There is a lot of loose talk on TV channels by the anchorpersons on building run-of-the-river dams on Jhelum and Chenab rivers. Please be informed that these dams can be built only in the mountain ranges. Neelum-Jhelum and Kishanganga dam are 154 and 121 feet high respectively, which is also the height of the mountains which form the valley in which water is to be stored. The anchorpersons should go to Google to see the kind of hilly terrain in which these dams are built. Where will we find 121 feet high hills, or even half that height, in the plains of Punjab and in the deserts of Sindh, except in a very few places? The best that can be done in the plains is to store flood water in low lying areas along the rivers. These ponds will be a useful source of water for the people and their cattle, but there will be no gravity flow from them as from the dams and the barrages. Water will be available only by pumping in limited quantities at considerable cost.
ENGR KHURSHID ANWER
Lahore
