PESHAWAR - Civil society activists expressed concerns over the recently signed accord between Capital Development Authority, Islamabad, and a Chinese firm for supply of water to twin cities from Ghazi Barotha.
They alleged that the project was aimed to take the control of water reservoirs of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Addressing a news conference here at press club on Friday, Chairman, Watan Welfare Society, Dr Said Alam Mehsood said that recently an agreement was signed by the CDA authorities with a firm Chinese firm Chinese Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC), for supply of 200 million gallons water daily from Ghazi Bharota to twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. He added that rulers and bureaucracy at federal level were aimed to take control of water reservoirs of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as construction of Kalabagh dam, Akori Dam, and supply of water to Punjab, was glaring examples in this regard.
Flanked by the society secretary, Dr Mushtaq, legal advisors, Fazl Elahi Advocate, Dr Ikramullah Khalil, and others, Mr Mehsood alleged that the project was designed in the former Musharaf-led regime without the consent of Indus River System Authority (IRSA) by officials of CDA, and RDA with help of bureaucrats. He further informed that the provincial legislative assembly had also adopted a resolution in 2007, against the supply of water from Indus River to twin cities.
Similarly, he said former chief minister, Akram Khan Durrani had also opposed the supply of water from Tarbela and Ghazi Bharato while a letter was sent to federal authority to stop the stated plan in December, 2007.
 He viewed that a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between CDA and Chinese firm for supply of water was actual execution phase of the project, which earlier opposed by the provincial government.
According to his research, he informed that around 3,65,000 cusecs water supply from Ghazi Bharato under the first phase of the project would be provided while the second phase would be initiated after the national census in 2015. Mr Mehsood said that the association would take every possible step to stop such project without consensus and will hold comprehensive briefing of rulers and federal bureaucracy’s plan regarding the control of water resources of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Friday, February 22.
The members of the civil society expressed fear that this project would prove a very detrimental for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and asked the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to take-up the issue with the federal authorities and stop developmental work on the project.