PITHORAGARH: Pancheshwar hydropower project bears an uncanny resemblance with the Tehri dam -- thousands of edgy villagers dreading displacement and a threat to prominent temples of local deities.
According to locals, Pancheshwar dam will displace thousands of people living in 130 villages in three districts-- Champawat, Pithoragarh and Almora. For long, anti-dam activists and environmentalists have been up in arms against the project.
At the local level, Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (UKD) and some NGOs are opposing the dam tooth and nail since its inception. The project is facing opposition in both the neighboring countries.
Part of the 1996 India-Nepal Mahakali Treaty, Pancheswar dam is proposed on the Kali River.
Ganesh Datt Pant, a resident of Panthuda village in Champawat district, said: "We are hearing a lot of things about Pancheshwar dam. No one came to listen to our views. We oppose this dam as it will displace us. We produce grain, vegetable and fruits and will be ruined if the dam comes up."
People of several other villages expressed the same concern.
UKD chief Kashi Singh Airy said: "We will oppose Pancheswar dam. It will submerge 130 villages of Champawat, Pithoragarh and Almora districts. All these villages have very fertile land, which will be submerged in the dam water."
Airy also said that people in the entire region are living under the grace of Chomu Devta of Pancheswar, and this dam will submerge it. "It will be a bad omen," he said.
"Even the rehabilitation of people displaced due to Tehri dam was not done properly. Pancheshwar will increase migration of hill people," the UKD head said. When contacted, district magistrate (DM) of Champawat, Ahmad Iqbal, said that the Union ministry of water resources had, through a firm, conducted a survey of the area.
"The survey says that at least 123 villages will be submerged once the dam comes up. However, their rehabilitation will be done by the state government." The Uttarakhand government in 2012 gave its approval to the project NGO Bharat-Nepal Sajha Manch recently organized a meeting in Champawat.
"Big dams damage local people economically, socially and culturally. It also affects environmental," said leader of the Manch.
According to locals, Pancheshwar dam will displace thousands of people living in 130 villages in three districts-- Champawat, Pithoragarh and Almora. For long, anti-dam activists and environmentalists have been up in arms against the project.
At the local level, Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (UKD) and some NGOs are opposing the dam tooth and nail since its inception. The project is facing opposition in both the neighboring countries.
Part of the 1996 India-Nepal Mahakali Treaty, Pancheswar dam is proposed on the Kali River.
Ganesh Datt Pant, a resident of Panthuda village in Champawat district, said: "We are hearing a lot of things about Pancheshwar dam. No one came to listen to our views. We oppose this dam as it will displace us. We produce grain, vegetable and fruits and will be ruined if the dam comes up."
People of several other villages expressed the same concern.
UKD chief Kashi Singh Airy said: "We will oppose Pancheswar dam. It will submerge 130 villages of Champawat, Pithoragarh and Almora districts. All these villages have very fertile land, which will be submerged in the dam water."
Airy also said that people in the entire region are living under the grace of Chomu Devta of Pancheswar, and this dam will submerge it. "It will be a bad omen," he said.
"Even the rehabilitation of people displaced due to Tehri dam was not done properly. Pancheshwar will increase migration of hill people," the UKD head said. When contacted, district magistrate (DM) of Champawat, Ahmad Iqbal, said that the Union ministry of water resources had, through a firm, conducted a survey of the area.
"The survey says that at least 123 villages will be submerged once the dam comes up. However, their rehabilitation will be done by the state government." The Uttarakhand government in 2012 gave its approval to the project NGO Bharat-Nepal Sajha Manch recently organized a meeting in Champawat.
"Big dams damage local people economically, socially and culturally. It also affects environmental," said leader of the Manch.
TOI
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