| Kalabagh Dam | |
|---|---|
| Country | Pakistan |
| Location | Kalabagh, Mianwali District |
| Status | Proposed |
| Dam and spillways | |
| Type of dam | Earthfill dam (zoned fill embankment with clay core) |
| Height | 79 m (259 ft) |
| Length | 3,350 m (10,991 ft) |
| Impounds | Indus River |
| Reservoir | |
| Active capacity | 7.52 km3 (6,100,000 acre·ft) |
| Inactive capacity | 9.7 km3 (7,900,000 acre·ft) |
| Catchment area | 110,500 sq mi (286,000 km2) |
| Power station | |
| Hydraulic head | 170 ft (52 m) |
| Turbines | 12 x 300 MW |
| Maximum capacity | 3,600 MW |
| Annual generation | 11,400 GWh |
The Kalabagh dam is a proposed hydroelectric dam on the Indus River at Kalabagh in Mianwali District of the Punjab province in Pakistan. The project has been controversial since its inception.
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In December 2004, General Pervez Musharraf, President of Pakistan, announced that he would build the dam in the larger interest of Pakistan. On May 26, 2008, Federal Minister for Water and Power of Pakistan, Raja Pervez Ashraf, said that the "Kalabagh Dam would not be constructed" and the project has been cancelled.[1] He said due to the "opposition from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh and other stakeholders, the project was no longer feasible".[2] However, after the worst flood (2010) in Pakistan, the prime minister of Pakistan, Yousaf Raza Gilani, stated that the devastation of flood would be less if Kalabagh dam was built.[3]
The proposed construction of the Kalabagh Dam triggered a controversy among the three provinces of Pakistan, namely Punjab, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Punjab has been the only province in favor of the dam. The other two provinces have expressed dissatisfaction: their provincial assemblies passed unanimous resolutions rejecting the proposed dam.
the pakisatani politician are not inthe favour of kalabaghdam because this is the subsidies to pakistani population the raja parveez ashraf try to use the rental power in 2008 and the price of each unit is incresed every year is 20% according to report if the pakistani population monthly income is minimumm 1,20,000 then he afford the gas and other utility bills if you compared the pakistani population monthly income is it is more less than 36,000 and pakistani politician make a commision on the upper level ministry. the storage of water in the kalabagh dam incresed the fertility of pakisatni land that incresed the pakisatni GDP.
. Per capita surface water availability was 5,260 cubic metres (186,000 cu ft) in 1951, when population was 34 million, which has been reduced to 1,038 cubic metres (36,700 cu ft) in 2010 when the estimated population is 172 million. The minimum water requirement to being a "water short country" is 1,000 cubic metres (35,000 cu ft). They claim no dam or reservoir can be built without permission and endorsement of the tailender, i.e., Arabian Sea. In the case where the tailender is not using water, i.e., building a water reservoir, a reservoir can be made upstream.
Impact assessments of the proposed dam have shown that while it will provide storage and electricity, the dam will also have adverse impacts on the environment, as can be expected from any large dam. It will also displace a large number of people. While proponents point to the benefits, the adverse factors have been played up by the opponents of the dam. As a result, the dam has been stalled by claims and counterclaims since 1984.
Punjab believes that Kalabagh Dam is necessary to fulfill national need for more water to keep up with the growing population and industrial demands on agriculture. A dam at Kalabagh would also supply cheap hydro-electric power to the whole country.
The annual outflow of water into the Arabian Sea is considered a "waste" in Punjab, which feels that water can be used to irrigate infertile lands in southern areas of Punjab and northern areas of Sindh.
Punjab wants not just Kalabagh, but also two more large dams on the Indus, at Bhasha and Skardu/Katzarah in northern areas of Pakistan. It feels that the Kalabagh site is the most favourable, compared to the other two, as unlike other two projects Kalabagh project include construction of several irrigation canals to fulfill the growing demand for agriculture in Pakistan, and that it should be built first. Bahalwalpur and Bahawalnagar will get most of the water stored in Kalabagh Dam.
On the other hand, Punjab has been severely hit by Kalabagh Dam being not built. In the early 1960s, Pakistan had agreed to a deal with India over the royalty of rivers. That had given royalty of two rivers Satlej and Biyas to India. Since then, the river Ravi, Satlej and Biyas are only used as flood release rivers by India. Pakistan government was allowed and funded to build this dam only because they had agreed such deal with India. Now Pakistan hasn't built the dam and has also barren-ed a large area of Punjab province by taking out three rivers.
Punjab's view is that a dam of above 3,000 MW production can finish all the energy crisis of Pakistan. Overall, it will help Pakistan to grow further as electricity produced by water is cheapest compared to all other resources.
Punjab has also agreed not to claim any royalty on generation of resources from Kalabagh dam. Moreover recently the people of Punjab have expressed their feeling that if Kalabagh Dam is environmentally hazardous so are Tharcoal and Kohat oil and gas projects.
Sindh is the lower riparian and strongest opponent of KBD. Sindh presents many objections against the proposed dam:
The objection to Kalabagh in Sindh is widespread. Even political parties of Sindh that are in the central cabinet and are supported by General Musharraf, such as the Muttahida Quami Movement, have strongly denounced the dam. Opposition towards Kalabagh Dam is such that PML N's Sindh Chapter also were in unison with the opponents of the Dam and as a result even PML N's leader Mr Nawaz Sharif, who as the Prime Minister of Pakistan had stated in 1998 that he proposes to build the dam, retracted from his stance and declared that Sindh's view point ought to be respected and no project, however essential, be carried out that weakened Pakistan's Federation.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has two main objections to the dam:
Balochistan is not directly affected by the dam as such. Rather, most nationalist Baloch Sardars claim the dam an instance of Punjab lording it over the smaller provinces. They have however, not included the dam in any of their statements after its cancellation.
Most independent analysts believe that the foremost problem with the proposed dam at Kalabagh is one of a "trust deficit between the Punjab on one side and the other three provinces on the other". azad kashmir, believes this is due to the frequent coups staged by the Pakistan Army (which is overwhelmingly Punjabi and Pathan in its composition), as well as the Army's extra-constitutional intervention and influence in public sector and civil institutions of the country in general and Sindh in particular (especially in Karachi). This is also due to ethno-nationalists that promote anti-Punjabi sentiments amongst the people.
All Pakistanis agree that Pakistan faces a severe water shortage, and that some form of water management must be implemented soon. Many point out that even if work on Kalabagh were to start tomorrow, it would still take at least eight years to complete and commission such a large dam. In the meantime, the water situation would continue to worsen. Smaller dams, barrages, and canals must be built before that, and water conservation techniques introduced.
The WAPDA for years repeatedly changed its statistics on the dam, to the point where no-one in Pakistan now believes any of its figures. Government of Pakistan formed a technical committee, headed by A. N. G. Abbasi, to study the technical merits of the Kalabagh dam vis-a-vis the other two. The four-volume technical report concluded that Bhasha or Katzarah dam should be built before Kalabagh, further complicating matters. The report also stated that Kalabagh and Bhasha Dams could be considered feasible.
The abrupt way in which President Pervez Musharraf announced the decision to build the dam, overruling the objections of the smaller provinces, had polarised public opinion. On 26 May 2008, Federal Minister for Water and Power of Pakistan Raja Pervez Ashraf said that Kalabagh Dam will not be constructed. He said due to opposition from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh and other stakeholders, the project is no longer feasible. The Prime Minister of Pakistan, Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani announced that the fate of the project would be decided by a plebiscite. The decision came after Pakistan faced extreme power crisis and acute water shortages. The government is currently finding alternative locations for the dam.[2]