The population affected by the construction of Warsak Dam on Thursday demanded an increase in royalty for the area, saying 52 villages were badly affected on account of the construction of the dam with squeezing of agricultural land in the locality. Addressing a press conference at Peshawar Press Club, the affecte led by Sarwardin, Juma Raz Khan and Arbab Sheryar, said the people of the area should be accorded 30 percent royalty on account of presence of Warsak water dam in their area, adding that the current five percent was by no means mitigating their problems.
They said the money accumulated in lieu of royalty for the last four years that amounted to Rs 70 million, should be used for paying the outstanding electricity bills of the masses of the area, otherwise they threatened to resort to protest demonstrations outside the provincial assembly. They said a total of 52 villages in the region had to bear the brunt of construction of the dam and their agricultural land had been wasted which was a source of concern for the farmers. They said keeping in view the level of losses they had to confront, five percent in royalty was not enough.
