http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-new...from-Mangla-Dam

KARACHI - Sindh government has strongly opposed of providing water from Mangla dam to Azad Kashmir, The Nation has learnt here on Saturday.

Sources in the Sindh government told that Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah has written a letter to the federal government in which he opposed the federal government suggestion to give water to Azad Kashmir from the Mangla dam.

It’s recalled here that Indus River System Authority (IRSA) held meeting in the Islamabad in which decided to provide water to Azad Kashmir from the Mangla dam.

Representatives from the Punjab, NWFP and from the federal government supported the government suggestion providing water from the Mangla dam while Sindh and Balochistan representatives in IRSA opposed the federal government suggestion.

After briefing to the Sindh CM by irrigation and power department Sindh, Qaim wrote letter to the federal government and strongly opposed the suggestion of federal government to provide water to Azad Kashmir from the Mangla dam.

He said that the federal government decision was a clear violation of IRSA rules made for the distribution of water among the provinces.

Sindh government also pointed out that Sindh is already getting less shares of water and to give water from the Mangla dam further reduce the water share of the Sindh government .

He said that in the season of Kharif crop, Sindh used to get water from Mangla dam but in this season it had faced the water shortage due to federal government’s decision.

He further complained in the letter that despite repeated protest, IRSA never pay any heed to the reservations of Sindh.



http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=121129


AJK demands 626 cusecs water from Mangla



Sunday, June 29, 2008
By Mumtaz Alvi

ISLAMABAD: In a significant development, the government of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) has demanded daily supply of 626 cusecs of water from the Mangla Dam for drinking and irrigation purposes.

Sources in the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) said that a demand in writing by the AJK government had been forwarded to the Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC).

They pointed out that the IPC had already sought comments of the four provinces, and had also written to the Indus River System Authority (Irsa) in this connection.

It is likely that the item would be included in the agenda of the next Inter-Provincial Coordination Committee meeting, if and when held. The issues forwarded by the provinces are sent to the Prime Minister Secretariat and on clearance are made part of the agenda. These cannot not be included if the PM Secretariat raises objections on it.

AJK Minister for Mangla Dam Affairs Muhammad Yousuf, when contacted, confirmed that they had made the demand in view of the increasing requirements, as the population had increased manifold.

He explained that they needed 500 cusecs additional water for irrigation, whereas 126 cusecs for drinking. The supply of water could be reduced in proportion to the demand of the provinces and the level of water in the dam.

When asked if his government was hopeful that the demand would be met, he said that in this connection, an agreement was signed with Wapda. “We are confident that our requirement will be met,” he said.

When told that the Irsa accord mandated water management for the four provinces only and not for Azad Kashmir, the minister repeated that the AJK and the Wapda had signed an agreement in this regard.

He explained that formerly Azad Kashmir was meeting its water requirements through various sources, such as tube-wells and wells. But now it needed water from the dam to meet the needs of the growing population, keeping in view the construction of new localities after the 2005 earthquake to rehabilitate the big number of victims.

The minister was confident that by the time the construction of canals was completed in the next few months, a decision would have been made by the competent authority at the Centre.

When contacted, a source in Irsa pointed out it was unlikely that the water body or even the provinces would allow water supply to Azad Kashmir, as this was not envisaged in the 1991 Water Apportionment Accord.

“If we go by the accord, there is no possibility whatsoever of water supply to Azad Kashmir. The government will have to amend the Irsa act,” he maintained. The act can be amended with simple parliamentary majority.

He said that Wapda had sought Irsa’s views on the matter before this fresh initiative. However, he said the move would trigger new water-related controversies. Particularly, the smaller provinces, which have already been complaining off and on about the less supply of water, will not agree to such an arrangement, he said.

aslaam, i was wondering what do people of this forum think about this issue with kashmir having access to its own water. so basically i was wondering if people think that kashmir has a right over its waters or kashmir has no right over its waters just like balochistan has no right over its resources which lead to fighting (i posted topic about balochistan issue in different forum)
thanks

They can drop dead. It is this exact kind of bullying that will destroy Pakistan.

Azad Kashmir was flooded to create the dam, Azad Kashmir was flooded to raise the dam, the dam is from waters running through Kashmir.

People living next to the dam cannot get electricity, now you want our water too!

Perhaps those in Sindh with a problem should move and not live in the desert like parts of their state. It is complete stupidity to ruin the water supply to the fertile states of Kashmir, Punjab and NWFP, just so that sindh can have it's way.

