Who is against Kalabagh Dam

Society Pakistan & World Affairs
1

Are the reasons attached to the opposition for kalabagh, also same for Bhasha or there is less opposition ?

Becasue as far as i know both dams are planned to be on indus.

No technical expert(be panjabi or sindhi), I heard said something negative about the kalabagh, and every govt was in favour of the dam regardless of region they belonged. Musharaf is not Punjabi either.

I think every sane pakistani knows that these dams are important for our survival. There may be some issues and they can be resolved by mutual understanding. But not building the dams is not a choice. Any further delay, I think will lead our country to starvation and droughts as existing dams have now lesser capacity than before.

2

Sir, all those who favour unity of Pakistan have rejected Kalabagh Dam. Only enemies of Pakistan bring up the demon of Kalabagh every now and then to divert the people’s attention from their looting. Kalabagh Dam can never be built in united Pakistan.

3

No technical expert(be panjabi or sindhi), I heard said something >>negative about the kalabagh, and every govt was in favour of the >>dam regardless of region they belonged.

can you provide the references there?

musharraf is not a punjabi?

he is not a punjabi, sindhi or balochi either.
what exaclty is the argument here?

4

Code all the smaller provinces are against KalaBagh Dam and despite the fact that Bhasha is also another mega project, not many people are agaisnt it. However, what i read was that not many people would be displaced from the area where Bhasha dam would be built. So I think the best option is to go ahead with Bhasha instead of Kalabagh that would only generate ill will towards the centre and Punjab.

I don't understand why we can't build smaller dams instead of pushing everytime for Kalabagh. It is proved that larger projects as this one are detrimental to the environment. Besides to this day a large number of people who were dispalced when Tarbela was built are still waiting for some sort of compensation which did not set a very good precedent. So, all these factors together with Sindh's and NWFP's (Nauhshera) concern can't be overlooked. Another good news is that the lending agencies such as ADB are taking into regard the human factor and have asked the government to provide for the people first and for this they even refused to release the tranche quite a few times for the further development.

5

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Minerva: *

I don't understand why we can't build smaller dams instead of pushing everytime for Kalabagh. It is proved that larger projects as this one are detrimental to the environment.

[/QUOTE]

For a single 60W light bulb per household, small dams are good. OTOH if you want large industrial manufaturing to florish, mega projects would be desriable.

Every dam is deterimental to the environment. Every road kills habitat for birds and plants. If Pak people want to live in Sub-Saharan living conditions, we would never need dams and super highways.

6

Dams have always caused opposition in ANY country. See the huge oppostion in India to the Sardar Sarovar dam as well as the Three Gorges Dam in China.

I don't see how Pakistan can afford NOT to build dams like the KBD. Much depends on the government skill in pushing it through without alienating too many people.

7

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Sadiqaan: *
Sir, all those who favour unity of Pakistan have rejected Kalabagh Dam.
[/QUOTE]

It pains me to see how people ignore the big picture and shout about things they really don’t understand. River water and dams are issues in Turkey, Bharat and many South American countries. Downstream areas will always be at a disadvantage because water flows in one direction for obvious reasons.

It was Bharat who put a stranglehold on Sindh water in the 50’s. Kala Bagh has been on the drawing board when Bharat stopped three major rivers flowing down to Sindh. In order to avoid yet another war in the subcontinent, the world bodies stepped in and funded Tarbela, Mangla, and Kalabagh plans.

Tarbela and Mangla were built right away but Kalabagh was delayed precisely to create broad acceptance in the country. Downstream areas are never happy with new dams. So it is understandable why Sindh will be opposed to it. Unfortunately we can't do much to address that concern. Bharat is already working on Bhagliar project. There will be more Bharati dams to come in the future.

We need cool heads to prevail in this situation. Threatening unity of Pakistan will not solve the problems. God forbid Pakistan goes away; Bharat and Afghanistan will continue planning and building upriver dams anyway. That's fact of life.

8

First thanks for responding guys :flower2:

But my initial question remained unanswered :

Ok leave kalabagh for now. Is ** bhasha dam ok to build ?**

Will bhasha not affect the the downflow of river indus to sindh ?

As far as i know bhasha has almost same capacity to store water as kalabagh. But it will take lot more time for start of construction. and its cost is lot more than kalabagh. As all the reasearch work is complete on the site and construction can start within in couple of months after go ahead at kalabagh.

For Bhasa, latest i heard, 150 km patch of korakoram highway needs to be widened and it needs atleast 1.5 to 2 years. Alongside the pre-construction work, feasibility reports and complition of analysis needs minimum two years.

Also anyone knows why people in sindh are against ** greater thar canal** ? Is it not supposed to be in interest of people of tharparkar ?

