Work on Dassu power project resumes

MANSEHRA: The work on Dassu Hydropower Project resumed on Friday after successful talks between the district ministration and protesters.

The protesters were demanding compensation for the family of eight labourers who were killed in a landslide in Upper Kohistan a few days back.

“Now the situation is normal as jirga attended by representatives of Wapda, police and elders of Kohistan agreed to pay Rs1.5 million each to each victim family,” Hamidur Rehman, deputy commissioner Upper Kohistan, told reporters after jirga in Dassu.

He said that two family members of each victim would be provided jobs in Chinese company working on the 4300 megawatts Dassu Hydropower Project.

Earlier, the jirga, which was also attended among others by district police officer Abdul Saboor Khan, the managing director of the project Javed Akhtar and local elders discussed modalities almost half of the day.

Javed Akhtar, who represented the Chinese company, announced that an amount of Rs1.5 million would soon be paid to each bereaved family.

The protesters, who had blocked KKH after the death of eight workers, had set Friday as the deadline to the district administration to give Rs3 million compensation to each bereaved family.

“This is a great day as we are also going to set up a committee which would suggest measures to avoid such incidents in future,” said the deputy commissioner.