Dammed if you do
The ongoing hostilities between India and Pakistan rendered the Gurez
Valley, just kilometres below the militarised Line of Control in the
northwest of India, out of bounds for travellers for more than half a
century. Now, as the area reopens to visitors, local people are hoping
their homes and cultural heritage won’t be washed away by the
construction of a new dam.
In recent decades, access to the area has been denied for security reasons – the valley is very close to the high-altitude Line of Control, the militarised de facto border between Pakistan and India. Now that peace has returned, some Dard Shin want to develop the area as a tourist destination, but the valley has very little infrastructure, and despite numerous requests for a year-round access road to the valley, the required tunnel remains unbuilt. Outsiders have also expressed concern about how rapid unregulated development might alter the area’s unique character. In the meantime, a more pressing concern for the Dard Shin is a proposal to build a dam on the Kishenganga River. Pakistan and India are currently in a race to harness the power of the region’s rivers.
India had initially planned to construct a 100-metre-high dam on the Kishenganga, which would have flooded the majority of the Gurez Valley and forced nearly all of its residents to relocate. But due to resistance by the Dard Shin and Pakistan, which is constructing a dam downstream, the dam’s height has been reduced to 37 metres. Set for completion in 2016, the dam will divert water from the Kishenganga towards Wular Lake via a 20-kilometre-plus concrete tunnel, and will generate hydropower in a nearby region. Although construction of the dam will temporarily bring work and money into the area, the Dard Shin are worried that around 130 families will still lose their homes (with more than 2,000 Dard Shin losing land in total), and more than 300 hectares of land in the valley will be submerged.
The Indian government’s relocation plans are unclear, and it also hasn’t committed to providing hydroelectricity to those who will remain in the Gurez Valley. As electricity supplies currently range from non-existent to five diesel-generated hours a day, this has provoked anger from some. ‘Ultimately, our resources are being exploited,’ says Zahid Samoon, a writer who was born in the valley, and who has voiced concerns about the drowning of its archaeological heritage and the effect that fragmentation of the Dard Shin will have on their culture and the survival of their language, Shina.
May 2010
In recent decades, access to the area has been denied for security reasons – the valley is very close to the high-altitude Line of Control, the militarised de facto border between Pakistan and India. Now that peace has returned, some Dard Shin want to develop the area as a tourist destination, but the valley has very little infrastructure, and despite numerous requests for a year-round access road to the valley, the required tunnel remains unbuilt. Outsiders have also expressed concern about how rapid unregulated development might alter the area’s unique character. In the meantime, a more pressing concern for the Dard Shin is a proposal to build a dam on the Kishenganga River. Pakistan and India are currently in a race to harness the power of the region’s rivers.
India had initially planned to construct a 100-metre-high dam on the Kishenganga, which would have flooded the majority of the Gurez Valley and forced nearly all of its residents to relocate. But due to resistance by the Dard Shin and Pakistan, which is constructing a dam downstream, the dam’s height has been reduced to 37 metres. Set for completion in 2016, the dam will divert water from the Kishenganga towards Wular Lake via a 20-kilometre-plus concrete tunnel, and will generate hydropower in a nearby region. Although construction of the dam will temporarily bring work and money into the area, the Dard Shin are worried that around 130 families will still lose their homes (with more than 2,000 Dard Shin losing land in total), and more than 300 hectares of land in the valley will be submerged.
The Indian government’s relocation plans are unclear, and it also hasn’t committed to providing hydroelectricity to those who will remain in the Gurez Valley. As electricity supplies currently range from non-existent to five diesel-generated hours a day, this has provoked anger from some. ‘Ultimately, our resources are being exploited,’ says Zahid Samoon, a writer who was born in the valley, and who has voiced concerns about the drowning of its archaeological heritage and the effect that fragmentation of the Dard Shin will have on their culture and the survival of their language, Shina.
Start the slideshow (8 pictures)
May 2010
