KATHMANDU : Locals of the Rishing rural municipality-1, the main area in the Tanahun hydropower project, have submitted a 35-point demand to the project on Tuesday.
Vice-chairperson of the Beltar Bachyang Gauda Community Forest Users’ Committee, Keshar Bahadur Thapa, handed over the demands to the project’s deputy director Tulasi Prasad Sapkota. Locals have strongly demanded proper compensation to the forest group for the project that will be cleaning up trees of the Beltar-Bachyanggauda forest. The locals have also called for an immediate arrangement of drinking water as the project caused a total disruption of water supply from the Mukurluk drinking water project in Jhaputar and Beltar areas.
Among other demands is the operation of the incomplete and obstructed Kisnidi Rohangsidi drinking water scheme, expansion of the drinking water pipes in settlements and smooth water supply, routine maintenance and expansion of street lamps and control of noise pollution resulting from the project-operated crusher plants.
Also included in the demands is the implementation of 33 percent employment to the project-affected communities’ people, equal treatment to the local project staffs in terms of positions, storage of timbers chopped off in the project site, arrangement of security guard in the community forest area and handing over the responsibility to the users committee for the management of trees chopped off in infrastructure development sites.
The locals have also demanded framing a definite time-table for routine public hearing and interaction with project-affected sites and a setup of a help desk with interpreters to listen and redress the complaints of the communities.
Immediate compensation of land acquired by the project in the course of the road construction, implementation of tripartite agreement for the construction of sports ground and shutdown of extraction of river materials from Seti River banks with the use of big machines against environmental standards have also been demanded.
The project’s social protection expert Dilliraman Dhakal has assured the locals that their demands will be addressed. He has pledged to grant prerogative rights to Rishing, Byas, Myagde and Bhimad of the district.
