Abdul Majeed Abid has done well to set the record straight that India could not have released flood water in the Chenab because India doesn’t have significant water storage capacity on the Chenab, also there has been massive damage owing to flooding on the Indian side. Such manipulation would put their irrigation and flood control structures in jeopardy.
It is also correct that Kalabagh dam on the Indus could not have controlled the floods which were in Jhelum and Chenab. But it is only Kalabagh dam which can control the floods in the river-sized tributaries of the Indus, namely Kabul, Chitral, Swat, Kurram, Siren, Haro and Soan. Also store their copious flows for irrigation and power generation.
For the above reason I do not agree with the writer’s contention that there is no feasible intervention which would enable Pakistan to mobilise appreciably more water than it now uses. Kalabagh dam will give us 6.1 million acre feet of additional water. Last year 18 maf of water, mostly from these tributaries flowed, down to the sea.
Instead of giving up Kalabagh dam as a lost cause the issue should be debated openly. It will be seen that most of the objections of Sindh and KPK do not hold water. It is not right to say that Kalabagh dam will reduce the flow in the Indus. Tarbela dam increased supplies to Sindh, why would KBD not do the same? It is equally wrong to say that Punjab will usurp Sindh’s share because the dam is in Punjab. Water allocation from dams and barrages is made by IRSA and not by Punjab. In any case, under the Water Accord of 1991, Sindh’s share was increased in all future dams by reducing Punjab’s share. When all the cards are put on the table it will become clear how much damage is being done to the country purely because of politicised misinformation.
ENGR KHURSHID ANWER
Lahore
Instead of giving up on Kalabagh dam there should be an open debate on the pros and cons of the dam, it will be seen that most of the objections by Sindh and kPK don’t hold water and are actually the result of misinformation. KBD will not reduce the flow in the Indus, did Tarbela dam do that? Punjab will not take too much water from KBD because it is in Punjab, is AJK taking too much water from Mangla dam? Only an honest dialogue will save us from the colossal damage being inflicted on the country every day.
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