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Special
Reports/Water Crisis |
Nadir supports dams on Indus
Sindh Minister for Irrigation and Power Nadir Akmal Leghari on
Thursday supported construction of dams on Indus River but
stressed the need for giving priority to Bhasha dam, although
he was not averse to the Kalabagh dam without canals and
constitutional guarantees.
 In
a statement faxed from the office of the additional secretary
to the chief minister of Sindh, Mr Leghari said: ”I, as a
Sindhi, and the custodian of the Irrigation Department, very
strongly feel that the salvation of Sindh lies in supporting
storage dams on the Indus, and if we take a rational view, we
will realize that these dams have to be built and should have
been built long time ago. “We do not wish to play politics on
this issue and at the same time, we respect the views of our
friends who feel diffident in supporting this issue, but
keeping in mind the A. N. G. Abbasi report, and specially Engr
Abbasi’s personal view which supports dams on the Indus with
the prefix that Bhasha Dam be taken up first, we should
consider raising Bhasha Dam first.”
Never before in the history of Pakistan, the issues affecting
the aspiration and future of the country had been discussed so
openly and at all levels, he said. The president’s initiative
in this regard should be appreciated, he added.
Mr Leghari was of the view that water shortage was a reality
and water needs to be stored for use for meeting the shortage
in order to avoid Sindh going barren and desegregated. “We
need to have a treasure of this natural resource, but there is
no way this can be done, except building dams at the sites
where it can be stored to the maximum benefit. And if
permissible, this water should be utilized for generating
power, etc.,” he said.
He stated: “When we leave it up to technocrats and irrigation
experts to deliberate upon the technicalities of the site, we
support the president’s vision of constructing dams.
The two reports by international experts and the people who
command respect are now available to the public. The Sindh
government should not comment on it and it is for the people
to digest the findings of these reports.”
In deference to this report, the irrigation department
believes that it must support the construction of Bhasha Dam
and other dams on the Indus. It is now time to rise to the
occasion and demand that:
i) Bhasha Dam be started immediately
ii) We have serious reservations over Kalabagh Dam which needs
to be addressed viz
a) Kalabagh should have no canals
b) The 1991 Water Accord be implemented forthwith
c) Constitutional, judicial and administrative guarantees,
acceptable to the people of Sindh, be given on this issue.
Courtesy :
The DAWN
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Pakissan.com;
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