National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) is planning the construction of an 800 MW power project on Marusudar river-the main tributary of the Chenab-in Kishtwar district in Jammu. Upon completion, the project will displace seven villages, which have a population of 6,332, comprising 1,052 families. The Bursar Hydroelectric Project is a storage project, wherein the stored water is intended to be used for additional power generation during lean flow months. The project was announced in August 2016. The villagers were alerted when officials and project developers started demarcating the land in 2017. In April 2018, residents of the villages that are likely to be affected held a protest for one and a half months in Kishtwar against the construction of the dam and the power project. They do not want to give up their land as they grow maize, rice, pulses and walnuts on it. Most of the protesters are farmers, labourers and students and have been protesting under the banner of the Pakal-Bursar Dam Committee, formed on April 5 this year. They claim that the dam will displace them and they will lose everything they have made out of their blood and sweat. The state government admitted in January that seven revenue villages-Yourdu, Nawapahi, Qadernath, Chinjer, Deharna, Lopara and Janakpora-will be completely submerged once work on the project starts. Prior to the dissolution of the state Assembly in November, the coalition government of the Peoples Democratic Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party had earmarked Rs 211.41 crore for Resettlement and Rehabilitation of the affected people.