MANSEHRA: Power generation from the Dubair Khwar Hydropower Dam, which had remained suspended for over two consecutive months due to a sit-in staged by locals demanding the construction of a main road, has resumed, and electricity supply to the national grid has been restored.
“We have strengthened the security of the dam, and you should remain vigilant and not allow strangers near it,” Zafar Ahmad Khan, the District Police Officer (DPO) of Lower Kohistan, told WAPDA’s security staff deployed at the dam during his visit on Monday. The DPO, accompanied by police personnel, visited the Dubir hydropower dam and reviewed the security situation.
“You should remain vigilant during duty and inform the police about the movement of strangers anywhere near the dam site,” Mr Khan said.He said that the police were also carrying out raids to arrest up to 49 individuals who allegedly forced locals to stage the sit-in and diverted the watercourse from a local stream, suspending electricity production at the dam.
“We are conducting raids to arrest 49 accused booked under Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act for diverting the watercourse, halting electricity production, and staging a sit-in at the dam site, thereby challenging the writ of the state and causing financial losses to the national exchequer,” the official added.
The protesters, who had been demonstrating for the construction of the 23-kilometre Dubair-Ranowalia road, washed away in the 2023 flash floods, ended their protest last month after WAPDA released Rs550 million for land acquisition for the project.
