Why is PEPCO being punished for the sins of the government? It has added 3000 MW to the electricity generation capacity but the load has gone up from 15000 to 18000 MW in one year.
Many plants are shut down due to the fuel shortage. It is the government policy of total dependence on oil for power generation that is the root cause of the problem of power shortage.
New hydraulic sources of generation such as dams would give us 3600 MW in the shortest period of time. Kalabagh is the best site for a dam in Pakistan and it is the best project for the economy of Pakistan. Should we go on rejecting it merely because it is in Punjab. Bhasha dam will be too little, too late.
Rivers and dams belong to the nation and not to any one province. Operation of dams and river water distribution is already under the federal body IRSA having a higher representation from Sindh.
Punjab will take only its due share, reduced in favour of Sindh, in all future dams. This is despite having 70 percent of the total crop area of the country and bearing 80 percent of the total agriculture load. The Water from all these dams will bypass north Punjab and D I Khan in KP to flow down to Sindh and Balochistan, except the little that south Punjab is allowed to take. Two thirds of north Punjab will revert from irrigated to barani, with a 50 loss in national food production. Let us not cut the nose to spite the face.
KHURSHID ANWER
Lahore
