Locals Lose Big in Hydropower Construction

www.ozy.com [OZY]( OZY A Modern Media Company Share This Sh*t October 24, 2022 Share This Sh*t [The drop]( Locals Lose Big in Hydropower Construction Demand for electricity erases a way of life in Indian-administered Kashmir. ‘Unsafe to Live’ Safina Nabi from Indian-administered Kashmir [@soul_restlesss]( Shama Begum is sitting with her back up against her kitchen wall. She wears a traditional Kameez Shalwar, her head draped in a pink headdress, as she recalls how beautiful her former village was and how she enjoyed working in the fields and tending to the cattle. Begum was born and brought up in the Kishtwar district, a region of dense forest nearly 250 kilometers (155 miles) northeast of Jammu, the winter capital of Jammu and Kashmir, where India is set to construct seven new hydroelectric dams. This construction will upend some 20,000 locals, including Indigenous communities, at a time when [the U.S.]( and [Europe]( are removing dams in an effort to restore ecologically sensitive areas and build climate resilience. In Indian-administered Kashmir, the government is moving forward with dam construction in spite of ecological concerns and is offering compensation to the residents who are being displaced. Yet some of those affected say that such compensation is meager relative to what they have lost. “I would spend all my day during summer in the fields. We would grow beans, rice, maize, vegetables and fruits,” Begum told OZY. “I would even rest under the shade of the fruit trees. But life changed now as we have lost our land and cattle too.” Our entire life revolved around our agricultural land and cattle. I used to remain active all day, working in the fields, tending to cattle. Now I have nothing to do all day except to think what we lost. - Shama Begum Kishtwar’s deep narrow valleys make it not only beautiful but also an ideal place for the generation of hydroelectricity. Work on four of the seven new dams has already begun; when complete, these new dams are projected to generate 5,190 megawatts of hydroelectricity — or about enough to power a city of 5 million people in India. There have been several [protests]( in the area, while the Indian government has remained largely silent. Begum’s village, Sewarbatti, has been completely displaced by the construction. She had to relocate to a nearby village with her three children and husband. The compensation they received was too little to afford them a place to live in a more populous town. “The money was not even sufficient to buy a plot, let alone build a house. We had to settle in this nearby village of Dungduro,” Begum says. “We build this small house with the compensation money, but now due to heavy blasting in the area, this house is developing cracks and has become unsafe to live,” says Begum, pointing to a long crack in the white wall of her new home. “Our entire life revolved around our agricultural land and cattle. I used to remain active all day, working in the fields, tending to cattle,” Begum says. “Now I have nothing to do all day except to think what we lost.” Big Promises When the prospect of the new dams was first introduced, villagers were promised development, employment and better roads and facilities. Since the land has been taken, however, there are no signs that these promises will soon be fulfilled. There is no hospital, school or pharmacy where Begum lives. Thirty-six families, including Begum’s, were displaced from her village due to dam construction. Those families in total owned around 30 acres in plots that were acquired by the government in exchange for cash payments that were less than half the land’s current market value. The families’ displacement then cleared the way for the Dungduro hydropower project, which is slated to produce [1,000 MW]( of power. Just a few houses away from Begum lives Naseema Bano and her husband, in-laws and three daughters. This process will ultimately push these communities into debt and poverty, because they are paid low compensation for their fertile lands and sustainable way of living. - Farhana Latief “My husband works as a daily wage laborer at the dam construction site and earns $340 per month, but this money hardly is sufficient. Slowly we are losing this battle of survival,” Bano says, standing on a parapet overlooking a small kitchen garden. “We have to buy everything from the market now, like vegetables, milk.” Farhana Latief is a development researcher at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. She explains that governments typically promise to build state-of-the-art facilities and develop a region when they are proposing large-scale projects. “But in reality it is a façade,” she says. “Generally they require skilled people to design, build and operate such projects. Hence, the brunt of development is always faced by the local population as they get displaced and lose the avenues of sustainable survival. This process will ultimately push these communities into debt and poverty, because they are paid low compensation for their fertile lands and sustainable way of living.” Dams also threaten local flora and fauna, as tracts of forest are destroyed. At the same time, fertile agricultural land is submerged, as these dams are “run-of-the river” dams, which means they generate electricity from flowing water. There are long-term risks associated with this, says Bashir Ahmad, a geology lecturer in Srinagar, Kashmir’s largest city. “Extensive human activities related to hydropower construction, clearing of forests, and excavation of roads along the river course have intensified erosion and triggered slope failures on the highly unstable rock slopes,” says Ahmad. He points out that this is not a new occurrence. In 2008, construction of Kishtwar’s Baglihar Dam was completed, displacing approximately 1,400 people. Flooding associated with the dam later [submerged the town of Pul Doda](. Meanwhile, Bano has seen her health deteriorate. She says she has been exposed to pollution that has given her a regular cough, noting that her family must now put aside what little money they can spare to pay for travel to see doctors and buy medicine. “I hardly go out now and remain confined inside this house,” she says. For her part, Begum has been diagnosed with high blood pressure and hyperthyroidism — a condition whose symptoms can include rapid or irregular heartbeat, sweating and weight loss — and must take medication regularly. “I used to walk all day as our houses were on small hilltops,” says Begum. “Now it feels like we have been caged in these houses and our bodies are paralyzed because there is no work to do and nowhere to go.” YOUR CHANCE TO APPLY FOR THE OZY GENIUS AWARD Life's too short to not dream big! The OZY Genius Awards support college students' young, bright minds. Application Deadline is October 31, 2022! Don't wait! [APPLY HERE]( Dangerous Grounds Although Bano struggles with her own health, she is more worried about her three daughters.  ...throughout our life we reared cattle and cultivated the land, and that’s all we know to do. - Naseema Bano “Currently, the construction work is going on and my husband gets to work, but in the next 2-3 years the construction of the dam will be complete, then what will happen to us?” she asks. “I am just worried how will we feed our young daughters, because throughout our life we reared cattle and cultivated the land, and that’s all we know to do.” Bano and her family are not alone in this struggle. The Chenab River [originates]( in Baralacha Pass in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh and runs for over 500 kilometers (310 miles) before flowing to Pakistan, and more than two dozen hydropower projects have been planned for the river and its tributaries in the two states of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. The Chenab Valley in Kashmir is slated for a dam — even though it is an active [seismic zone]( with a history of earthquakes. More than two dozen hydropower projects have been planned for the river and its tributaries... Are the human and environmental costs worth the benefits of hydropower dams? If not, where should electricity come from? [SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS]( [TV]( | [PODCASTS]( | [NEWS]( | [FESTIVALS]( OZY is a diverse, global and forward-looking media and entertainment company focused on “the New and the Next.” OZY creates space for fresh perspectives, and offers new takes on everything from news and culture to technology, business, learning and entertainment. #OZYMedia, #TheDrop OZY Media, 800 West El Camino Mountain View, California 94040 This email was sent to {EMAIL} [Manage Subscriptions]( | [Privacy Policy]( | [Read Online](