The Kalabagh Dam, if constructed, would have a 3,600MW capacity of electricity generation
FAISALABAD: I would like to draw the attention of the honourable prime minister of Pakistan and PTI Chairman Imran Khan through your esteemed newspaper. Both leaders should start a joint campaign for fostering a broader consensus among all political parties in order to speed up the construction of Kalabagh Dam immediately. Nawaz Sharif, when he was prime minister in 1998, had proposed the construction of Kalabagh Dam. Similarly, Imran Khan and his party had also promised to construct it in the PTI election manifesto. Both leaders later retracted their stance as Sindh seemed to be hostile to the construction of this dam.
The Kalabagh Dam, if constructed, would have a 3,600MW capacity of electricity generation. It would be helpful in alleviating poverty in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, as it would irrigate 800,000 acres of cultivable land that is located 100 to 150 feet above the level of River Indus. According to Bashir A Malik, former chief technical adviser to the United Nations and the World Bank, “Sindh and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa would become drought areas in the years to come if the Kalabagh Dam is not built.” We need to start work on the construction of the dam on an urgent basis.
Mansoor Ahmed
Published in The Express Tribune, January 31st, 2015.
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