Pakistan: Victims of power project without compensation

The families affected by Golen Gol hydropower project in Chitral's Koghuzi area on Friday threatened agitation against non-payment of compensation for land. 

Altaf Khan, Khurshid Hussain, Haji Amanullah and others told reporters here that Wapda was delaying payment of compensation to the victims of Golen Gol hydropower project.

They said victims of the project would stage a sit-in on the approach road to the project site after April 23 until the compensation was paid.

Accompanied by PML-N leaders Mohammad Younas and Kausar Chughtai, the project victims said two years ago, their lands were acquired by the revenue officials after fulfilling formalities, but the project's executing agency, Wapda, hadn't paid them even a single penny.

They blamed their misery on the inefficiency of the project director and said they had no source of sustenance since they abandoned their lands for the project.

The project victims said they would go to any extent to get their due right.

TIMBER AUCTION: All Joint Forest Management Committees of Chitral general secretary Sher Mohammad Khan on Friday alleged that timber merchants of Chakdara were influencing the process of timber auction to get wood at throwaway price.

Sher Mohammad told reporters here that the hegemony of local timber merchants had inflicted a heavy loss both on forest owners and the government. He said the Forest Development Corporation timber depot could be transferred away from Chakdara to check the timber merchants' influence on auction process Published by HT Syndication with permission from Right Vision News. For any query with respect to this article or any other content requirement, please contact Editor at htsyndication@hindustantimes.com