KHI 15-03-2012_Layout 1 3/15/2012 2:06 AM Page 4
04 News
Thursday, 15 March, 2012
Pakistan needs 22MAF of water to counter Indian aggression g
Former IrSA chief asks president, prime minister to wake up from slumber ISLAMABAD AmeR SiAl
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A K I S T A N needs to develop 22 million acre feet (MAF) of water storage on war footing as India has cunningly acquired the ability to store 38MAF of live storage on three western rivers allocated to Pakistan, equaling the full requirement of the country’s Rabi crop. A letter addressed to the president and prime minister, written by former chairman of Indus River System Authority (IRSA) Engineer Fateh Ullah Khan, has warned that Pakistan was in deep crisis due to shortage of irrigation water and hydropower for lack of multipurpose dams that also controlled floods and silting of reservoirs. “Floods like 2010 can ravage again and again during the climate change any time and many time. India has prepared itself for water war in silence. As a result
Rabi water supplies would completely cutoff, and famine would appear, people would die of hunger. Please wake up from slumber even now though late,” it said. A copy of the letter available with Pakistan Today stresses immediate action to develop new reservoirs as India has built 32 dams and has acquired ability to stop 38MAF of Rabi water requirements. It was revealed by Senator John Kerry before US Congress. India was also planning 12 dams on Kabul River to dry Pakistan’s Rabi supplies. The letter said the government had not reacted against the Indian aggression of silently using water as weapon of mass destruction. He proposed building unique 35MAF multipurpose Katzarah Dam in Skardu to store 6 times the storage of Bhasha Dam. It will help generate 10,000MW of hydropower, control super floods in Indus River and work as watershed
management dam to prevent silt in the Indus water. It will also increase life of Basha from 85 years to 800 years. A study conducted by World Bank showed Skardu valley was the source of silt. If Katzarah dam is built, it will help irrigate about three to four million acres of the Kachi plain in Balochistan from Chashma Barrage. Another water storage project Khan proposed was the 8.5MAF multipurpose Guroh Dop Dam on Punjkora River to store 3MAF of its runoff. It will help divert 4MAF of floodwater in Guroh Dop Reservoir from Chitral River through a 22km tunnel by building Mikhani Dam and power generation of 1,400MW. This will control floods in Kabul River. In a unique substitute for Kalabagh Dam, he proposes building 100 feet low dam cum 60 feet barrage over it. The site is three miles upstream of KBD into the Indus valley. This will
help store 3.4MAF of water repeatedly to be filled as the flow at this site is 93MAF. The aggregate storage could be between six to 9MAF. The project would serve as balancing reservoir to produce more power at Tarbela and store released water at the dam-cum-barrage reservoir. It will produce 2,000 to 6,000MW of hydropower on run-of-river with power houses located on both the river banks. The royalty would be shared between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab. The project will have indefinite life span and requires no land acquisition, no land compensation and no population displacement. Stressing upon IRSA to inform the government about the chronic issues of water shortage, flood havoc, and rapid silting of reservoirs, all relating to water in view of the Water Accord. He says Water and Power Development Authority’s (WAPDA) policy of insistence on “Kalabagh Dam
or no dam” for last 37 years has resulted in devastating floods of 2010 and crippling load shedding that has destroyed the national economy. Kalabagh Dam and Akhori Dam are bad examples as these were rejected by their project consultants. He points out that Bunji and Dassu were power dams on the Indus and there is no dam site on Kabul, Jehlum and Chenab Rivers in Pakistan. “How would the country face this critical situation? It’s a matter of great concern and the president and prime minister need to be informed of the critical situation,” Khan said. To mitigate Indian aggression, he proposes carrying out Integrated Comprehensive Water Management of the 165 years old canal irrigation system that wastes about 50MAF of water, which was incompatible with crop water requirements and was obsolete. The canal system’s modernization will help in saving
water. He also proposes controlling salinity in the Indus basin and reclaiming lands by building surface and subsurface tile drainage to evacuate injurious salts out of the area and maintain salt and water balance. “Pakistan is dangerously exposed to future devastating floods any times and many times like of 2010 and crippling load shedding for no dams built for the last 47 years after Tarbela. The existing reservoirs have rapidly silted by 6.5 MAF due to silting for lack of watershed management, and due to wrong planning of storage dams ignoring their capacity inflow ratio for long life. Saline lands have been wrongly handled by ill-conceived Salinity Control and Reclamation Projects (SCARPs) and National Drainage Programme (NDP), both failed and abandoned. Irrigation system is without drainage, and there is no means to evacuate injurious salts,” the letter states.
