Bandipora, July 22: The residents of Badwan village in Gurez Tehsil of north Kashmir’s Bandipora district Saturday complained that the government and Kishanganga Hydel Power Project authorities had not fulfilled the promises made to them after ‘they were forced to leave their homes for the project.’
The Kishanganga Hydel Power Project involved construction of a dam, which according to them directly affected the lives of the 158 households living in Badwan.
“We had to leave our ancestral lands and homes to make way for the dam. While we were compensated for their land and property, other promises made to us remained unfulfilled,” the locals told the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO).
The promises included government jobs or employment packages, scholarship schemes like those offered in the Parbati project in Himachal Pradesh, and monthly benefits for those who were displaced.
One of the locals said that the construction of the project started in 2009 and was completed in 2017. “When the dam started filling with water, the entire Badwan village had to be evacuated,” he said.
He also said that each of the 158 villagers received Rs 5 lakhs rupees for one kanal of land, but they had to spend Rs 22 lakhs or more to buy new plots in a nearby village Wampora. “Because of this, many villagers couldn’t afford new homes and had to move to other places,” he said.
Adding to their troubles, several villagers are still struggling to get permanent status or residence certificates, as they have no fixed address due to the displacement. They requested that the government or the Kishanganga authorities build colonies to help ease their suffering in the village.
Moreover, the villagers expressed their disappointment that only two or three people from the village were given jobs in the Kishanganga project. They believed that more opportunities should be given to them since they lost everything because of this project.
“Leaving our homes was tough, but broken promises hurt even more,” another local resident said, adding that compensation isn’t enough when our dreams were taken away.
Despite approaching the local administration multiple times with their grievances, the villagers feel that nothing has been done to address their concerns.
Notably, the residents also staged protests against the authorities several times but nothing positive has been done so far.
Meanwhile, an official said that he will take up the issue with higher authorities.
—(KNO)
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