Mohmand Dam

It is never too late. After much delay, the causes of which are well known, Prime Minister Imran Khan performed the groundbreaking ceremony of the Mohmand Dam in Mohmand district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa on May 2. Former Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, who was chiefly instrumental in raising public awareness about the need for new dams, was also present on the occasion. The dam is being built on the Swat River and will be completed by 2024 at a cost of more than Rs184 billion with a storage capacity of over two million acre-feet. Upon completion the water body is expected to generate 800 megawatts of electricity. It will also bring 17,000 acres of barren land under cultivation. The dam will primarily help overcome water shortage and also protect Peshawar, Charsadda and Nowshera districts from floods.

Since the dam is expected to be completed by 2024, it should fill us with joy as experts have been warning that the country might go dry by the year 2025. PM Imran Khan and his government deserve all praise for getting one of the much-needed projects going. Given the benefits that the dam will bring in, one wonders why some quarters were or are opposing the construction of new dams. Our country is water deficient. This no one can deny. This is also well known that much of the rain that the country receives flows into the sea in the absence of a sufficient storage capacity. So only those with perverted thinking could or can oppose building of dams. One significant point is that once a thing gets going other things of the same kind follow one after the other in quick succession. Now we should be optimistic about overcoming water shortage. In our region, there are cities which face the prospect of evacuation due to growing water shortage. 

Published in The Express Tribune, May 3^rd, 2019.

Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.