No plan to build new reservoirs

LAHORE - Acute water shortage is going to hit the country in forthcoming days while the Water and Power Development Authority is yet to chart out any plan to construct water reservoirs to cope with the alarming situation till 2012.
The authority also admits that if dams are not constructed Pakistan will be water-short.
The Water and Power Development Authority in a briefing to a delegation on Friday stressed the need for building new dams to cope with the increasing demand of water, and warned that otherwise Pakistan will be a water-short country by the year 2012.
According to a press release, the delegation was informed that WAPDA was constructing five dams under vision 2025. This is unfortunate for the water-scarce country and the loadshedding-hit nation that government high-ups on one hand warn the government of water scarcity by 2012 but on the other hand suggest no remedy by that period rather console the nation by announcing plans which will complete not before 2025, experts lamented.
Experts argues that if the country will be water-short by 2012 than water reservoirs within that period must be arranged if leadership is sincere with the country.
They revealed that at present no water reservoir is under plan, which could be completed by the end of 2012. They added that though a number of dams are being planned to be constructed but they are still limited to only documents and feasibility reports.
Experts are of the view that lack of sincerity is the main concern and at present we are in dire need of sincere leadership. Second thing is that usually loadshedding is considered the biggest problem of our country but the water scarcity is the major issue, they added.
India is working on a number of water storage projects and it was because of our failure to build dams that India was doing so, they maintained. They said that in view of sedimentation of existing major water reservoirs of the country including Tarbela and Mangla dams and Chashma Barrage construction of big dams must be started without any further loss of time.
Meanwhile, the press release said that at least 20 million acres of land is not being cultivated presently due to unavailability of water and if water is made available by constructing reservoirs in the country this additional land could be developed for agricultural purpose.
It further stated that the delegation was informed that WAPDA was constructing five dams, three mega canals, five hydropower and two drainage projects under vision 2025
This was told in a briefing to the delegation of 90th Management Course of National Management College Lahore during their visit to WAPDA House.
The delegation was apprised that 28 per cent online storage capacity had been lost due to sedimentation in the water reservoirs. There is an urgent need for building new dams to cope with the increasing demand of water, otherwise, Pakistan will be a water-short country by the year 2012, it was told.
The delegation was informed that WAPDA was constructing five dams, three mega canals, five hydropower and two drainage projects under vision 2025.
In addition, feasibility studies and detailed engineering designs of various mega hydropower projects with an accumulative generation capacity of about 25,000 MW, are at advanced stage of completion.
Briefing about the measures for mitigating electric power shortage in the country, the delegation was told that more than 3,000 MW of electricity would be added to the system by the end of the year 2009. Demand-supply shortfall, accumulated circular debt, high system losses, poor recoveries and uncertainty of oil prices are the major issues of the power sector, it was added.
Later WAPDA Member (Power) Fazal Ahmed Khan and delegation head Rahat-ul-Ain exchanged the souvenirs as memento of the visit.