In response to
the growing opposition to large dams, the Commission on Dams (COD)
was established by the eIEN South Asia Western Himalaya Kashmir in
2005. The Commission came into existance from a variety of
backgrounds, representing a broad spectrum of interests – including
governments and non–governmental organisations, grassroots people's
movements and academicians .The world economy has reached a point
where it needed to manufacture needs and desires and raise the level
of construction activities so that the capitalist class could
continue accumulating capital; the system had reached a point where
the appetites of capitalists exceeded the demand.
Kishenganga -Facts
25,000 Dard Shin people, a unique and virtually unstudied culture,
from their ancient homeland will be forced ....
The proposed dam will be built on the Kishenganga River, also called
the "Neelum River". The River originates and flows through a valley
situated in the central area of Jammu & Kashmir, now transected by
the "Line-of-Control" that divides the Pakistan and
India-administered parts of J&K. The Kishenganga Valley is separated
from the wide Kashmir Valley by the north Kashmir mountain range
which runs west from Zoji La Pass. The Kishenganga catchment in the
north is delimited by the Great Himalayan range as some of its
tributaries flow down the slopes of Nanga Parbat (8,126 meters).
Rising in the mountain complex to the west of Dras and to the south
of the Deosai plateau, the Kishenganga receives the waters of a
number of tiny tributaries, including a stream flowing from Koubal.
At Shardi, it makes a sharp bend proceeding southwest until finally
merging with the Jhelum River at Muzafarabad. The Kishenganga has a
narrow and elongated basin the width in many places being only
twenty kilometers.
The Gurez Dam Project
The Kishenganga Group of Contractors has been formed to build a 330
megawatt hydro-electric project estimated to cost $500 million. The
Kishenganga Group of Contractors consists of a Swedish consortium,
Skanska International, and domestic companies companies, including
Power Development Corporation. The project is to construct a 103
meter high dam on the Kishenganga River in the Gurez Valley, which
will inundate the entire valley, destroying its entire ecology and
driving out the more than 25,000 Dard Shin people, a unique and
virtually unstudied culture, from their ancient homeland. The
project plans to dam the Kishenganga in the Gurez Valley creating a
large reservoir from which a channel and a 27 km tunnel dug south
through the North Kashmir mountain range, will re-direct the
Kishenganga waters to the Wular Lake at Bandipur, where a
hydro-electric project will be built at the Wular barrage. The total
distance by which the the river will be diverted is 100 km.
Environmental Concerns
Because of the remoteness of the Kishenganga valley, the environment
has been relatively protected compared to other areas of J&K. Its
forests and meadows are home to a wide range of wildlife, including
the endangered snow leopard, hangul deer, barking deer, musk deer,
black bear, markhor, ibex, marmot, and other species. Also, an old
growth forest lies in the Gurez valley in a addition to many exotic
and unstudied species of plants and flowers. The dam project
threatens to wipe out the entire valley by inundating it. The
ecology of the hillsides, high alpine meadows, and forests above the
Gurez valley will also be adversely affected since the mean
temperature will drop significantly as a result of the large water
reservoir created by the dam. The large reservoir that will be
created by the construction of a 103 meter dam in the center of the
Kashmir Himalayan range, a mountain range known for and created by
earthquakes and tectonic movements, also might introduce an
increased seismicity in Jammu & Kashmir. Substantial data links
large dams and an increased probability of large-scale earthquakes.
In addition to destroying the entire Gurez Valley, such a project
would reduce the Kishenganga River below the dam to a mere trickle
which will negatively impact the environment of the lush green
valley . In particular, the environment of the Neelum Valley of
Pakistan-administered J&K will be badly effected. Also, the
diversion of the Kishenganga River would increase the level of the
Wular Lake, disrupting its delicate ecology and forcing the
displacement of the additional local inhabitants of its shores.
The Kishenganga dam project threatens to eliminate large known
habitat areas for a number of endangered species and to destroy an
entire valley with its forests and meadows. Needless to say, the dam
project is a major threat to Jammu & Kashmir's environment.
International Funding
The Kishenganga Dam Project is being carried out mainly with
international funding. The building contractors, such as Skanska
International of Sweden, will arrange 85% of the costs of the
project from international financial institutions at between 5% - 6%
interest rates which are much lower than prevailing in the domestic
debt markets. The debt will be repaid over a 12-year period. The
financially-starved state government will meet the balance of 15%
from its internal resources. Therefore, this $500 million project is
only possible with international funding.
