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What is at
stake?
By Hashim Abro
The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), a populist
party of its own style, is, indeed, mandated to make the Federation
stronger and vibrant, Hence, without any hum and haw, one of its candid
federal ministers, Raja Pervez Ashraf federal minister for water and
power, last week categorically announced to shelve the contentious
Kalabagh dam once and for all. This decision has been overwhelmingly
welcomed by various segments of the society including staunch supporters
of the strong federation, environmental activists, social justice and
peace proponents, intellectuals and writers. At the same time, a slight
voice of dissent to this decision also echoes in certain quarters in
particular, in the provincial capital of the Punjab, Lahore.
Of course, much more has been debated and discussed,
about this proposed monstrous project KBD-but even then there is one
question which crops up in different study and intellectual circles it is:
what is at stake. Yes according to the international water distribution
law, the tail ender has a legal and natural right on river and that is why
no mega construction or reservoir can be built without permission and
endorsement of the tail ender i.e. Sindh. So the question is: what are
Sindh's objections? It goes like this:
First: Sindh objects that their share of the Indus
water would be curtailed as water from the Kalabagh would go to irrigate
the farmlands in the Punjab and the NWFP, at their cost. Sindhis hold that
their rights as the lower riparian have precedence according to
international water distribution law.
Second: The coastal regions of Sindh require a
constant flow of water down the Indus into the Arabian Sea so that the
flowing water can keep the seawater from intruding inland. Such seawater
intrusion would literally turn vast areas of Sindh's coast into an arid
saline desert, and destroy Sindh's coastal mangroves.
Third: With the construction of dams, such as Mangla
dam and Tarbela dam across the Indus, Sindhis have seen the once-mighty
Indus turned into a shadow of its former glory downstream of the Kotri
barrage up to Hyderabad. They fear that there simply is not enough water
for another large dam across the Indus, let alone three.
Fourth: The Kalabagh site is located in a highly
seismic zone near an active fault, and the underlying rocks are likely to
contain numerous fractures, causing the reservoir water to seep through
the catacomb of fractures and discharge at the lowest point around the
reservoir and the Indus river.
Damming the Indus has already caused a number of
environmental problems that are not yet addressed. Silt deposited in the
proposed Kalabagh dam would further curtail the water storage capacity of
Manchar lake and other lakes and of wetlands like Haleji lake.
In this context, President Pervez Musharraf and his banker made
(former) Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz promised 'iron-clad' constitutional
guarantees to ensure that Sindh gets its fair share of water. However,
these assurances mean little to the Sindhi nation, who claim that even the
earlier 1991 Indus water-sharing accord, which is a document already
guaranteed by the constitutional body, the Council of Common Interests,
has been flagrantly violated, and that Punjab has "stolen" their
water. The objection to the
Kalabagh in Sindh is widespread. The entire Sindh is with one voice
opposed to the construction of this dam. Even political parties of Sindh
that supported by President Pervez Musharraf, such as the MQM, have
strongly denounced the dam. Now another question is: What is Pukhtoonkhwaís
objections? While the reservoir will be in the NWFP, the dam's
electricity-generating turbines will be just across the provincial border
in Punjab. Therefore, Punjab would get royalties from the central
government in Islamabad for generating electricity. Contrary to this,
however, Punjab has agreed not to accept any royalties from the Kalabagh
dam.
The fact that the NWFP will suffer the adverse
consequences of the reservoir but not get royalties is seen as unfair.
Concerns that large areas of Nowshera District would be submerged by the
dam and even wider areas would suffer from water logging and salinity as
have occurred with the Tarbela dam. As the water will be stored in
Kalabagh dam as proposed, that will give water level rise to the city that
is about 200 km away from the proposed location. This is very much
possible but it can be easily controlled by giving and creating water
streams and using tube well systems.
Rationally speaking let me conclude by borrowing an image from one
of my favourite authors, Bam Stoker.
The KBD is like his immoral character Dracula. Every
time you think you have killed him, he resurrects. Same is going to be
with this nation divisive project of the KDB, which is apparent from the
recent volley of statements given by the PML(Q) leaders, Even if the
future of the Federation is at stake because what they need it is water of
the Indus River to irrigate their lands, had power generation been their
top most concern, they would have asked even for other ways and means to
obtain it and for this Tharp Coal is the best and viable option and not
the inhabitants of the Indus, whether they die. Otherwise, any project how
much beneficial it may become for the nation but when it is clouded with
deep controversy and mistrust then should be terminated once and for all
as done by the prudent and foresighted leadership of the PPP. Indeed,
nothing is higher than Pakistan; hence, the decision of the coalition
government deserves handsome praise.
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