The dam will be useful in controlling floods by averting the flood damages downstream of the dam
PESHAWAR: Pakistan has faced a number of floods in the last six years, devastating its infrastructure, killing people, and inflicting losses of billions of dollars on the national economy. Despite such large-scale destruction, our policymakers have not learnt any lessons. Instead of adopting long-term polices involving the construction of mega storage reservoirs, our flood control strategy revolves around the adoption of a short-term policy of wasting billions of rupees on the construction of flood protection bunds and dykes. The Flood Inquiry Commission, constituted by the Supreme Court in December 2010, in its findings, had pointed out the construction of Munda/Mohmand Dam Project for controlling floods in Charsadda, Peshawar and Nowshera districts.
The Munda/Mohmand Dam, upon construction, will store approximately 1.3 million acre-feet of water and generate the most economical hydropower of 800 megawatts, thus helping to overcome the country’s energy crisis. Besides, the project will help irrigate nearly 17,000 acres of barren land, thus bringing a green revolution and prosperity in the area. The dam will be useful in controlling floods by averting the flood damages downstream of the dam and serve as a source of many job opportunities.
The Central Development Working Party of the federal government, at its July 2015 meeting, approved PC-II of the project, for Detailed Engineering Design and Tender Documents, with the financial assistance of the French government through the French Agency for Development. According to a media report, approval of the project remained stuck for two years and faced bottlenecks because of bureaucratic hurdles, thus delaying the project that is of utmost national importance.
The construction of Munda/Mohmand Dam must be undertaken on a topmost priority basis. All formalities, location surveys and feasibility reports to construct the dam have been completed and the project now needs the arrangement of funds to commence work on it.
Khan Faraz
Published in The Express Tribune, September 29th, 2016.
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