Lake created by landslide leaves villagers up the creek in Pakistan

Published on Saturday 22 May 2010 02:56

HUNDREDS of villagers shouting anti-government slogans have denounced the authorities' failure to offer compensation to residents displaced by a lake created after a landslide.

Officials in northern Pakistan have evacuated thousands of people this week amid fears that the dam that caused the lake could burst, affecting about 50,000 people downstream and severing an important trade route to China.

About 20 people were killed in January's landslide, which blocked the Hunza River and created the lake. The subsequent flooding of several villages upstream displaced about 6,000 people and left another 25,000 stranded.

Pakistan's prime minister Yusuf Raza Gilani yesterday visited Altit, a village where 1,300 displaced people have been housed, nine miles east of the new lake. But soon after he left, some in the 400-strong crowd began shouting slogans and demanding immediate relief.

"The protesters were annoyed the prime minister did not announce any relief package for them," witness Raza Hamadani said.

The protesters dispersed after officials assured them that the government would announce compensation and help them to resettle.

Pakistan's government is already under fire for its handling of crippling power cuts, its struggle to contain a Taleban insurgency and its efforts to strengthen a sluggish economy. It can ill afford a catastrophe such as widespread flooding. Officials hope for a gradual erosion of the blockage some time next week, once the water starts flowing through a spillway created to drain the lake. But they have not ruled out a sudden breach that could lead to massive flooding.

Officials say a sudden flood would inundate 39 villages, affecting about 13,000 people. Residents put the number at about 25,000 with a similar number affected further downstream.

The lake is now 12 miles long and more than 300ft deep. It has submerged a 15-mile stretch of the Karakoram Highway, hampering trade between Pakistan and China. Affected villagers are also struggling to maintain a link with the region's main town of Gilgit, their commercial lifeblood, about 60 miles west.

The army, which was given the task of handling the crisis, says it acted promptly and, after a detailed survey, began digging the new completed spillway.

Officials expect the water to start flowing next week, easing pressure on the blockage and reducing chances of a sudden burst.

The authorities also say they helped stranded people upstream get essential food and fuel supplies via boat and helicopter services.

Officials initially played down the chances of a dam burst, but they now do not rule out the possibility once the water starts flowing through the spillway. This could cause a massive flood.

Based on the worst-case scenario – in which the dam bursts and the lake empties within an hour – officials say 39 villages would be inundated in the Gilgit-Hunza region alone.