Inland transport project on Indus underway ‘in secret’

Locals in the dark regarding ongoing development near Kalabagh Dam

ISLAMABAD:

The inland transport project in Indus River from Attock to Daud Khel is underway. However, the mysterious nature of construction of jetties and other build up activities led to many questions and outrageous conspiracy theories among locals regarding the proposed Kalabagh Dam.

“Most local communities were left in the dark, which is against the spirit of openness and transparency,” said Malik Waheed, the son of incumbent Nawab of Kalabagh Malik Amir Mohammad Khan. He was speaking to The Express Tribune via telephone from Daud Khel.

He said sign boards erected near the construction site were also deceiving the general public about the true nature of the project. He said the signs implied that the project site was to merely facilitate cement industry in the Daud Khel area.

“I live just across the project and even I am not fully aware of its details,” he said, adding that there was no access for passengers or goods to the area where the jetties are planned to be built.

He said it seemed that the Punjab Government had decided to abandon the proposed Kalabagh Dam once and for all, as the route of inland transport crosses the same point where the dam is to be built.

“There are 4 to 5 game reserves including Chashma, Chashma Wetland, Kalabagh and Nizam Pur located in patch of the Indus where the inland transport is to be run,” said biodiversity researcher Malik Ghulam Sarwar.



He told The Express Tribune that most of the biodiversity in the Indus was still intact, but was in peril due to the frequent transportation. This threatens to damage the flora and fauna and flora in the area, he said. He said that construction of rafts was being carried in a place which was once used as a public park.

In August, the Ministry of Climate Change had expressed reservations about the provincial government’s initiative of introducing inland transportation through the Indus.

The ministry had said that engineering structures, which it said was needed to tame the river for massive transportation of goods, would violate the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. This transport also poses a threat as fuel, lubricants and sewage may spill into the water boats on the river, damaging the aquatic ecosystem.

The centre had also pointed out that the project has not met requirements such as an environmental impact assessment, initial environmental examination and a environmental management plan.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 5^th, 2015.