Pozzolan extraction begins at Gini for Diamer-Bhasha Dam

Extraction and transportation of pozzolan from Gini in Diamer district for the Diamer-Bhasha Dam has begun, with the material to be processed for roller-compacted concrete in the main dam, according to a report by Brandsynario.

The project has two components, the main dam and its associated substructures. Pozzolan processed from the Gini deposit will be used in roller-compacted concrete placement in the main dam, the report said.

Work began after directions from WAPDA Chairman retired Lt Gen Muhammad Saeed and Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Secretary Arshad Majeed Mohmand. Project management and the district administration made the arrangements before extraction and transportation started.

Commissioner Diamer-Astore Division Azim Ullah, Diamer Bhasha Development Company Chief Executive Engr Dr Nazakat Hussain and Project Director Engr Arif Ali visited Gini for the start of the work. Senior officials, consultants, contractors, local elders and Ulema attended.

The same report carried a feature warning that the dam's reservoir, once filled, threatens rock carvings and inscriptions along the Upper Indus and the Karakoram Highway. Thousands of such markings record the traders, travellers and religious groups who used mountain routes linking Central Asia, China and the Indian subcontinent, the feature said.

The carvings lie outside the Kesar Saga tradition but belong to the same cultural landscape, according to the feature. It noted that communities in Baltistan and Ladakh still preserve regional versions of the Epic of King Gesar, performed from memory by bards on long winter evenings, and that places across Gilgit-Baltistan are tied to the story. Bubli mo Ting in Hunza is associated locally with Princess Bubli, and Kesari Hrta in Chunda, Skardu, is remembered as Kesar's Horse.

Removing a carving from its surroundings, or losing the rock face itself, takes away much of its historical context, the feature argued. It asked whether the benefits promised by the project justify what would be lost, and said alternative energy options and long-term effects should be examined before landscapes are permanently altered.