It is being reported that Bhasha dam has been delayed by five years. This means that it cannot be commissioned much before 1030, in 17 or 18 years time. That is a very long time to wait. Small and medium dams will never give us the quantity of water that we badly need for irrigation and other uses. They will mostly service the localities in which they are built. The whole country will suffer the pangs of hunger, thirst and poverty, just because some misguided people oppose a dam that can be commissioned in 5 years merely because of its location. A dam benefits the whole country irrespective of its location, just like Mangla and Tarbela dams are doing.ENGR KHURSHID ANWER, Lahore, September14.