Villagers affected by Luhri hydel project stage protest

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Rampur, February 2

The villagers living in various panchayats affected by the coming up of the 210 MW Luhri hydel project today staged a protest at Nirath in support of their demands.

The villagers along with Himachal Kisan Sabha members have been holding meetings with the villagers to apprise them about the adverse impact of the Luhri project. The foundation stone of the project was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in December 2021.

What has irked the villagers is that none of the promises made to them, including providing at least a job to one member of each of the project-affected families, has been fulfilled. A large number of women took part in the protest and blocked road, which was opened only after receiving an assurance from the SDM that their grievances would be resolved.

“We had high hopes that the coming up of the project would usher in economic prosperity and we would get both direct and indirect benefit but that has not happened,” lamented Devki Nand, Himachal Kisan Sabha Nirmand block president.

He said when this project was being implemented, many promises and assurances were made to the people of these panchayats by the state government, administration and Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam, but none has materialised. The project is being developed on the Satluj, near Nirath village, in the Shimla and Kullu districts amidst strong opposition by the locals. The power plant is expected to be commissioned by April 2026.

People living in the ecologically fragile areas of the tribal district of Kinnaur and parts of Shimla and Kullu districts have been opposing coming up of hydel projects, which, they claim, were having adverse impact on the flora and fauna of the area. Fertile agricultural land was being adversely affected, houses were developing cracks due to blasting and the traditional water sources were drying, the villagers lamented.