Up in arms: Tribespeople demand relocation of Jabba Dam to Tangi

Say thousands of people will be rendered homeless due to project

JAMRUD: Members of the Kalakhel and Mandri Khel tribes of Jamrud, Khyber Agency have threatened to take to the streets if Governor Iqbal Zafar Jhagra does not change the location of Jabba Dam.

The announcement was made during a jirga held at the hujra of Malik Rahim Afridi in Shakas, Jamrud.

During the jirga, tribespeople said the construction of the dam will render thousands of people homeless. They pressed the government to change the location of the dam to Tangi, a few kilometres away from the construction site.

The tribespeople urged Jhagra, Chief Minister Pervez Khattak, the chief secretary and the political agent to change the location of construction. “There are three graveyards on the construction site,” said Malik Raheem Afridi, an elder. “We can never allow the government to insult our forefathers.”  He added the tribespeople are not vehemently opposed to development projects in the region.

“We just want to live in our native lands and do not want to be rendered homeless,” he said. “The government cannot construct the dam until we are alive.”



The tribespeople also threatened to hold protests in case the government fails to address their grievances and fulfil their demands.

Jabba Dam is expected to be completed by 2017. It will allow the cultivation of an estimated 20,000 acres of land and is expected to prevent disasters caused by floods.

The federal government has allocated a large amount of money for construction of Jabba Dam. The projects costs Rs320 million, but its cost could increase over time. Once completed, it is projected to provide one million people with clean drinking water and store up to 38,000 gallons of water. Water from Chora and Khyber Stream will be stored here.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 13^th, 2016.