Body on dams meets on 10th

Staff Report

ISLAMABAD: The technical committee on dams will meet on August 10 to discuss the data prepared by the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA), Planning Commission and technical advisors on the availability of water. The body, headed by AGN Abbasi, will meet for the second time within six months.

Earlier, the committee met in February but failed to make recommendations on the exact availability of water. The committee is expected to finalise its interim report in this meeting, since it is under government pressure.

The parliamentary committee on water issues, headed by Senator Nisar Memon, has prepared its interim report on the dam, which would soon be submitted to the president. An official told Daily Times that the parliamentary committee had prepared its interim report in the light of the recommendations of WAPDA which placed Kalabagh Dam on priority.

The official said that if this interim report got the president’s approval, the work would be initiated on Kalabagh Dam this year. President Pervez Musharraf had announced in June 2003 that the government would start construction either Kalabgha Dam or Basha Dam by June 2004. He formed two committees to analyse the situation – a technical committee on water issues headed by ANG Abbasi and a parliamentary committee headed by Nisar Memon.

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