The president in a meeting with the Japanese ambassador has called for modernising agriculture in Pakistan by incorporating Japanese technology. Will Japanese technology overcome the prevailing water shortage? Crops can be grown without soil but not without water. For how long will our two dams keep meeting the ever growing demand with ever decreasing storage capacity? The issue of water shortage has serious ramifications in terms of agricultural production, agro based exports, foreign exchange earnings, food inflation, job creation, poverty alleviation, livelihood of the rural population etc. Small and medium dam will not suffice and Bhasha dam with all its limitations is 15 years away. Only Kalabagh dam can save the 19 crore people from the hunger, thirst and poverty looming over their heads.
ENGR KHURSHID ANWER
Lahore
I fully share and endorse Mr. Khursheed's views expressed in this letter. We are facing Water Cshortage , and there is impending water crisis onour hands. Our Rivers have become streams due to heay build of dams by India On our rivers on her side. The future wars will broke between the nations would be fought on the water issue. Our provinces are already fighting oer the distribution of Water. In order to avert tthis situation , we must build a numger of small and medium dams. We can improve the irrigation water needs. Let us build consensus on KBD as soon as possible. JAVAID BASHIR
We need to revisit the Water Apportionment Accord of 1991 through which a consensus on KBD was reached between the four provinces – 'All the provinces agreed to more dams on all the rivers including on the Indus'. KBD was the only dam ready to build at that time. Under the Accord river water distribution was entrusted to the federal body IRSA, provinces have no direct control over the supplies to their canals. Lower riparian Sindh's share was increased in all future dams by decreasing Punjab's share, equal share for both despite the vast difference in population and the area under cultivation. Sindh will get all the benefits of power and water without the loss of even one acre of land and the displacement of even one person. All that is lacking is political will of the PPP government.
Comments are closed.