Referendum on KBD

This refers to the letter, ‘Kalabagh referendum’ (July 25) by Syed Hussein El-Edroos. Three out of four provincial assemblies have already passed almost 10 resolutions against the controversial dam. Any referendum would be no doubt an insult to the three provincial assemblies that represent the will of the people.
Technically, irrigation dams like the Kalabagh are not designed to store floodwater, except a meagre quantity. This was stated by former Irsa chairman Engr Fateh Ullah Khan Gandapur (1993-1997) in his reply to former prime minister Yusuf Raza Gilani who, after the devastating floods of 2010, made such a claim. Earlier, Gen (r) Pervez Musharraf made similar claims. Devastating floods would not have come in Australia, USA, China, Russia, European counties, Sri Lanka, Kenya, etc, every year, had irrigation dams been capable of storing floodwater. It is not clear why no progress has so far been made on the Diamer-Bhasha Dam on which work was to be started in 2011-12. It is not a controversial dam and has more capacity to store water and generate electricity than the Kalabagh Dam. The pro-Kalabagh Dam lobby is advised to support the construction of the Diamer-Bhasha Dam instead.
Mohammad Khan Sial
Karachi