9

Some of you are missing the issue here. There has been no feasibility study done for Kalabagh, I don’t know what there situation is for Basha Dam. But in the present situation, Sindhis are not ready to say yes to any dam or mega project that will change the flow of the Indus because we have an acute water shortage that has displaced millions of Sindhis and killed hundreds. Sindhis are refugees in their own land.

The basic water treaties among the federating units of Pakistan are flawed and even that is not fully follow by the big province when it suits them. Islamabad is the representative of united Pakistan, which consists of the 4 federating units and the territories of Northern Areas and AJK. Islamabad is duty bound to respect the wishes of the majority of the provinces and 3 out of 4 provinces have categorically rejected Kalabagh Dam. These are the facts, more informed people can discuss the technical reasons for it. In any other country this would mean, that the center would also reject the Dam, but in this case Islamabad always agrees with Punjab. So, is Islamabad the capital of Punjab or Pakistan? Who has made Punjab the authority on water issues? Why is it that only Punjabi viewpoints are considered patriotic and every other viewpoint disregarded as treacherous?

Under the current situation of Punjab rule over all of Pakistan, there is no question of accepting any mega project from the government that affects the livelihood of millions of Sindhis. This is a matter of life and dead and from past experience we Sindhis cannot trust the central government to be fair to us. Until, there is equal say for the provinces and a true federation of autonomous states in Pakistan, as was envisioned in the Pakistan resolution, we simply cannot be forced to accept any plan.

10

Code for the timebeing you can read this article which does not only throw light on the technical aspect of the Thal Canal but also lists the criticisms/apprehensions that the province of Sindh had and still has agaisnt that Canal.

http://www.dawn.com/2002/03/25/ebr4.htm

I would try to find out the documentry that I have on the Indus water Delta and the MAngroves… its a touching piece indeed and whatever is said regarding the mangroves and the drying up of Indus Delta by the posters above, is indeed true.

However, as Antiobl said that dams have always been crticicized in all the coutries whether its South American or Asian region and lower riparian states such as Pakistan( as opposed to India which is an upper riparian state) and provinces like Sindh for that matter would always be at a loss whether its Kalabagh or Bhasha.What I feel is that the government should move ahead with the building of Bhasha dam. It would be built near Challas… is a larger reservoir, more expensive, would definitly generate more electricity and is not prone to the earthquakes and aboveall it isn’t as controversial as the Kalabagh that has been used as a political ploy by various ethnic parties and at times as a scapegoat by the government.
And as i said before lesser number of people would be displaced where Bhasha would be built as opposed to Kalabagh dam.

11

First, there was a confusion for me...

It is Greater thal canal, which is controvorsial and planned in punjab to irrigate the land with supposidley flood water.

There is another thar canal which is in sindh to irrigate areas of tharparker. It is a normal canal and no controvorsy is attached with it.

I mixed up the names.

Now The greater thal canal, although claimed to be flood water canal. but due to its size and magnitude, aprehensions of the people of sindh are understandable.

I think that the federal govt should build canal like these in sindh to irrigate the land there. And also make sure that punjab should not take more water than its share.

Now back to the issue of reservoirs...

Pakistani population is increasing at an alarming rate and in year 2025 estimated to be 280 million almost double from now. And so the need of more food water and power.

In last 30 years our dams have lost 5.9 m.a.f capacity because of continously filling of dams with earth. So dams are imminent.

And not building dams is not a choice here !

12

Dam or no dam, Sindh will be part of India very soon. :)

Joking aside, Dam is a good idea.

13

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Gupta: *
Dam or no dam, Sindh will be part of India very soon. :)

[/QUOTE]

With or without Sindhi farmers and land owners? ;)

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Gupta: *
Joking aside, Dam is a good idea.
[/QUOTE]

No joke Bud! Bharat should have done a better job in the 50s than simply stopping water to Sindh.

14

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by antiobl: *
With or without Sindhi farmers and land owners? ;)
[/QUOTE]

Sindhi landowners are the most avid supporters of India - 'know what I mean - guv' ;)

15

Code, this is confusing. I tried looking up but seems that at times Tahr and Thal are used interchangably. But there is one Rainee Thar Canal and I suppose its a smaller one. Hmm, greater Thal Canal and Greater Thal canal...wonder whether its the same...

16

I think this statement is factually wrong. There have been tonnes of feasibility studies done on Kalabagh dam with hundreds of millions of rupees spent on it. And this is done years ago. The construction did not start not for lack of feasibility studies, but because NWFP and Sindh oppose it for various reasons. Simple as that.

Here is a more recent news article with important excerpts reproduced below (for full article click on the link)
**Experts find Bhasha dam best choice **

Chairman of the parliamentary committee on water resources Senator Nisar Memon has said that a panel of foreign experts has declared the $6.7 billion Bhasha dam as the ‘best choice’ on technical grounds and human displacement rate but the $5.6billion Kalabagh dam could still be preferred for other reasons.

