Not only the man in the street but most of the educated people in Sindh also blame the dams for depleting the Indus River and causing degradation of the Indus Delta.
However, the record in the Sindh irrigation department will show that water available to the Sindh canals increased from the pre-Mangla 35.6 million acre feet (maf) to the post-Tarbela 44.5 maf i.e., an additional 8.9 maf.
Now if this additional water did not reach the delta then where did it go? My dear sir, the whole of the 44.5 maf is being sucked out of the river by the fourteen canals at Guddu, Sukkur and Kotri barrages, leaving very little to flow below Kotri thereby causing degradation of the delta.
But why do the provinces still complain of shortages. Because the population (and hence the demand) has increased from 8 crore to 20 crore over the last 40 years since the last addition to supplies was made.
It is the ignorance on part of the politicians and even the elite which is holding back development in the country. The media also must share responsibility for allowing this criminal ignorance to persist.
ENGR KHURSHID ANWER
Lahore
I shall be most grateful for an editorial on the subject because the main objection to Kalabagh dam is that it will reduce the flow to Sindh when in actual fact it will give Sindh an additional 2.25 maf which is its 37% share in the 6.1 maf stored water.
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