The assembly members, who keep passing resolutions against Kalabagh dam, don’t even know that our two dams have increased river supplies by 20 million acre feet, that Sindh got an additional 8.9 maf, and that the cultivated area in the country has increased by 4 million acres.
Do they know that there has been no further increase in supplies for 40 years, that KBD will add another 6.1 maf, that Sindh will get an additional 2.257 maf, that Sindh will not become a desert, that there will be no ill effect on the Indus delta, that Punjab will get only its due share same as Sindh, that this share has been reduced to increase Sindh’s share in all future dams?
Do they know that there is surplus flow in our rivers for a very short period, that there is very little flow for a much longer period, that if the surplus in the Kharif period is not stored in dams, there will be serious shortages in the Rabi sowing period?
Do they know that KBD reservoir will be almost empty before the floods and will not aggravate the flood in Nowshera, that Tarbela dam reservoir is 600 feet higher than the Peshawar valley and has not caused much water logging, that neither will KBD reservoir, being 25 feet lower than Nowshera?
Do they know that more people will be displaced in Punjab than in KP, that more land will be submerged in Punjab that in KP, that north Punjab and KP will not get any water from Bhasha dam or from any other dam on the Indus, that they will not get their full share of 37% and 14% respectively for all rimes to come?
Can the future of the country be put in the hands of people who don’t know any of the above? All they know is that Punjab will take all the water from KBD and Sindh will become a desert, that the Indus delta will deteriorate further, that Nowshera will get flooded, that land will be submerged, that people will get displaced etc.
I am sure there must be many in PPP who know all this but are keeping mum to save their own skins, never mind what happens to the country.
ENGR KHURSHID ANWER
Lahore
I thank you for making me wiser. The question to be asked is why is not the public made aware of the facts in a simple way.?The population at large is much more knowledgable than fifty years ago. Why not have a public debate at large and a political debate in the parliament. The only dams built were under President Ayub and they have stood the test of times. Any time KBD is mentioned everybody's hair stand up!
In the house of parliament, national interest and the interest of the masses is of no interest, the only interest that matters to them is party political interest and how the parliamentry top brass can loot from the national coffers. Providing large scale education to the masses is counter productive to the interest of the parliamentarians. Once people get educated the wont vote for the looters, the parliamentarians want to sustain and enhance a large pool of illeterate and ignorant vote bank who will go on voting for them and their prosperity based on robbing the state.
Dr M M Khan’s point about public debate is well taken, a readily available forum for such a debate is the newspapers where readers can thrash out the pros and cons of river water management, but the debate will be productive only if the newspaper dedicates a knowledgeable reporter to moderate the debate, the politicians have failed us, we can only look to the media to educate public opinion on an issue on which depends the future of the country.
The Editor
Sir, through the auspices of your esteemed paper I would like to communicate with Dr M M Khan on the subject of Kalabagh dam, my e-mail address is: [email protected].
Regards.
Khurshid Anwer
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