MQM Supremo Mr Altaf Hussain has reportedly stated that since KBD was not built due to protests and agitation of small provinces, it would be better to build a network of small or mini dams to satisfy our needs of water and power. This would simply be a recipe for disaster because nobody could ever think of building hundreds of mini dams on the tributaries of our mega rivers to compensate for the loss of a single mega dam like KBD that could have stored 6.1 MAF of water and generated 3,600 MW of cheap power.
Moreover, the feasibility and engineering study of mini dams would open a floodgate of corruption and kickbacks in the absence of highly paid consultants, preparing the way for endless stories of corruption at local level. Hundreds of mini dams would entail a new grid system being located over wide locations generating a host of problems. The history of small dams in our country stands at 20 per cent success and 80 per cent failure due to a lack of planning and endemic corruption which has no solution so far. Pipedreams like mini dams on our mega rivers ought to be rejected in the best interests of the nation.
DR MUHAMMAD YAQOOB BHATTI
Lahore