‘Dam construction to save Pakistan from Indian threat’

FCCI suggests separate bank accounts for Bhasha, Munda and Kalabagh dams

FAISALABAD: Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FCCI) President Shabbir Hussain Chawla has welcomed Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar’s decision to start immediate construction of two major dams in order to save Pakistan from Indian water aggression and ensure cheap electricity for future generations.

In a statement, Chawla said Pakistan was hit hard by prolonged load-shedding over the past many years and as a result its gross domestic product (GDP) growth went down 2% annually.

On the other hand, costly electricity also had a negative impact on national exports.

Chawla appreciated the chief justice’s vision who took a timely decision to construct Diamer-Bhasha and Mohmand dams. The chief justice has himself donated Rs1 million for building the dams.

“It is also encouraging to see other sectors contributing to the construction of the dams voluntarily,” he said, adding various banks had also opened special accounts to receive donations, which would be directly supervised by the court.



The FCCI president insisted that separate bank accounts should also be opened for Bhasha, Munda and Kalabagh dams, so that people could donate for the project of their choice and preference.

“It will also serve as an independent referendum as to which dam is most preferred by the people,” he added.

Chawla said the dams would not only generate cheap electricity, but would also provide millions of acre feet of water to bring barren land under plantations in all provinces.



He said the Kalabagh dam would also tackle the threat of floods, which were damaging infrastructure in addition to displacement of rural populace every year.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 11^th, 2018.

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