HUNZA, July 20: Minister for Finance and Privatisation Syed Naveed Qamar has said that community participation is vital for sustainable development.

He was speaking at a public rally in Ahmedabad, a hamlet 15 kilometres north of Aliabad, the headquarter of Hunza, after opening a hydro-power project.

The 350-KVA micro-hydel power station was constructed by the villagers with the technical help of the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme and financial assistance of the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF).

The most important segment of the project is that the local community has contributed about 27 per cent of the overall cost incurred on the project.

Ahmedabad is a small village in central Hunza with a population of 1,014 households. The president of the village organisation, Farajuddin, made a presentation about the village and women organisations and various projects completed during the last 20 years.

He said AKRSP had established the village and women organisations (V/WOs) on November 11, 1983. The village and women organisations have about 412 members with a saving of Rs4,969,957.

The organisation has disbursed low interest loans to local community for agriculture, micro-hydel, education and health purposes.

The village and women organisations have completed about 12 different projects of land development, suspension bridge, link roads, irrigation channels, schools, playing ground and other projects with the help of AKRSP and other AKDN agencies.

The organisations have the plan to construct phase-2 of the micro-hydel project as well as establish small cottage industries with the help of the electricity generated through this project.

The president on behalf of the community requested the minister for support in construction of metalled road, water and sanitation projects and computer and science lab for the school. A woman member of the organisation in her speech in local language reaffirmed the commitment of the women of the village to work together with men in every field of village development and life.

The minister called Ahmedabad as a model village and assured his support in the construction of road and other projects to the village. He said that arranging finance was no problem.

However, the most important factor for development that he found in Ahmedabad was the dedication, passion and unity in the local community. He said that people should learn a lesson from this isolated mountain village.

Kamal Hayat, CEO, Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) said that he had learnt a lot from the communities of Gilgit-Baltistan which he was replicating in other provinces of Pakistan.

He announced finance for the third phase of the micro-hydel project. He also assured his support for the science and computer lab for the local school.

The minister also visited the Gems Cutting and Polishing Centre, Karimabad, established by Karakoram Area Development Organisation (KADO) with the support of Rupani Foundation. The minister also appreciated the efforts of KADO for imparting skills to women and providing income generating activities in the region.

The micro hydro project is using the steep downstream flow which has the potential to generate much more power for the whole area.

The Chief Executive Officers of Aga Khan Foundation Al-Nashir Jamal, Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund, Kamal Hayat, AKRSP’s General Manager Izhar Hunzai, Kado’s Chairman Sher Alam, Ghulam Ali, Assistant Commissioner Hunza Sucrat Aman Rana, and a large number of the local community attended the ceremony.