Multiple sources available Continued fRoM page 1 decision to rewrite terms of engagement with the US, NATO and ISAF would expand cooperation with global players. She said, “We hope that the world will respect the new terms of engagement. She said that Pakistan wanted to assist the US led foreign troops deployed in Afghanistan with a smooth exit from the war-ravaged neighboring state.” She said Pakistan and western countries had convergence of views on Afghan problem but the area of difference was the tools being used to achieve the ending goal. Foreign Minister Khar also condemned the killing of 16 Afghan civilians including children by a US solider in Afghanistan. She said, “We condemn this act in the strongest possible terms and we want that the person responsible for this must be brought to justice.” Speaking on the occasion, the Swedish foreign minister, whose country is also part of the ISAF forces, also expressed his regrets over the incident of killing of Afghan citizens. He said, “We hope this will not affect the overall policy in Afghanistan.” In her opening statement, Foreign Minister Khar said Pakistan and Sweden had decided to double the existing volume of bilateral trade from $450 million to $900 million by 2014. The Swedish foreign minister said his country endorsed Pakistan’s position that trade, not aid, was the solution to the problem.
Kayani takes exception Continued fRoM page 1 “The Sui cantonment has already been converted into a military college. Similarly, a medical college has been set up in Quetta and it has become operational,” he said, accepting that the only role the army had played was to resolve the disputes between the tribes as it was hampering development work in the province. About the missing persons, the COAS referred to a report already submitted with the Supreme Court and said there were only 47 missing persons in Pakistan as compared to 350 in India and 11,000 in Sri Lanka. However, he refrained from going into details, saying the matter was sub-judice. He said parliament was supreme and the issue of NATO supplies and relations with the United States would be in accordance with the decision of parliament which would meet on March 19. He said he had asked the US military officials not to visit Pakistan before the joint session of parliament which would draw fresh guidelines for relations with the United States and Pakistan’s role in the war on terror. Gen Kayani, however, confirmed that US CENTCOM commander General James Mattis would visit Pakistan by the end of March after the joint session of parliament framed new rules of engagement with Washington after the Salala incident.
SC chides spy Continued fRoM page 1
KABul: uS Secretary of Defense leon panetta leaves after visiting troops from the 31st BN light infantry of the georgian Army on Wednesday. afp
First it was PM, now men in uniform will appear in SC: CJP ISLAMABAD iNp
Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on Wednesday said the democratic system was thriving in the country and no one could think of any adventurism. He said the elected chief executive of the country appeared twice before the Supreme Court and now it was the turn of the men in uniform. Addressing an oath taking ceremony of various bar associations of Rawalpindi division, he said passage of the 19th and 20th amendments was made possible due to directions of the Supreme Court. “The amendments are adopted by an elected parliament and not by the one which had taken oath under the PCO,” he added.
US soldier behind civilian killings flown out of Afghanistan WASHINgtON: The US staff sergeant who killed over a dozen Afghan villagers this week has been flown out of Afghanistan, the Pentagon said on Wednesday. The commander of US and Afghan forces in Afghanistan, General John Allen, made the decision to fly the soldier, whose name has not been released, out of Afghanistan based on a legal recommendation, a US official said. ReuteRS
Hoti allots 100 percent oil, gas royalty to Karak KARAK: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti on Wednesday enhanced 100 percent oil and gas royalty to the district, approved 17 kilometers shingle road to Kurd Sharif coalmines with Rs 280 million, Rs 250 million for acquisition of 100 kanals for construction of Karak University and establishment of
The bench questioned the attorney general about the unavailability of the enquiry commission’s report on Mehran Bank. The attorney general replied that the interior secretary was out of country and he would apprise the bench about the status of reports after contacting him. The Supreme Court then adjourned the hearing until March 30. On March 9, Durrani testified before the apex court that he had received instructions from the then chief of army staff Mirza Aslam Beg to make arrangements for disbursement of Rs 140 million among certain candidates to influence the 1990 general elections.
Banda Daud Shah and Latember Girls Degree College. He was addressing a big public gathering at Karak Township. The CM conceded that the people of Karak have the foremost right over natural resources explored on the soil of Karak and announced an increase of 10 percent in the oil and gas royalty to Karak instead of 5 percent. He informed that next year Karak would get Rs 1.20 billion as oil and gas royalty and said that the provincial government was going to establish its own oil and gas company with the name of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Oil and Gas Company Limited to explore oil and gas in the province to increase the income of the province. Hoti claimed that the provincial government had gotten Rs 1.10 billion in net hydel profit from the federal government and resolved that extra resources would be utilised on the welfare of the masses. The CM said that provincial government would launch electricity producing projects in the province with income of the net hydel amount and added that a project of 2000MWs would be inaugurated in April in Madain, Swat. He added that with producing electricity on one side the people would get rid of the curse of load shedding and on the other side the province would get income. Hoti informed that Bacha Khan Poverty Alleviation was functioning in six union councils of Karak and hinted that from the next budget it would be extended to the entire district to resolve drinking water and other problems of the masses on their doorsteps. StAff RepoRt