For a while now several renowned individuals in the department of Pakistani politics and media have pledged sums to assist Prime Minister Imran Khan in building the Diamer Bhasha and Mohmand dams. A whopping sum of Rs. 1450 Billion rupees is needed to put the motion in action and so far Rs. 2 billion has been raised. In order to intensify the speed at which the funds are being collected, various Pakistanis have taken to Twitter and started trends such as #DonateforDams #DamFunds and the likes. Khan has also asked Pakistani’s living abroad to make donations of worth at least a thousand dollars. Several Khan and PTI opponents have critiqued this approach and claimed that this is not how administrative decisions are made. People have suggested that the PM sell his place of residence to meet the funds while others have recommended that PTI already has the sum in possession and should have the heart to utilize it in the favor of the country. On another extreme, several people have even expressed their confusion regarding why dams are even needed in the first place.
Here’s Why Dams are Needed:
For all those who don’t think Pakistan needs dams, according to research it has been declared that in less than 30 years water in Pakistan will be a very scarce resource. In laymen terms, it means that the country is headed to becoming a drought hit region if things continue this way. Pakistan will run out of clean water for drinking, bathing, agriculture, and other activities; therefore impacting the economy in a detrimental way. In order to counter this, dams need to be built. Imran Khan has claimed to have sufficient funds in 5 years given the rate at which money is being collected. In order to make it easy for the population to donate to this cause conveniently, several platforms have jumped on board. Here are some of the ways: 1. Payment through ATM’s to transfer money to the fund account.
2. Sending a message to 0800 and donating as little at 10 rupees.
3. Paying cash to banking agents.
4. Sending money through embassies.
5. Making deposits to Pakistani banks.
6. Pay the State Bank of Pakistan through cards. Even though PM Khan has been extolled for taking into consideration a predicament overlooked for years. However, the manner in which is being put to execution is facing a backlash. People have critiqued that the pace of funds collection will take more than 5 years which might lead to a downfall in the impetus currently created by the Prime Minister.
Several experts have also criticized the PM for his lack of research over the matter. Water resource experts have claimed that Pakistan has sufficient and therefore, the country does not need a dam. Abbas claimed that Pakistan requires a plan to preserve the water that comes in the form of monsoon rains.
The water being received is being wasted by the agriculture division, some water is being polluted by industrial carelessness and lastly, water is being mismanaged. Abbas believes that building a dam does not hint towards an end to the said problems and therefore the vision of the PTI team needs to be altered. Keeping the predicament in mind, the solution provided by water experts is to develop systems that serve the same purpose as dams. They believe: 1. Dam equivalents to be set up on each canal.
2. Introduce contemporary irrigation methods to local farmers.
3. Develop a navigation channel between areas and the Arabian sea thus developing employment as well.
4. Reduce water wastage. Experts believe doing the above is more feasible and sustainable. It can also be implemented without delay.