Urrgghhhhhhhhh. Think outside of the box.
Mega-Projects to Add 5.2 MAF Water to System
ISLAMABAD: President General Musharraf on Saturday said a massive programme of developing water resources undertaken over the past two years would add 5.2 million acre feet of water in the existing capacity and help in alleviating poverty and boosting the agro-based economy of Pakistan.
“I am fully convinced that in addressing poverty, unemployment and simultaneously to give boost to our agro-based economy, we have to take water to the people where they need it most,” he said while inaugurating the three-day international conference on water management here.
The second South Asia Water Forum was being organised by the Global Water Partnership – an inter-governmental organisation in collaboration with the Water and Power Ministry. The moot is being attended by some 400 delegates from home and abroad, representing 40 countries.
Appreciating the strong linkages between water, food, poverty, health, environment and literacy, the president said he made concerted efforts to develop water resources of Pakistan. He said his government’s main thrust was to alleviate poverty mainly exists in the rural areas and revive the sagging economy. The president said the answer to both these problems involved boosting country’s agro-based economy. Therefore, the government, he said, analysed that water resource management was the key to achieve these two objectives.
The county in the last four years has experienced one of the worst drought, which destroyed the irrigation land and forced people to migrate in search of food and shelter, he said. Therefore, the president said, the government over the past one and a half-year launched a massive programme of developing reservoirs to increase the capacity of water.
Chutiaryun Dam in Sindh has been completed and work on Gomal Zam and Mirani Dams in Balochistan and NWFP and the level-raising project of Managla Dam was underway.
In all, he said, up to 5.2 million acre feet of water would be added to the country’s existing water capacity. “Mangla Dam has a capacity of roughly 5 million acre feet of water so in all we are going to add one major dam capacity of water in 4-6 years,” he added.
At the same time, the president said, it was equally essential to take that water to the people whose millions of acre of land remained barren due to want of water. The government, therefore, undertook the construction of canal system and water channel simultaneously, the president said.
He said the Kachi Canal, being constructed, in Balochistan is 500 kms long and would irrigate about 283,400 hectares of land and would generate Rs 30 billion from sowing of cotton alone. “The one canal would provide permanent settlement of thousands of families of nomadic tribes migrating in search of water, food and fodder since centuries. So through the water development programme we killed two birds with one stone, poverty alleviation and reviving economy,” he added.
The president said the third aspect of the programme was power generation. Currently, he said: “About 70 per cent of total power generation in Pakistan was through oil, which has added a burden of over one billion dollars to our imports. Pakistan can generate power through water and coal, which are in abundance and are cheaper mode of production. Our aim is to change the ratio of power generation 70:30 in favour of hydro-electricity.”
President Musharraf said the construction of dams and water reservoirs could also be the best way of controlling floods. “If we construct proper dams on rivers there can be no floods in Pakistan,” he said. Moreover, the president said, it is also essential to ensure that water from rivers flow into sea to prevent any back-flow. In this respect, he gave the example of Kotri Barrage where back-flow of seawater destroyed the irrigation land. The president expressed the hope that the future governments would also lay due emphasis on the need of increasing capacity of water in the country. He said he is pleased to note that “Ground Water Management” has been selected as main theme of technical discussion for the second forum.
During the last three years of persistent drought the ground water, he said, has played a vital role in guaranteeing country’s food security and self-sufficiency in addition to meeting the demands of other sectors as well. About the issue of water in the region, the president said South Asia today stands as one of the poorest regions in the world, in spite of its enormous potential. “The inadequate management of our water resources is one of the prime causes of our poverty. The prospects for development seem to be limitless, but we are continuously losing our per capita water availability,” he said.
It is a geographical fact that water unites many countries of the world in general and South Asia in particular, he said. In this respect, he referred to Pakistan and China 
linked by rivers and mountains. However, he said, it has also been a source of conflict between countries and regions. He said it has been a cause of difference of opinion between Pakistan and India over river water, which was resolved through the Indus water treaty. “But it still remains a contentious issue when talking of dams, building of water reservoirs on rivers,” he added.
The president said issue of water distribution and water management was extremely complex, even within the country. He said water distribution and allocation among the provinces remains a contentious issue. Moreover, within the province the distribution of water among the influentials and the powerless was also a contentious problem, he said. President Musharraf said the government in the past three years had been involved in addressing these issues.
The president said he was impressed by the water vision of GWP and “Framework For Action” which it has conceived and developed together. He hoped that with a cooperative strategy, water can play a vital role as a catalyst for harmony among countries of South Asia. He praised other objectives of the Forum, including stabilisation of population in South Asia, food security, affordable water supply and sanitation, protection of water from contamination etc. The president also announced a donation of Rs 10 million to Pakistan Water Partnership for effectively assisting “Area Water Partnership” in implementing Integrated Water Resource Management at the grassroots level. Minister for Water and Power Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao and the GWP chairperson also spoke on the occasion.
linked by rivers and mountains. However, he said, it has also been a source of conflict between countries and regions. He said it has been a cause of difference of opinion between Pakistan and India over river water, which was resolved through the Indus water treaty. “But it still remains a contentious issue when talking of dams, building of water reservoirs on rivers,” he added.