The politicians who oppose Kalabagh dam are as good Pakistanis as those who support it, it is quite wrong and actually counterproductive to label them as agents of foreign powers. They have their own reasons, right or wrong, for opposing the dam. The fault lies with their top leadership who, because of their total ignorance of the subject, had frightened the people into believing that Sindh will become a desert and Nowshera will get flooded etc.
All that is needed is for one enlightened person, one thinking editor, one independent anchorperson, or one forward looking columnist to stand up and set the record straight:
KBD will not reduce flow in the Indus, neither did Tarbela dam. The flow will actually increase when Sindh’s share of water in the dam is released into the river.
IRSA will operate the dam just as it is operating Mangla and Tarbela dams. Punjab will not have any direct control over the supply to its canals, and Sindh has three votes in IRSA against one vote for Punjab.
A monitoring team of engineers from the Sindh irrigation department is posted at major headworks of Punjab and is in daily contact with their head office.
KBD reservoir will be in the drawn-down position at the start of the flood season and will be 100 feet below Nowshera. The reservoir will be gradually filled up towards the end of the flood season.
KBD reservoir under normal conditions will be 25 feet below Nowshera (940-915). How can this cause water logging in the Peshawar Valley when Tarbela dam which is 600 feet higher has not done so?
What the hell are we waiting for? For hell itself?
ENGR KHURSHID ANWER
Lahore
