पोस्ट flood strategy to rebuild Pakistan

While the experts highlighted the need for construction of large but non-controversial dams first, the participants of SDPI seminar urged the government to make a holistic policy which enables the country to deal with increasing water shortages and flash floods, energy crisis, irrigation needs, deforestation, environmental degradation and disaster risk reduction.



SDPI conducted the seminar entitled “Post-flood strategy to rebuild Pakistan” organized by Sustainable Development Policy Institute here on Tuesday. Faisal Gorchani, Head, Policy Advocacy and Outreach, the proceedings and underlined the need for right policies that put people at the center of development process and address the current challenges facing the country including increasing water shortages and flash floods, energy crisis, irrigation needs, deforestation, environmental degradation and disaster risk reduction.


Director, Pakistan Metrological Department Mr. Azmat Hayyat, said that the construction of dams at downstream Terbella was the most useful option for floods management since it was extremely necessary to break the peak of floods to avoid likely flash floods in future, which may be of more severity and intensity. “Our weather conditions can produce over 0.6 million cubic feet water which is sufficient to construct large reservoir,” he added. He also urged the need for efforts for investment in flash floods management including early warning system involving the communities besides climate change impact assessment and investing in communities for adaptation. He also proposed formulation of research-based integrated policies.



Giving a detailed metrological analysis of rainfall and monsoon, Mr Azmat elaborated that interaction of two weather systems, westerly and monsoon waves in July this year, created the catastrophic situation of flash floods in the country adding that such or even more extreme conditions may also come in the future as well. He said that initially it was 0.6 million cubic feet water flooding but downstream tributaries continued adding up the waters into Indus river which reached to over 1.1 million cubic feet at the down stream since its peak could not be broken. “It was high time for Pakistan to invest in dams and construct large reservoirs such as Kala Bagh Dam,” he added. He said that MET had issued a warning to concerned government authorities in late July but neither they took any required action nor our system was capable to absorb such a massive flash flooding.



SDPI Advisor Water and Energy, Mr. Arshad H. Abbasi, recommended that best flood strategy was to construct at least non-controversial large water reservoirs to avoid devastating floods in future which will not only help to control the likely floods but they will also increase the water storage capacity for irrigation especially during drought times, generate hydroelectricity, increase the economic growth and reduce the poverty in the country. He said that only answer to overcome current challenges was development of big water reservoirs using the available hydropower potential of 56536 Mega Watts in the country.



He lamented that main focus of the present government was to build small dams such as Darawat, Winder, Ghabir, Naulong, and Naigaj with actual estimated cost of 35.5 billion rupees in July 2009 but this cost was now revised touching 1159 billion rupees or 1159 million dollars in June 2010. On the other hand, the output of these small dams was 9.5 MW power with a 461521 MAF storage capacity. He said that instead of building these highly costly but less productive dams, the government should construct Munda dam which can produce 470 MW electricity with 1200000 MAF storage capacity while the cost was estimated at 1149 million dollars or Kurram dam with 1049.3 MW electricity potential with 1200000 MAF storage capacity with a 1100 million dollars cost. “This is nothing but a complete institutional collapse” he went on saying.



He said that Pakistan has constructed only three water reservoirs so far which included Terbela, Chashma and Mangla dams with the total original storage capacity of 18.37 million acre feet which has now 6.03 MAF or 33 percent of the total reduced. This has also negative effects on country with regard to irrigation, energy, and agriculture needs of growing population. He further gave an overview of Indian river basins which constructed 4636 dams with a storage capacity of 245 MAF with 750 MAF annual water flow whereas Pakistan has constructed 3 dams with a capacity of 12.34 MAF with 145 MAF annual water flow. He gave a detailed analysis of cost of electricity production from hydel power and other sources adding that Pakistan was the only country in South Asia which was heavily dependent on costly oil options and IPPs for energy generation. He said that the circular debt and shortage of gas was the two main reasons of energy crisis in the country and urged that Pakistan should utilize its hydel power potential.