Tarbela Dam’s affected people form body for rights

MANSEHRA: Affected residents of the Tarbela Hydropower Project have formed a committee to advocate for their rights in the Darband area of the district.

“Tarbela Dam’s royalty is not being spent on the development of our areas, so we will launch street agitation for our rights,” Wali Mohammad Tanoli, the committee’s chairman, told reporters in Darband on Monday.

He said that the committee was a non-political entity that would work to address the issues faced by those affected by the dam in Darband and surrounding areas at the government platforms.

“We believe that the dam’s royalty is not being justly allocated for public welfare, despite that even the graves of our forefathers submerged in the dam’s reservoir,” Tanoli said. The committee also called upon local MPA Akram Khan Ghazi to ensure that funds provided by the government from the dam’s royalty were used to construct colleges and technical institutes to provide vocational training for local youth.