Pakistan declares 'water war' on people of PoK
Pakistan declares 'water war' on people of PoK Pakistan has now declared a `water war' on the people of Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) by diverting the waters of the Neelum River to Punjab province. Pakistan has come up with an elaborated scheme through which the flow of the fresh water from the mountains of Punjab would be changed. This would deprive the people of Muzaffarabad from their water lifeline - Neelum River. Punjab remains Pakistan's pampered and favoured province. "The water level in the river has declined drastically and the water available is only sewage water, whereas, the actual water has been diverted towards Punjab. We can live without electricity, but not without water. We are feeling heat because of rise in temperature," said a local resident in Muzaffarabad. "The politicians are paying no attention on the issue. We demand that actual flow of the river water should be maintained, otherwise we will launch a protest to protect the river for our coming generations," he added. Protest are taking place all over Pakistan against this move. "It is important to launch a movement which can expose Pakistan to the world. The rulers of Pakistan and PoK must know that with the diversion of waters and construction of Neelum Jhelum Hydropower Project, there are chances of spreading of diseases because of pollution. The government must announce a compensation package to protect the people from spreading of diseases," said another local resident in Muzaffarabad. He added: "With the production of electricity from Neelum Jhelum Hydropower Project, the people of Pakistan will get all benefits. We want to ask the government of Pakistan that what we will get in return of Rs 50 billion they will be earning out of this project. Instead of providing free electricity to us, they have been charging four-times higher bills from us. We are demanding free electricity in Muzaffarabad and rest of PoK". -PTC NEWS
