Pakistan: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa farmers reject hydropower projects, say they would destroy livelihoods

Charsadda [Pakistan], August 5 (ANI): The farmers in Charsadda and other districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan vowed to stand against the Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development Organization (PEDO) which plans to construct hydropower projects on irrigation canals within Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, The News International reported.
The farmers of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa held a meeting over the matter and released a statement stating, "We will resist tooth and nail the proposed hydropower projects as it will destroy the irrigation system in the province thus inflicting heavy losses on the growers in the province."
According to the report by The News International, the Mazdoor Kissan Party (MKP) belonging to Pakistan had called a meeting of farmers near Charsadda including Mardan, Kohat, Malakand, and Bannu to discuss the possible aftermath of the proposed projects and the imminent threat to the livelihood of farmers in the area.
The vice-president of Mazdoor Kissan Party, Shamas Khan said "Farmers across the province had rejected the hydropower projects to be launched by Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development Organization and termed it an economic murder of the poor growers."
He also said that Pakistan's 22 percent Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was based on agriculture, while the best farming output was the result of canal systems that irrigate vast swaths of area across the province, adding that such projects would harm the farming sector, which will be opposed at all costs.
The participants in the protest said that the projects in question were being initiated without consulting the farmers and the agriculture and irrigation departments of the area as they would be the ultimate sufferers if this project were implemented in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Additionally, the MKP also announced to organize a sit-in protest against the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and an international bank that would provide funds for the proposed projects. (ANI)