Below is an article by Balochistan Affairs

LONDON: The World Sindhi Congress (WSC) has strongly condemned the Pakistani Government’s decision to build a Diamer-Bhasha Dam on the Indus River. WSC believes that Sindh and indigenous people of Sindh are already suffering from the shortage of agriculture water and required discharge into the Arabian Sea to block the seawater intrusion into the mainland. Subsequently, building any new dam will make things worse, the WSC statement read.

According to the WSC, the construction of mega-dams completely changes the relationship between water, land, and indigenous people by destroying the existing ecosystem balance, which developed throughout thousands of years. Today’s world is moving away from mega-dams because of the enormous cost and significant damage to the environment and the people.

WSC urged the Pakistani administration to scrap any mega-dams from plans and instead focus thoroughly on modern water management and electricity generation from solar, nuclear, and other renewable energy sources. According to reports, “The Diamer-Bhasha dam is expected to cost $14 billion with 6 MAF of live storage.” and it will take 30-years to payback. Whereas, new technologies which do not require billions of dollar investment and payback begins on the first day of the project.

WSC urges the international community to raise their voices powerfully and reject any mega-dam construction on the Indus River. We also call the Sindh assembly to pass a resolution regarding dismissing the Diamer-Bhasha dam, which will deprive the water of Sindh and its indigenous people, added WSC.

Photo: Balochistan Affairs