Dolakha, March 26

Locals of two rural municipalities affected by Upper Tamakoshi Hydroelectric Project have announced protest programmes over the modality of share distribution.

The locals claimed that Dolakha District Coordination Committee had endorsed share distribution modality bypassing their proposal.

A meeting held by DCC on August 22, 2017 had prepared the modality, which had envisaged allocating 10 per cent shares to the project-affected locals. As per modality, then Lamabagar and Gaurishankar VDCs are kept in highly-affected category, areas through which transmission line pass and are linked by access road to the project site are kept in secondary category, while other parts of the district are kept in the third category.

Locals from Bigu and Gaurishankar have announced protest programmes as DCC took the decision to implement

the old modality of share allocation.

Struggle Committee Coordinator Pasang Sherpa said they had announced the protest programmes as DCC had tried to impose an arbitrary decision on the locals. Locals have formed Upper Tamakoshi Share Distribution Coordination Committee and announced agitation programmes.

A meeting of the struggle committee held yesterday decided not to accept share distribution modality prepared on August 22 last year and endorsed by DCC meet held on March 23. The protest programmes include submitting a demand letter with an ultimatum to Upper Tamakoshi Hydro Project, among others.

The locals have announced that they will stage a protest meet in the presence of chiefs and deputy chiefs of Bigu and Gaurishankar rural municipalities on Sunday. The meeting also took the decision to move the Supreme Court against DCC and the hydro-power project if their demands were not met.

A DCC meet held on Friday had decided to request the hydro-power project to allocate shares to the locals as per the old modality. Agitating locals say the modality prepared as per the old structure will not be acceptable to them in the new structure.

According to them, locals from Bigu and Gaurishankar should be distributed shares equally and given first priority. They want all wards of Bigu and Gaurishankar Rural municipalities to be considered highly affected areas and distribution of shares accordingly.

District Coordination Committee Officer Tulashinath Gautam said that they would hold discussion with agitating locals and people’s representatives to figure out a solution. Gautam said DCC was playing an active role in completing the hydro-power project within the deadline.