This page will be updated regularly with the latest information on this urgent issue. Please come back. |
Introduction:
The
beautiful and remote Himalayan alpine valley of the Kishenganga River, known for its
isolated and startling magnificence and home to diverse wildlife (including the endangered
Snow Leopard and Hangul Deer), is
about to be flooded by a large dam construction project. The dam will completely inundate
the Gurez Valley, ancient home of the Dard Shin people.
The construction project is being carried out by a consortium including the Indian company Power Development Corporation and the Swedish company, Skanska International. The project is being funded almost exclusively through international financial institutions (85% of the project cost is being met by international funding). The project threatens the environment and culture of the Gurez Valley, which in danger of being completely inundated. The Gurez Valley is home to a unique people - the "Dard Shin", numbering 25,000 souls - with an ancient culture and way of life tied directly to their hidden valley. The "Dard Shin" are under threat of involuntary displacement from their homes, placing the continuation of their culture and traditions in grave peril. The project threatens to destroy the wildlife, forests, fauna, and archaeological treasures of Gurez Valley. In addition, the dam will adversely affect the entire ecology of the Kishenganga River Valley downstream of the dam project.
The Response of K.E.W.A.
K.E.W.A. absolutely opposes this large dam project on the basis that it will have far-reaching and devastating effects on the environment of Jammu & Kashmir and on the lives of the indigenous people of the Gurez Valley.
K.E.W.A. regards the project to be another example of the type of short-sighted development which has been undertaken throughout the Himalayan region at the cost of the environment, history, and culture of the local inhabitants.
K.E.W.A. supports the efforts being undertaken by the Dard Shin people to safeguard the environment and culture of the Gurez valley.
K.E.W.A. urges that the dam project be cancelled and the Gurez Valley be made an environmentally and culturally protected valley, which would set a major precedent for environmental protection in Jammu & Kashmir.
K.E.W.A. urgently requests the international human rights community, international environmental movement, the environmental movement in India, the international financers of the project, and the world community to take speedy actions to prevent this impending environmental and humanitarian disaster in the Jammu & Kashmir region of the Himalaya.
Important Information:
Basic Facts about the Kishenganga Dam Project information on the Kishenganga River, the Gurez Dam, environmental concerns, international funding, and the status of the project.
The Dard Shin People: Ancient Inhabitants of Gurez information on the culture of the Dard Shin, archaeological concerns, and the response of the Dard Shin to the Dam Project
© copyright- K.E.W.A.