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Punjab body
wants 1991 Accord abolished
ISLAMABAD - Accusing the
government of taking a series of anti-Punjab decisions, the
Punjab Water Council (PWC) on Thursday demanded abolition of
1991 water apportionment accord.
Speaking at a news conference Hamid Malhi, Coordinator PWC,
listed a number of measures taken by the present government
during the last three years that the council claimed were
Sindh-centric.
"PWC completely rejects the (water) accord and vows to work in
harmony with other partners to evolve a mutually acceptable
equitable distribution of existing and future water resources.
Until then water should be distributed on the principles of
historic use (1977-82)," said Hamid Malhi.
He also criticized Wapda's Vision-2025 water sector programme
and termed it "a glaring example of denial of rights of
Punjab. In its first phase of seven billion dollars, Punjab
gets a mere 18 per cent which is a joke," he said.
The PWC co-ordinator said the chief executive's directive of
March 2002 caused a forced closure of all Punjab canals on
March 15 and farmers were left without crucial canal water for
their orchards, wheat, sugarcane, fodder and other crops. Even
drinking water for humans and animals was stopped for 30 days
in areas where canals were already closed under a rotation
plan during the first half of March 2002. A similar directive
in March 2001 gifted 5,000 cusecs for one month to Sindh
causing major losses to the Punjab farmers.
Pleading that the practice of gifts and sacrifices should be
discontinued, the PWC official also criticized President
Musharraf for shifting the headquarters of Irsa from Lahore to
Islamabad and appointment of a Sindh nominee as a federal
member.
Another directive of October 23, 2000, annulled the
inter-ministerial agreement of 1994. "These one-sided
directives are a clear interference against the spirit of the
accord of 1991."
Mr Malhi said that the closure of Chashma-Jhelum and
Taunsa-Panjnad link canals had badly affected the farmers of
southern Punjab. He said that unless new dams were built it
was not possible to distribute extra water. The storage
capacity of existing dams has been reduced by 25 per cent due
to siltation and the government has miserably failed to
construct new dams as provided in para 6 of the accord.
Courtesy Dawn March
29, 2002 |
Pakissan.com;
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