the Jirga Hall in Dasu, headquarters of Kohistan district. Deputy commissioner Zafarul Islam had summoned the meeting.

The landowners said they didn’t accept the ‘unreasonable’ price fixed by the administration for their land to be affected by the Dasu hydropower project and that the market price should be offered to them.

The deputy commissioner said the government was reconsidering land price and therefore, landowners should allow Wapda to carry out the project’s survey.

He said the project would bring revolutionary changes in the life of the region’s residents.

“It is a project guaranteeing your prosperity. It will create thousands of jobs for locals only and thus, bringing prosperity not only to you but also to next generations,” he said.

The deputy commissioner asked landowners to reconsider their decision of hampering work on the project. He said he felt the land price offered to landowners was appropriate but even then, the authorities were reconsidering it.

“Now, landowners should cooperate with survey teams and allow them to carry out their task,” he said. Later, landowners met to discuss the administration’s request for permission to resume work on the project. They, however, turned down the request.

SUPPORT FOR KASHMIRIS: People from different walks of life, especially students, on Monday staged a rally here to renew their support for the right of Kashmiris to self-determination.

The event was organised to express solidarity with Kashmiris living on both sides of the Line of Control and in different parts of the world, who marked the day as ‘black day’ against the Indian occupation of Kashmir. The rally began from outside the Government High School, Dasu and ended at the same place after passing through various roads of the town.

Holding banners and placards, the participants shouted slogans against India and for Kashmiris and Pakistan and demanded freedom of India-held Kashmir. The speakers, including student leaders, asked Indian forces to stop committing atrocities against innocent Kashmiris in the occupied region.

They said India couldn’t suppress Kashmiris’ freedom movement. The speakers said over one million Kashmiris had laid down their lives for freedom, so India had no option but to free the people of Kashmir. They demanded the intervention of United Nations to check Indian atrocities against innocent Kashmiris seeking freedom.

Published in Dawn, October 28th, 2014