Should Pakistan build Kalabagh dam to overcome electrical issues

[Hyde]

indeed we need big dams in our country to tackle with these issues for good but the first problem we always have is $$$. We can only solve these problems if we invest for example 40 billion dollars in coming decade. But what do we really have in our budget? almost nill............ now comes the foreign investment and they would invest at the most lucrative place for them and not by the will of the public

So lets think realistically........... Bhasha Dam first

 

[Icarus]

Dam are much needed and Pakistan should build them only keep in mind the disputed areas.

Moreover, large number of check dams are required immediately to stop the wastage of water flowing waste into the sea.

That statement is incorrect, flow of fresh water into the sea is very important for maintaining the correct level of salinity in deltas, without it, mangroves would die, shell fish/fish reproductive cycles will be disturbed and we would endanger a complete eco-system.

 

[Gin ka Pakistan]

Pakistan needs nuclear deal like India and no big dams but a lot of small ones.

 

[Hyde]

Pakistan needs nuclear deal like India and no big dams but a lot of small ones.

Sir Jee,

Do you think we need dams only to generate electricity? what about our agriculture sector? Will you be irrigating your land with Nuclear plants?

There are multiple benefits of dams i.e. electricity, water storage, safe drinking, irrigation, recreation, flood control etc

Like Quad-e-Azam said "Kashmir is our Jegular vein" and it is because the water is flowing from Kashmir next time when you say any such thing please do remember other benefits of having dams

(larger dams = cheaper electricity, more water storage etc)

 

[Gin ka Pakistan]

Sir Jee,

Do you think we need dams only to generate electricity? what about our agriculture sector? Will you be irrigating your land with Nuclear plants?

There are multiple benefits of dams i.e. electricity, water storage, safe drinking, irrigation, recreation, flood control etc

Like Quad-e-Azam said "Kashmir is our Jegular vein" and it is because the water is flowing from Kashmir next time when you say any such thing please do remember other benefits of having dams

Zaki , Small dams for water storage and a lot I said.

 

[Hyde]

Zaki , Small dams for water storage and a lot I said.

we need both small and large dams. Small dams cannot cultivate large area for irrigation and they are more expensive than comparing to bigger dams. If you build 20 small dams for say 5 billion dollars generating 1000MW of electricity and 100,000 acres of land it is possible with the same money one large dam will be irrigating 2 or 3 times more land + generating a lot more electricity and far cheaper than that.

We need both dams, small dams for short term solutions and big dams for long term

 

[Gin ka Pakistan]

Kalabagh dam will break Pakistan so its a dead issue.

 

[Justin Joseph]

That statement is incorrect, flow of fresh water into the sea is very important for maintaining the correct level of salinity in deltas, without it, mangroves would die, shell fish/fish reproductive cycles will be disturbed and we would endanger a complete eco-system.

sir,

Are u sure about ur statement????????

Also, for ur kind info about 35% of pakistani water goes waste into the sea as per your own minister.

 

[Icarus]

sir,

Are u sure about ur statement????????

Also, for ur kind info about 35% of pakistani water goes waste into the sea as per your own minister.

Yeah I am, as important as Dams are, it's also important to maintain a balance with nature.

 

[Hyde]

Kalabagh dam will break Pakistan so its a dead issue.

are we so damn disunited that only one dam project will break the whole countrty apart?

Naa i don't agree with that

 

[mikkix]

Kalabagh dam will break Pakistan so its a dead issue.

You are an educated person,,,
Can a dam break pakistan???
Stupid politicians doing their politics,,,
All dams should be made otherwise pakistan will be history...
I M from Karachi,,, Truly believed in it...

 

[Icarus]

I agree with Gin Ka Pakistan, Khyber -Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh have serious reservations over the building of Kalabagh Dam. Sindh says that the dam will furture decrease the amount of water available to it. Whereas KP says that building the dam will mean that Nowshera becomes submerged(not sure how).
So we can't go ahead with the dam, unless all provinces decided unanimously in it's favour.

 

[faisaljaffery]

Kalabagh dam should have been built 10 years ago, and now its the need of hour to build the big water reservoirs for storing the excess water accumulated during flood days.. India is building dams on all our major rivers including sindh, chenab and Jehlum.... if Pakistan didnt resorted to building water reservoirs it will be a disaster for Pakistan in coming 5 to 10 years where enough water will not be available to even cultivate the presently available land

 

[niaz]

Debate on Kalabagh has been going on for very long time and I have heard countless arguments for and against building it. I am giving my personal view point; this may or may not be based on sound judgment.

Argument against:

Sindh will become barren as Kalabagh dam will stop even more of Sindh water.

This argument is based on the fact that ever since Tarbela dam; water flow into the delta has been substantially reduced. All the sediment rich with fertile soil that used to be deposited into the delta and helped push back the sea each monsoon season, is no longer available. Thus soil of Badin and Thatta is slowly being turned into barren salty marshland. This would become worse with Kalabagh dam.

My view is that no doubt the above is the case to some extent but the main reason for this is that we have had light monsoons for a few years with no major flood downstream of Sukkur barrage. This is necessary to push the sea back. Kalbagh dam will make it worse only until its reservoir gets filled. Thereafter the situation will revert to normal. Dam or no dam, unless we get substantial rain fall during monsoon and resulting flood; forward march of the sea cannot be stemmed.

Argument against:

Large area of the Khyber Pukthoonkhwah province will become water logged due to the rise of sub soil water level.

This fear has some truth. However, this can be controlled by reducing height of the dam and by installing large number of tube wells such as Scarp schemes of the Ayub era. Electricity for these tube wells will be produced by the dam itself.

Benefits on the other hands are numerous. Dam will store water and release the same when badly needed. It will produce huge amount of cheap electricity. Increase in agricultural and industrial production will be enormous.

Nevertheless it is also true that most of the benefits will accrue to Punjab, a fact unpalatable to the other three provinces. Here lies crux of the matter and why assemblies of the three provinces voted against it.

Regret to say that we only have Politicians, who think of the next election but no Statesmen, who think of the next generation. Thus no one in the smaller provinces is willing to change his stance and let Kalabagh dam, something vital to the future of Pakistan, be built.

 

[apophenia]

sir,

Are u sure about ur statement????????

Also, for ur kind info about 35% of pakistani water goes waste into the sea as per your own minister.

First, there is no such thing as waste in natural ecological systems. Fresh water flows support the entire coastal ecology, and any further reduction will simply add to the enormous damage to the Indus delta imposed by previously constructed dams.