Mirani Dam affectees demand Rs 4bn in compensation

LAHORE: Mirani Dam floodwaters affectees on Saturday continued their protest sit-in in front of WAPDA House, demanding the federal government and the WAPDA to release Rs 4 billion compensation money for around 13,000 people of three union council of Turbat, Balochistan.

Those who visited their protest camps to express solidarity with them included activists and office-bearers of the Labour Party, Workers Party, Revolutionary Socialist Movement and Progressive Youth Front.

As many as 16 affectees of the Mirani Dam project after reaming failed to get compensation money from WAPDA through local authorities, have come all the way to Lahore in a very miserable condition and announced their sit-in for an indefinite period in front of WAPDA head office on The Mall.

Wahid Bakhsh a resident of Turbat said there prime demand was release of Rs 4 billion for the 13,000 affectees of three union councils Nasirabad, Nodar and Kalataf of district Kech.

He said the residents of these areas are farmers of date trees and dam water washed away 10,000 peoples’ 40,000 date trees on June 26, 2007.

Revolutionary Socialist Movement Chief Organiser Shehzad Aslam said their forum fully support the people of Balochistan who have come all the way to Lahore to get the voice heard by the authorities.

Progressive Youth Front Member Organising Committee Ahsan Bhatti expressed solidarity with the affectees and said these were the people whose rights were already being abused by the feudal lords of Balochistan.

“The government must compensate them and made proper arrangements for their food and for the education of their children,” he remarked.

Labour Party Media coordinator said Labour Union Punjab was fully supporting the dam affectees from the platform of Joint Action Committee and Labour Union.

The affectees had earlier approached to Balochistan CM and other high-ups but no one was considering to their demands. “We will continue our protest until the redressal of our demands,” they said.

Sharif Shambazi, leader of the protestors said WAPDA started work on this project in August 2001 without consulting or communicating its negative effects on the local resident.

The engineers and planers estimated the water level would be 244 feet high from the sea level, however on June 26, 2007 when dam was filled for the first time at night without informing local people the water level rose to 272 feet above sea level causing serious damages to the life and property of 10,000 people of three union councils of District Kech.

The farmers who were earning around Rs 200,000 to 250,000 per annum were forced to lead miserable life as damages were also caused to ripe crop on 30,000 acres of land, 20 karez, 150 tubewells, 200 diesel engines were also fled away with the flood waters