Poverty reduction: Kalabagh dam vital for country’s survival, says LCCI

Kalabagh dam not only beneficial to Punjab but it would also be helpful in reducing poverty from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa

LAHORE:

In a bid to press the case for an early construction of Kalabagh dam, the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has said the reservoir is necessary for the survival of Pakistan as it is linked to the eradication of poverty and hunger.

The delay in taking practical steps was already leading the country to a serious disaster in Tharparkar, it said.

In a statement issued on Saturday, LCCI President Ijaz A Mumtaz said “It is the silence of policymakers over the Kalabagh dam that is causing the country a loss of Rs132 billion annually.”

He said the Kalabagh dam was not only beneficial to Punjab but it would also be helpful in reducing poverty from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa as it would irrigate 800,000 acres of cultivable land, 100-150 feet above the Indus River level.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 21^st, 2014.

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