MUZAFFARABAD: Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) President Sardar Masood Khan said Wednesday that the government was committed to resolving the problems facing residents of the capital city and its adjoining areas.

Speaking to a delegation led by Traders’ Joint Action Committee Chairman Abdul Razzaq Khan, Mr Khan vowed to find a solution to the ecological problems affecting residents of Muzaffarabad due to the diversion of Neelum River to commission the Neelum-Jhelum Hydroelectric Project (NJHP).

“Both Neelum-Jhelum and Kohala are projects of national significance but reservations of the people directly or indirectly affected by these projects cannot be overlooked either,” he said.

Says Neelum-Jhelum and Kohala are projects of national significance but reservations of people cannot be overlooked

He said the AJK government was pursuing relevant authorities of the federal government to fulfil their obligations by strengthening the sewerage system and treatment facilities in the city.

The government, he said, would also ensure that at least 20pc water should continue to flow in Neelum River, apart from construction of small water bodies in its lower basin.

“The government is also contemplating conducting a study for identification of environmental hazards for human, aquatic and wildlife,” he said, claiming that drastic measures would be taken in light of the proposed study.

Earlier, the head of the delegation stressed that the federal government should sign an agreement with the AJK government before starting construction work on the Kohala project.

People of Muzaffarabad also want that the project should be built on run of the river instead of diverting the water through a tunnel system that will cause multiple ecological problems in the 17-kilometre densely populated area from Saran to Kohala, he said.

Meanwhile, addressing officials and executives of the State Bank of Pakistan AJK Branch earlier, Mr Khan said the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project had helped internationalise the Kashmir dispute in addition to bringing huge economic benefits to the country.

He said India had for the first time recognised Kashmir as a disputed region by raising an objection on the road being built under CPEC that would run through Gilgit-Baltistan, an area which was historically part of the state of Jammu and Kashmir.

Published in Dawn, January 17th, 2019