Sindh govt has never presented water case effectively, eloquently, claims ANG Abbasi

The water dialogue organized by Sindh Vision, a think tank and followed by a wide spectrum of experts in the province was held at Arts Council Karachi with the active participation of a galaxy of experts, professionals, and activist. The deliberations continued for good 9 hours.
The main highlight of this event was the presence of legendary scholar and water expert Mr. ANG Abbasi who was despite his advanced age, attended the Water Dialogue at a special invitation from the Sindh Vision.
His speech, dilating on the history of water disputes, technical committee on the construction of dams, was an eye-opener and reflected his cumulative anger and anguish over the injustices meted out to Sind his in every walk of life to the knowledge of every patriotic and just citizen of this country.
He posed many a painful question to the participants of the conference. ‘Have Sindhis done anything other than lamenting and blaming each other, or what we have achieved so far by keeping mute on existential issues, or whether we are prepared to take
stock of the injustices meted out to Sind in the past, prepare and present the case of our land to the powerful central authority’. He warned that the reign of injustice would continue unabated if we failed to raise our voice against it.
He painfully reckoned that Sindhis had largely been ‘helpless’ in the past and now have become ‘hapless’.
He regretted that the Sindh Government (GoS) had never presented its case at the Center effectively and eloquently. Had they done this; much of the problems of Sindh would have been addressed long ago. ‘We, Sind his, were the architects of our own doom. More than anyone else, we, Sind his, have actually been ditching our motherland’.
Technical Committee Report
He enlightened the participants about the appointment of the Technical Committee under his chairmanship in 2002. The committee was constituted to examine the Terms of References (TORs) and give its findings on the viability of the construction of new dams including Kalabagh Dam (KBD). This was a daunting assignment. However, he accepted the challenge because he wanted to present the fears and concerns of Sindh especially the violation of the existing water agreements and frameworks.
Over 27 different organizations shared data, facts, figures and relevant details which were analyzed technically. The Report was made public in 2005. It was not challenged by any individual, or organization including those working under the Federal Government. Thus, it was still considered a benchmark report on the future planning of water resources. It sealed the lips of the proponents of KBD, providing a credible analysis of the availability of water and its distribution mechanism. The report effectively stopped any move for the construction of KBD.
Water Agreements
Talking of the Water Agreements, he added that both the Indus Basin Treaty (IBT) of 1960 and the Water Accord (WA) of 1990 were signed In Karachi. The IBT was an International Agreement and WA of 1991 – an Inter-provincial Agreement. But unfortunately, the record of IBT was misplaced immediately after it was signed. He disclosed that he approached Muzaffar leghari, the former Secretary of Irrigation; to get the record who helplessly informed him that the entire record was not traceable.
Though the WA of 1990 was also lopsided, it should under the present circumstance be treated as a small blessing and followed. It should be implemented in true spirit. To him, it was our last resort to push for our water rights.
IRSA
He severally criticized the Indus River System Authority (IRSA) declaring it a total non-starter failing to perform its mandatory work honestly. Though initially it was constituted to have 4 members – one member from each province, later a fifth member from the Federation was added to make it a five-member body. It was decided that the member from Federation should always be from Sindh. But later this practice was abandoned arbitrarily. The chairmanship of IRSA is for one year rotating among all the provinces, every year.
He added, ‘IRSA is supposed to be an impartial and independent body as well as the apex body to resolve the water disputes. But it has shamelessly failed in its mandate. In the actual working of IRSA, the members of smaller provinces have been toothless to influence the decisions. It has always been the member of Punjab who dominates the proceedings intimidating his fellow colleagues from other provinces to follow him. The main reason for this awkward situation has been that the GoS has never stood behind the back of its members. The members fight the case in an individual capacity and cannot make a strong show during IRSA meetings’.
What next
‘The water reservoir is necessary and, in actual fact, Katzara is the only viable option in the given circumstances. It is located at the confluence of three rivers. Its effective utility life is about 1000 years. It is a carryover dam. However, its feasibility has not been done so it will take ages to construct it and make it operational. They are afraid if the feasibility of Katzara is done in advance, there will be no justification to build Bhasha and Dasu dams”, he shared his apprehension with the conference.
“In 1984, the feasibility of KBD was prepared. It was followed by the feasibility of Bhasha in 2005. The paperwork is ready to kick start the execution of the Bhasha project. The cost estimates for Bhasha were only $ 6.4 billion in 2005 which have since escalated to over $ 13 Billion. It will further go up if delayed for any reason. The upgradation of Karakorum High (KKH) was part of Bhasha feasibility which was to be built simultaneously for movement of heavy machinery to the dam site. The KKH project is being executed now”, he further enlightened the participants.
What we needed to do before the execution of any mega project of water was that there should be proper regulations as to how to fill the dams and discharge water. To his understanding, no big dam would be filled every year. There was not enough water in the system to fill them. It would take roughly 10 years to fill them. In a net analysis, the dam upstream Tarbella was necessary to store water for Rabi crops, to accumulate silt to mitigate the sedimentation of Tarbella’ – (The author leads Sindh Vision) n