Had this dam been built at the right time, we would not be facing an energy crisis today.
LAHORE: After having defeated the ANP in the 2013 elections, the PTI formed a provincial government in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P). People in other provinces also seemed to trust Imran Khan’s party more than they did the PPP. The party which was able to win a clear majority in the National Assembly, however, was the PML-N. After 14 years, Nawaz Sharif was elected Pakistan’s prime minister. Both Imran Khan and Nawaz Sharif are true Pakistanis and both have the courage to tackle problems facing our homeland. Imran Khan is a man of principles and so is Nawaz Sharif.
In 1997, on the occasion of Iqbal Day celebrations of November 9, Nawaz Sharif, who was the prime minister at the time, was the chief guest at the Alhamra Arts Council in Lahore. While he was addressing the gathering, my father, Professor Dr M A Soofi, who belongs to Haripur, Hazara in K-P rose from his seat and pointed out to Nawaz Sharif the necessity of constructing the Kalabagh Dam. He asked the prime minister to kindly announce the building of the said dam. My father has written a book on the Kalabagh Dam and has mentioned in it that it was the Quaid-e-Azam’s cabinet that proposed the building of a dam in Mianwali, which could generate 3,600 megawatts of electricity within five to seven years.
A local English newspaper published a news item regarding this at the time in the following words: “The recommendations of the Pakistan industries conference, which was held in Karachi from 13-17 December 1948 last, have been forwarded to the provincial and central governments and the various ministers to enable them to take necessary steps for implementation. As their recommendations cover a vast field, they require examination by various authorities. Regarding power generation and distribution, the conference had recommended that Pakistan should aim at generating 50,0000KWs in the next five to seven years to meet its requirements of electric power. Both for industrial and other purposes and that the highest priority should be given to the generation of hydro-electric power.
“It had recommended that the Mianwali hydel project in the west Punjab and the Karnafulli project in East Bengal should be taken up immediately and completed within the shortest possible time. The Rohri and Nara canal projects in Sindh should also be taken up. The conference had recommended that every effort should be made to exploit the present coal mines in a scientific manner and the target of half a million ion per annum of coal should be reached during this year.”
Today, we are facing an acute shortage of electricity due to negligence on the part of our past governments. If the Kalabagh Dam is built, floodwater may be stored in it and can be used to generate electricity. I request Nawaz Sharif and Imran Khan to initiate efforts to build consensus on this issue because this is the urgent need of our country. The feasibility report is ready. The site is ideal for the construction of a dam. This is a golden opportunity for both of you, as well as the people of our nation. Please rise to the occasion and chalk out a programme to initiate this project for the sake of Pakistan. Had this dam been built at the right time, we would not be facing an energy crisis today. One thing which could be done to develop consensus regarding this issue is to hold a referendum on it.
Aamir Kamal Soofi
Published in The Express Tribune, March 16th, 2015.
Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.
