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| Affected families awaiting rehabilitation for three years | | Submerging Pul Doda | | Sarita Jamwal
Early Times Report
Udhampur, May 16: The threat of submergence is virtually knocking at their doorsteps .The deluge that can inundate their belongings anytime find themselves helpless. The aggrieved residents of Pul Doda and its adjoining areas in district Doda are truly at the mercy of the callous attitude of district administration and state government for their proper rehabilitation and resettlement.
With the commission of 450 MW Baghliar power project by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh three years back in October 2008 number of areas of Doda district were submerged and more than 300 families were dislocated on account of the threat of submergence of their homes located at in Pul Doda . These families affected by the construction of the Baghliar project still await their rehabilitation and some of them are forced to live in unsafe houses vacated by administration already at Pul Doda due to threat of getting wallowed and engulfed by the water.
Ved Parkash Gupta secretary Displaced Committee Pul Doda says that before the commissioning of power project work on which was started during 1999 the familes were told by administration to vacate their homes and shops as the area will get submerged due to Baghliar Dam at Chanderkot . "They assured us that each family will get due compensation and will be rehabilitated at other safer place with allotment of five marlas plot for house and one marla land for shop to each family….. more than three years have passed nothing has been done", he complained.
Even as most of the families have vacated their houses which were submergible but administration has failed to rehabilitate them so far. The pathetic picture at present is that majority of the residents have been rendered homeless and without work were. "Many of them have been forced to let in again in the unsafe houses already ordered vacated by government as they have no other option of shelter", Ved Prakash said.
About 90 per cent of the Pul Doda town had submerged in the Chenab water after commissioning of 450 MW Baglihar Hydel Power Project. The local residents were forced to migrate but their rehabilitation packages are yet to be paid. "Only eighty percent of compensation has been given to affected families and twenty percent is still lying with administration but even this much matters to the families as most of them are from poor economic backgrounds". In some cases a small compensation was paid and 12 percent tax was charged from those who lost their homes, lands and livelihoods . "This is ironical ….crores of rupees given by central government for rehabilitation but state government has failed to identify land and construct houses for them", the aggrived residents grumble..
Advocate Neeraj Gupta coming down heavily upon administration attitude alleged that it is total failure on part from administration and government who are 'conveniently' delaying rehabilitation of affected families, rendering them homeless and without job . He added previous government identified land at village Paryot to rehabilitate them but villagers moved court and till date no other move was taken by administration despite suggestion given by committee to rehabilitate displaced families near Ganpat bridge site which linking highway there .The administration seems least concerned, not even bothered to listen to the woes of affected families. "We have lost our business and homes and now only option is to come on roads to fight for our survival. Despite commissioning of Baghilar project , two and half year back the administration failed to complete road project to link the rest of the state with two vital districts of Doda and Kishtwar, as the Pul Doda town road has virtually submerged into the watery grave of river Chenab. In case the water level further rises, these two districts will be cut off from the rest of the state due to no road connectivity there .
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