NUMRAJ KHANAL PYUTHAN, Nov 26 -

Four hundred families will be displaced if work on the proposed 250-MW Naumure hydropower project gets underway.

During Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal's recent visit to India, New Delhi had pledged to extend grant for commissioning of the project. The project site is located on the border of Pyuthan and Argakhachi districts.

"Over half a dozen villages, including Dabra, Domahi, Machhadi, Panaha and Asureni, will be flooded if the project's dam is constructed on the Pyuthan-Arghakhanchi border point along the Raptri river," says Dhan Bahadur Rayamajhi, secretary of the Pyuthan chapter of CPN-UML.

The people living around the proposed project site are gearing up to pressure the government to address their concerns. They are thinking of forming a committee to achieve this end.

"The project will displace around 400 households," says Rayamajhi. "The government must consider rehabilitation of these families before initiating project works."

However, some locals are elated. They hope the project will bring about prosperity and lead to development of the area. Former ward chairman of Jaluke, Ratamata Deviram Ghimire, said, "Our excitement has hit to the point that whenever we see new faces in the village we tend to believe that they are here to start work on the proposed project."

Sorrce: The Kathmandu Post, 27 November 2008