Govt agrees to address 13 demands of Diamer Basha Dam affected people

GILGIT: The federal government on Sunday agreed to address 13 out of 31 demands put forward by the affected people of the Diamer Basha Dam, who have been protesting for the past 21 days.

The development came after negotiations between a federal ministerial committee, led by Minister for States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON) Amir Muqam and representatives of the Huqooq Do, Dam Banao Tehreek [give rights, build the dam movement] at Commissioner House, Chilas.

The meeting was attended by Federal Minister for Water Resources Moin Wattoo, Gilgit-Baltistan Cheif Minister Haji Gulbar Khan, WAPDA Chairman Lt Gen (retd) Sajjad Ghani, Federal Secretary Zafar Hasan, Chief Secretary Gilgit-Baltistan Abrar Ahmed, and members of the technical committee representing the GB government and WAPDA.

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During the meeting, the ministerial committee urged the protestors to call off the sit-in and reopen offices, but the request was rejected.

The protestors insisted that they would not end their demonstration until all demands are met within a clear timeframe.

The government assured that the process of resettlement would be completed by May 31, 2026, with plots allocated to the displaced persons.

Royalty and water usage charges would be implemented as per federal laws.

The WAPDA chairman gave assurances that non-local employees would be removed within three months and replaced by locals.

The establishment of a joint implementation committee was also agreed upon to oversee the execution of commitments.

The meeting agreed that under the Community-Based Mitigation (CBM) scheme, work would begin soon on projects including water supply, a storage system, and a safe city project.

The number of students from Diamer enrolled at Mangla Cadet College will be increased from 10 to 20.

WAPDA will cover the educational expenses of students pursuing technical and medical degrees, including those working on research theses.

The reconstruction of 23 schools affected by the dam project will be expedited, and the WAPDA office in Chilas will be made fully functional.

Chief Minister Gulbar Khan clarified that individuals who had cooking stoves (chulhas) in 2015 would be entitled to compensation.

Chief Secretary Gilgit-Baltistan added that verification of 990 existing stoves and 1,200 additional ones was currently underway, after which payments would be processed.

WAPDA Chairman Lt Gen (retd) Sajjad Ghani said employees in scale 1 to 5 would be hired locally, while other recruitments would be carried out under federal policies.

While addressing the protestors after negotiations, Maulana Hazratullah, chairman of the committee overseeing the protest, said they would not call off the demonstration until all issues were resolved.

He said the government had agreed to 13 demands, while negotiations with the technical committee would be held on the remaining issues after Iftar.

“If the government satisfies us on all our demands, we are ready to end our sit-in today. If not, we will never step back from our demands,” Hazratullah added.