The Supreme Court has observed that if Munda Dam had been built, Nowshera would have been saved from the havoc caused by the floods.May I point out that just as Munda dam will protect Nowshera, so will Kalabagh dam protect South Punjab and Sindh. The reservoir is 100 miles away from Nowshera and will be drawn down to 100 feet below Nowshera during the flood season. Even otherwise, with a maximum reservoir level of 915 feet above sea level, the dam will be of no threat to Nowshera at 940 feet or to any other low lying area of the Peshawar valley.
Should we deny Pakistan the 6.1 million acre feet of additional water for irrigation and 3600 megawatts for industry just because of imaginary fears? Pakistan will never develop if we keep ignoring the informed opinion of the experts and keep listening to the ill informed opinion of the politicians.
Former Chairman Wapda, Engr Shamsul Mulk, has lands and property in Nowshera and is a firm advocate of Kalabagh dam. When an American consultant said to him that mega dams were scars on the face of a country, he said, the bigger scars were those of hunger and poverty on the faces of our poor children.
When a TV anchor person talked of the environmental disasters caused by mega dams, he said India with 5000 dams and US with 9000 dams must have become total environmental disasters.
KHURSHID ANWER
Lahore
