The KPK Govt. is blissfully ignorant of the glaring fact that 8 lac acres of virgin land in Dera Ismail Khan cannot be irrigated till doom’s day, unless and until KBD is built. Only a right bank gravity canal, from KBD, can possibly irrigate Dera Ismail Khan land, being located at a higher level than Indus River. All the politicians are mum over this issue of irrigating Dera Ismail Khan land. This silence amounts to criminal negligence as it is analogous to bartering the entire future of KPK.
The existing irrigated area of KPK is only 5 percent of Pakistan’s irrigated area, while KPK’ share of water is 14 per cent of all future storages. Thus 9 per cent shortfall can only be met by construction of KBD. Even Tarbela and Bhasha dams cannot supply additional water to KPK, which fact has been blissfully ignored by the politicians, which is a strange phenomenon as politicians are supposed to serve the best interests of the people of their area. The Pushtuns, as a race, are known to be business friendly. It is surprising that KPK residents cannot visualize the benefits of KBD as they are silent spectators to losing their full 14 per cent share of water that is promised in the 1991 Water Accord that is not implementable in the absence of KBD.
DR. MUHAMMAD YAQOOB BHATTI,
Lahore, November 12.