In an interview with Waqt TV, IRSAs Chairman Rao Arshad Ali Khan stated a universal truth that one of the functions of dams is to produce inexpensive electricity. It follows that his observation that Kalabagh Dam is inevitable for our survival is correct and shows in bad light all those who have turned the project into a political football. He did not seem to be happy at the PPP-led set-ups apathy and letting the golden opportunity of the countrywide disastrous floods slip by. It should have seized the occasion and begun the construction of Kalabagh Dam. He revealed that the reason why flood water was unable to break over Sukkhar and Jinnah barrage was because a large quantity of it was stored and regulated by Mangla and Tarbela Dam. Hence this provides all the more justification for building Kalabagh Dam to prevent a flooding chaos in future. Being the head of the IRSA, a body that represents all the provinces, his views constitute an important input in paving the way for consensus. Clearly, we can ill afford to neglect a project that is to all intents and purposes a lifeline of the country. In this point in time, it will be disastrous if the forces that have been denying us this chance of finding a solution to our power crisis and reviving the economy are not prevailed upon to accept the logic of building this national necessity. What is needed at this juncture is that the government urgently convene a meeting of energy experts, engineers and hammer home the point to the political opponents that the construction work if delayed would amount to betraying the nation. The energy crisis can be gauged from the duration of loadshedding going on across the country. Mr Arshad rightly pointed out that reliance on rental powers that runs on furnace oil is simply out of the question. It costs Rs 18 per unit in comparison to one rupee per unit from hydel sources. There is little justification for the federal government to sit idle in the wake of last years monsoons flooding and the prevailing energy shortage.