Tribesmen assured of royalty following Mohmand dam's construction

The affectees had sought details of compensation and the authorities' plan to save natural reserves

SHABQADAR: The tribesmen who reside along the Mohmand Dam in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Mohmand district were assured on Thursday that they will be given royalty for the construction of the water storage structure.

Mohmand dam's project director Maqbool Hussain held a meeting with a tribal jirga in Pandyali to address their reservations on the royalties in light of the Supreme Court of Pakistan's directives.

Hussain assured the tribesmen that a survey on the dam as well as the land's acquisition were underway to determine the extent of the losses.

On the occasion, assistant commissioner Mohmand Tauseef Khalid told the jirga that they were assisting the dam officials and will guarantee the rights of the tribesmen.



Earlier, tribal leaders, Hafiz Rashid, Gulab Noor, Mir Afzal Mohmand and Ismail Sher had raised their reservations on the construction of the dam.

They said that they welcomed the construction in the larger interest of the nation, but asked the project director to share with them the dam's map as proposed by the top court.

They also asked for sharing the plan of the catchment area, and of repaying the residents and rehabilitating the affected area.

The tribesmen also urged the authorities to know how they planned to save precious minerals and forests in Mohmand mountains from being affected. In addition to full royalty of the dam, they also demanded free electricity for the district.