Status of the Project
The project is in its very early stages. The Dard Shin people who
are terrified that they might not be able to save their homeland and
their unique culture that is intrinsically tied to that land.
Construction has not begun yet. Some survey work is continuing while
the inhabitants of the Gurez Valley have already been issued
eviction notices . The Dard Shin locals have been given two options:
1) leave on your own or 2) leave through a government plan which
will transport the people to concrete housing projects in an urban
setting far-removed from their traditional way of life in the lush
and isolated Gurez Valley. The Gurez Valley is so isolated in the
Himalyan Kashmir wilderness that only a jeep track, open two months
out of the year when the snows melt, connects it with the outside
world. The remoteness of the Gurez Valley is what makes it a perfect
habitat for the endangered species and other wildlife which inhabit
it. Currently, the modern world is moving in closer to Gurez Valley
with a vegeance. Construction will probably begin this summer on the
first road ever built to the Gurez Valley; built for the sole
purpose of making the dam project possible. Instead of bringing
nature-lovers, anthropologists, and trekkers to the Gurez Valley,
this road will bring modern heavy equipment which will be used
solely to destroy the Gurez Valley and Kishenganga River forever.
Eviction of Dard Shin
The first displacement, 961 families according to government figures
and 1200 families according to the inhabitants of Gurez, is expected
to take place this summer. In all this amounts to a displacement of
10,000 people to begin with the 7 villages that have already been
issued notices: Badwan, Wampora, Khundeyal, Fakirpora, Dawar (the
ancient and present capital of Gurez), Mastan Khopri, and Markot. In
some cases government land acquisition notices are mainly for the
cultivatable land of the villages, essentially leaving no means of
subsistence for the villagers thereby forcing them to leave or
starve. 25 villages, 6 summer high altitude habitats for shepherds,
and 8 camping sites will be consumed by the the dam construction
project. By the end of the project approximately 25,000 Dard Shin
people will be forced to flee the Gurez Valley.
eIEN South Asia
Western Himalaya Kashmir
COD KASHMIR
A cause supported by 1000 non-governmental organizations in 60 countries.
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COD
eIEN South Asia
Western Himalaya Kashmir
In response to the growing opposition to large dams, the Commission on Dams (COD) was established by the eIEN South Asia Western Himalaya Kashmir in 2005. The Commission came into existance from a variety of backgrounds, representing a broad spectrum of interests – including governments and non–governmental organisations, grassroots people's movements and academicians .The world economy has reached a point where it needed to manufacture needs and desires and raise the level of construction activities so that the capitalist class could continue accumulating capital; the system had reached a point where the appetites of capitalists exceeded the demand.
COD KASHMIR Reports
Rationale for Jammu & Kashmir State Power Sector
Resettlement and rehabilitation: Moving from an inadequate policy to a bad one
Hydropower: Clean Energy or Destroyer?
Baglihar Face of the Controversial Dam
Sawalkot Hydropower Project EIA Statement yet to be disseminated
Kishenganga HPP ; will driving out the more than 25,000 Dard Shin people
Kishenganga -Facts
25,000 Dard Shin people, a unique and virtually unstudied culture, from their ancient homeland will be forced ....
The proposed dam will be built on the Kishenganga River, also called the "Neelum River". The River originates and flows through a valley situated in the central area of Jammu & Kashmir, now transected by the "Line-of-Control" that divides the Pakistan and India-administered parts of J&K. The Kishenganga Valley is separated from the wide Kashmir Valley by the north Kashmir mountain range which runs west from Zoji La Pass. The Kishenganga catchment in the north is delimited by the Great Himalayan range as some of its tributaries flow down the slopes of Nanga Parbat (8,126 meters). Rising in the mountain complex to the west of Dras and to the south of the Deosai plateau, the Kishenganga receives the waters of a number of tiny tributaries, including a stream flowing from Koubal. At Shardi, it makes a sharp bend proceeding southwest until finally merging with the Jhelum River at Muzafarabad. The Kishenganga has a narrow and elongated basin the width in many places being only twenty kilometers.
