Speaker National Assembly, Asad Qaiser, has said that the socio-economic, employment and groundwater impact of the Ghazi Barotha Hydro Power Project be assessed at the earliest.
He said that people’s lives and livelihood are directly attached to this project. Redressing the hardships of the affectees of this project must be the priority of the concerned government agencies, he added.
The speaker expressed these views while chairing the meeting regarding the issues faced by affectees of the Ghazi Barotha Hydro Project in the Parliament House today.
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The speaker said that the livelihood of a major chunk of the local population is attached to fishery and agriculture. He said that these people were in dire need of water as their employment opportunities had squeezed.
He said that water availability to the affectees of the Ghazi Barotha Hydro Project is imperative, especially till this February as cultivation season would start.
He also mentioned that the groundwater level is also decreasing in the area. He also directed to pace up the issue of the establishment of the water park.
The speaker said that the decreasing groundwater and the business of fishery need to be considered in the consultancy study of this project.
“The present 1000 cusec water is not fulfilling the local demands. He stressed the need to increase the quantity of water for agriculture and fishery needs of the locality,” he said.
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Federal Minister for Energy, Omer Ayub Khan, said that the outcome and output of the project must be tangible in the area. He said that the livelihood of the people, the areas affected, and the changes in the local biodiversity should be closely studied, and possible measures should be suggested to remedy the negative impact of this project.
The meeting was attended by Advisor to CM KPK, Rangez Ahmed, Tehsil Nazim Topi, Muhammad Sohail Yosafzai, and senior officers of the Ministry of Planning Development, Water Resources, Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA), and Indus River Systems Authority (IRSA).
