The veteran irrigation expert Mr. Khursheed Anwer says in his letter titled “The Floods are coming” in Pakistan Today dated 12-07-2016that Punjab would not get any water from any dam including KBD if no gravity canal is built from its left bank. This is a very important point not to have been missed by WAPDA chairman who has stated in one of his articles that no canal is to issue from KBD either from left bank for Punjab and right bank for KPK. In order to supply the share of water i.e. 37% to Punjab and 14% to KPK gravity canals from KBD are a must to supply the share of water to Punjab and KPK. WAPDA must make a provision for gravity canals for Punjab and KPK in revised design for KBD to at least neutralize the objection of KPK by a promise of irrigating 8 lac acres of land in D.I.K. Similarly Punjab could get its share of water from a left bank gravity canal to irrigate Central Punjab which would turn into a burani area in our time without a left bank canal as estimated by the eminent engineer. WAPDA may give serious thought to observations by Eng. Khursheed Anwer.
Dr. Muhammad Yaqoob Bhatti
Dr Muhammad Yaqub Bhatti has quite rightly emphasized the necessity of a left bank canal at KBD, two tunnels 33 feet in diameter and 8.5 miles long will connect the KBD reservoir to the canal feeding Jhelum river. this is not such a gigantic task that cannot be undertaken,
It is only by supplementing the flow in Jhelum river through the left bank canal that the 2.8 maf increased capacity at Mangla dam can be utilized, otherwise it will remain unutilized except in the heavy flood years.
The left bank canal will allow integration of the three rivers into one single river basin for optimum use by all the stake holders, will serve as a flood canal to even out flood hit and drought hit regions.
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