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LAHORE – Kalabagh Dam should not be ignored in the Federal Budget 2018-19 at any cost due to water scarcity in the country.

The businessmen said that opponents of Kalabagh Dam are not aware of the ground realities. How a mega water & power project can be injurious for an agrarian country, he questioned.

LCCI President Tahir Malik said that KBD is being sacrificed to the vested interests despite the fact that it is not just the name of a water reservoir, it is the name of a flood-savior, it is the name of an energy-producer and it is the name of drought-avoider.

He said that government should not bow-down to those who always remained paralyzed to the Indian water aggression and are protecting the interests of Pakistan’s enemies.

Malik Tahir Javaid said that Kalabagh Dam should have been built soon after the Indus Water Treaty because it was inevitable after losing the Rivers Ravi and Satluj to India but past governments ignored it completely.

He repeated that one million acre feet of water gives collective economic benefits of $ 2 billion. Kalabagh Dam will store 6 millions acre feet of water and will give benefit of $ 12 billion annually to the economy.

He said that Bhasha and other dams should also be built but these are not alternative to the dam as even after Basha and other dams, five districts of KPK including DI Khan, Tank, Banu, Lucky Murawat and Kurk would be facing water scarcity.

The LCCI president added that KBD will avoid tragedies like Tharparker while will also give 2.6 millions acre feet of water to the river Indus, additional water to Dera Murad Jamali, Sibbi and Dera Bugti of Balochistan and will also overcome the destruction caused by deadly floods every year.