PHOTO: EXPRESS
LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain has said Bhasha Dam was inaugurated in 2006; before its inclusion in the election manifesto, the former ruling party should explain to the nation why the project was blocked for 10 years.
Speaking to media on Sunday, he said that water scarcity had become an issue of national security for Pakistan.
He underlined that the Chief Justice of Pakistan’s (CJP) order for the immediate construction of Bhasha Dam is of historical significance. Hopefully, the new government will implement this order, he expressed.
He highlighted that Bhasha Dam was inaugurated in 2006 during the PML government which has been proven during recent court proceedings. However, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) governments halted development on the project.
Hussain said that it is very unfortunate that the apex court has to do the politician’s job, while the politicians claim to be the champions of democracy.
He added that during Chaudhry Parvez Elahi’s tenure in Punjab, the government paid the utmost attention towards constructing dams. Around 45 small dams were constructed at an approximate cost of Rs11 billion, due to which more than 15,000 acres of barren land in Jhelum, Chakwal, Attock and Rawalpindi became cultivatable, he informed.
In addition to this, repairs and extensions at Taunsa Barrage and Thal Canal were made at an estimated cost of Rs75 billion, while a 850-kilometer concrete water course to ensure the provision of water at the tail end in South Punjab, was also completed, he maintained.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 9th, 2018.
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