The Gurez Dam Project
The Kishenganga Group of Contractors has been formed to build a 330 megawatt hydro-electric project estimated to cost $500 million. The Kishenganga Group of Contractors consists of a Swedish consortium, Skanska International, and domestic companies companies, including Power Development Corporation. The project is to construct a 103 meter high dam on the Kishenganga River in the Gurez Valley, which will inundate the entire valley, destroying its entire ecology and driving out the more than 25,000 Dard Shin people, a unique and virtually unstudied culture, from their ancient homeland. The project plans to dam the Kishenganga in the Gurez Valley creating a large reservoir from which a channel and a 27 km tunnel dug south through the North Kashmir mountain range, will re-direct the Kishenganga waters to the Wular Lake at Bandipur, where a hydro-electric project will be built at the Wular barrage. The total distance by which the the river will be diverted is 100 km.
Environmental Concerns
Because of the remoteness of the Kishenganga valley, the environment has been relatively protected compared to other areas of J&K. Its forests and meadows are home to a wide range of wildlife, including the endangered snow leopard, hangul deer, barking deer, musk deer, black bear, markhor, ibex, marmot, and other species. Also, an old growth forest lies in the Gurez valley in a addition to many exotic and unstudied species of plants and flowers. The dam project threatens to wipe out the entire valley by inundating it. The ecology of the hillsides, high alpine meadows, and forests above the Gurez valley will also be adversely affected since the mean temperature will drop significantly as a result of the large water reservoir created by the dam. The large reservoir that will be created by the construction of a 103 meter dam in the center of the Kashmir Himalayan range, a mountain range known for and created by earthquakes and tectonic movements, also might introduce an increased seismicity in Jammu & Kashmir. Substantial data links large dams and an increased probability of large-scale earthquakes.
In addition to destroying the entire Gurez Valley, such a project would reduce the Kishenganga River below the dam to a mere trickle which will negatively impact the environment of the lush green valley . In particular, the environment of the Neelum Valley of Pakistan-administered J&K will be badly effected. Also, the diversion of the Kishenganga River would increase the level of the Wular Lake, disrupting its delicate ecology and forcing the displacement of the additional local inhabitants of its shores.
The Kishenganga dam project threatens to eliminate large known habitat areas for a number of endangered species and to destroy an entire valley with its forests and meadows. Needless to say, the dam project is a major threat to Jammu & Kashmir's environment.
International Funding
The Kishenganga Dam Project is being carried out mainly with international funding. The building contractors, such as Skanska International of Sweden, will arrange 85% of the costs of the project from international financial institutions at between 5% - 6% interest rates which are much lower than prevailing in the domestic debt markets. The debt will be repaid over a 12-year period. The financially-starved state government will meet the balance of 15% from its internal resources. Therefore, this $500 million project is only possible with international funding.
Status of the Project
The project is in its very early stages. The Dard Shin people who are terrified that they might not be able to save their homeland and their unique culture that is intrinsically tied to that land. Construction has not begun yet. Some survey work is continuing while the inhabitants of the Gurez Valley have already been issued eviction notices . The Dard Shin locals have been given two options: 1) leave on your own or 2) leave through a government plan which will transport the people to concrete housing projects in an urban setting far-removed from their traditional way of life in the lush and isolated Gurez Valley. The Gurez Valley is so isolated in the Himalyan Kashmir wilderness that only a jeep track, open two months out of the year when the snows melt, connects it with the outside world. The remoteness of the Gurez Valley is what makes it a perfect habitat for the endangered species and other wildlife which inhabit it. Currently, the modern world is moving in closer to Gurez Valley with a vegeance. Construction will probably begin this summer on the first road ever built to the Gurez Valley; built for the sole purpose of making the dam project possible. Instead of bringing nature-lovers, anthropologists, and trekkers to the Gurez Valley, this road will bring modern heavy equipment which will be used solely to destroy the Gurez Valley and Kishenganga River forever.
Eviction of Dard Shin
The first displacement, 961 families according to government figures and 1200 families according to the inhabitants of Gurez, is expected to take place this summer. In all this amounts to a displacement of 10,000 people to begin with the 7 villages that have already been issued notices: Badwan, Wampora, Khundeyal, Fakirpora, Dawar (the ancient and present capital of Gurez), Mastan Khopri, and Markot. In some cases government land acquisition notices are mainly for the cultivatable land of the villages, essentially leaving no means of subsistence for the villagers thereby forcing them to leave or starve. 25 villages, 6 summer high altitude habitats for shepherds, and 8 camping sites will be consumed by the the dam construction project. By the end of the project approximately 25,000 Dard Shin people will be forced to flee the Gurez Valley.