He said a Wapda team briefed the parliamentary committee on various aspects of Kalabagh, Bhasha, Akhori and Katzara Skardu dams, besides Thal and Kachhi canals. He said there were three dams before the committee for a decision, Kalabagh, Bhasha and Akhori. **The cost of Kalabagh dam is $5.65 billion, Bhasha $6.7 billion and Akhori $1.6 billion. **

Kalabagh dam would have a storage capacity of 6.1 million acre feet and a power generation capacity of 3,600mw, he said and added that its feasibility study and design were complete and technically it was considered feasible for construction.

The Bhasha dam would have a storage capacity of 7.3maf and power generation capacity of 4,500mw. Its feasibility study had been reviewed and declared as ‘best choice’ on technical grounds by a panel of experts from France, Germany and Norway, Mr Memon said and added that the panel was appointed by the government of Pakistan.

The construction of Kalabagh dam could be started by 2005, Bhasha dam by 2007 and Akhori by 2008. From the point of view of power supply arrangements, Kalabagh dam was ideally located, while Bhasha dam had some problems, he added.

Kalabagh dam would displace 120,000 people, Bhasha 24,000 and Akhori 49,300, he added.

Responding to a question, Mr Memon said so far no consensus had been achieved on the question of the construction of a dam because every province had its own point of opinion and position.

17

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by ghuLail: *

No technical expert(be panjabi or sindhi), I heard said something >>negative about the kalabagh, and every govt was in favour of the >>dam regardless of region they belonged.

can you provide the references there?

musharraf is not a punjabi?

he is not a punjabi, sindhi or balochi either.
what exaclty is the argument here?
[/QUOTE]

Sorry i could not answer you before as I was prety much pre-ocupied.

Study on the fesibiltity of 3 dams Tarbela, Mangla and kalabagh started simultaniously around 40 years ago. And after decades of study and analysis, local and foreign experts have declared kalabagh as feasable and practical projet. You can contact WAPDA and ask them for reports on the feasablility of project. they will provide you the detail.

Now constructing dams is important, not their location. I will be more happy if this was located in sindh or blochistan. I thinkmost people in punjab are indifferent to kalabagh and bhasha. Becasue dam is more important for Pakistan, not for any province.

We have to accept ground realites. We are primarily an agricultural country. And by co-incident an extremely poor one.

  1. We can not afford to waste fresh water
  2. We can not afford expensive electricity. Already tasted IPP's magic potion thanks to Benazir bhutto.
  3. We need to feed almost double poppulation in next 25 years

People in sindh, have very legitimate concerns over its construction. So they should be worked out in technical forums not political forums.

So if we dont make kalabagh fine, but what is the alternative ?
Bhasha is no alternative. it has to be built regardless of kalabagh.

Minerva Yes you are right. It is used quite interchangibly which is wrong. Thal is a desert in punjab and so the canal.

[thumb=H]gtcmap17058_9796671.JPG[/thumb]

Thar canal in tharparker is a non-issue here.

18

Faisal, you are right and I apologize for that. Like I said before, I am not an expert on this issue. However, I will let an expert speak on the issue. Mr. Ayaz Latif Palijo is a recognized voice on water issues.

http://www31.brinkster.com/induspak/KalaBagh.htm

Kalabagh Dam Political, Environmental & Humanitarian Disaster
Kalabagh Dam Political, Environmental & Humanitarian Disaster by : Ayaz Latif Palijo In spite of rejection of Kalabagh Dam Project by the environmental and irrigation experts and by the three out of four peoples and provinces (Sindh, NWFP, Balochistan) of Pakistan through their duly elected Provincial Assemblies, On June 11 1998 Prime Minister of Pakistan announced his government’s decision to construct Kalabagh dam. On the very next day Sindh and NWFP (Pakhtunkhwa) erupted in protest and thousands of people came to streets in different cities and towns raising slogans against this disastrous decision. Three complete general strikes have taken place, an Anti-Kalabagh Dam front(AKDF) has been formed and different political, social, religious and environmental organizations have started protest marches, hunger strikes and demonstrations. Political leaders Benazir Bhutto, Wali Khan, Rasool Bux Palijo, Ataulah Mengal, Ajmal Khatak, Mahmood Achakzai, Taj Mohamad Langah, Abdul Haee Baloch, Yousif Leghari, Nisar Khoro, Wishnoo Mal, and Afzal Khan and experts, writers and intellectuals Qamer Zaman Shah, Abdul Majid Kazi, A.G.N. Abbasi, Jamal Rind, Taj Haider, Omer Asghar Khan, Ibrahim Joyo, Aly Ercelawn, G.N.Mughal, Hasan Zaidi, Abdul Rasool Memon, Abid Shah, Shahnawaz Chandio, Munawer Leghari, Ibrar Qazi, Nadeem Jamali and Karamat Ali have termed the decision as grave threat against the interests of the three provinces and a deep rooted conspiracy to politically and economically destroy Sindh and NWFP.