Chief Minister Punjab has announced setting up of two coal powered power plants in Sahiwal, with Federal Minister of Railways attending. Simply saying that coal would be transported by rail road from Karachi to Sahiwal is not enough. The dilapidated railway system, which recently faced a disastor speaks clearly of the status of our railways. Will it be able to daily transport thousands of tons of coal, with its existing rolling stock? What would be the cost of coal, its degassification, its transportation etc. has not been told to public. Would it be affordable energy against ignored hydel power, where water flows on ground, costing us nothing, while if stored gives us double benefit in water and cheap power.
The criminal neglect in the case of KBD would not be forgiven by Allah Almighty where a cheap source of energy is provided but we deliberately ignored in being grossly ungrateful for the blessing of water given to us in the form of glaciers and rain water by Allah. The nemesis would be clear by the fate which befell Yemen when the Siddi-Moarib Dam was destroyed and people fled from Yemen, due to devastation resulting from busting of the dam. We await a similar fate for us in ignoring KBD but the rulers have closed their eyes to it.
DR. MUHAMMAD YAQOOB BHATTI,
Lahore, July 8.