If sindh wants water, then i suggest sindh build it's own dam and regulate the water that just runs into the see at monsoon time. heavens forbid sidhi's have to give up land for kalbagh, afterall that is what kashmiri's are for, for you to trample over and demand water.

We need leaders who can make decisions and prioritize these issues instead of playing kursi kursi.

We hope Sindh to provide free thar coal, but don't ask for water.
Sindh Needs to support Kalabagh reservior for his increasing water demand.
Similarly Azad Kashmir has some right on dams who flood it.
Baloch people have right on their gas, gold and coast. (not few killer sardars)they need better roads, schools, power, clean water, and economic centers. just a hint that better roads will ultimately result in facilitating peace and implementing law in order, while making people's life better economically.
Central govt needs to turn Quetta Zahidan Highway to a Motorway. partially from Fedral and provincial funds.but it is the key to peace.
NWFP should be listened about Kalabagh Dam and many other issues.
I don't mind govt to prolong current confusion till US elections, but we need a big shift in priorities after the out come.
till then, we still need some solid steps toward building a nation instead of breaking it.

Sindh stealing Balochistan’s quota of water: Irsa


source

Monday, July 28, 2008
By Khalid Mustafa

ISLAMABAD: Sindh has been found stealing water, specifically allocated to Balochistan, resulting in a whopping water deficit of 31 percent during the ongoing Kharif season in the province, says an Irsa fact-finding report.

The fact-finding mission was sent by the Irsa chairman on June 30 to look into the lingering dispute between the federating units over the water theft and less provision of water to Balochistan from its share.

Balochistan Minister for Irrigation and Power Sardar Mohammad Aslam Bizenjo told The News that Sindh had been "squeezing Balochistan's lifeline" (water) for the last 17 years. "If required action is not taken by the federal government, Balochistan will have no choice but to call back its representative from the Irsa as a protest," he warned.

He said that the Indus River System Authority was toothless and had no mechanism to implement a decision on a dispute. "Balochistan might move the Supreme Court in order to protect its rights," the minister said.

The fact-finding mission ñ headed by the chief engineer Irsa and comprising officials of the Wapda and representatives of Balochistan and Sindh ñ said in its report that Sindh was responsible for the water shortage in Balochistan. A crucial meeting of the Irsa members and secretaries of the irrigation and power departments of both Sindh and Balochistan has been called on Monday, as Sindh has showed defiance by refusing to buy the findings of the mission, arguing that it was already releasing Balochistan's share.

"The Sindh province will have no option but to face the music as Balochistan has decided to show muscles for its just rights," Ali Mohammad Shah, Irrigation Secretary of Balochistan, said when contacted. Shah said that Sindh had stolen 13 million acre feet of water during the last 17 years, inflicting huge economic losses of over Rs 13 billion to his province.

Sindh's representative in the Irsa Mohammad Khan Memon admitted that less water were being passed on to Balochistan but "not because of Sindh's negative intentions." He argued that owing to the "structural problems in water distribution system at the Garrang Regulator as well as the law and order situation, Sindh's Irrigation department was facing difficulties to pass on Balochistan's 100 percent share." He, however, added that the governments of both the provinces were in contact to resolve the issue. "And in the Monday's meeting, the Irsa will also devise a solution," he hoped.

The fact-finding mission further observed that Sindh was withdrawing water through some unauthorised direct outlets. The daily water sheet released by the Irsa says that "about 10,000 cusecs of water is being released Kotri downstream to save the environment and stop the sea intrusion, but the Balochistan province is being denied its share."

The issue is chronic and had earlier been investigated by the Wapda at numerous occasions. In the near past, it was looked into by a three-member Isra committee, which had submitted its findings on November 2004. However, no action was taken. So the Monday meeting would be important in this regard.

exactly what i wanted to say, basically the people in power, they bully the kashmiris, balochis, the pataans etc and treat em like they nothing (just cz they got no power) and when them same people get frustrated and they do something back, then guess what they say, TRAITORS, AND SAY WEL WILL NOT LET OUR COUNTRY GET DESTROYED BY MINORTY ETC( this exactly what happened with bangalis). and about sindh, i heard a while bak that they dont want to raise their own dam called KALABAH DAM, and i can guess why and that is cz basically people gota sacrifice there own land and that is really hard. but guess what we got a solution, lets make mangla dam even bigger and make all kashmir a DAM. i mean just look at kashmir, mangla dam is massive and they makin it even bigger and they wont even give money and land to the people, YES YES I HEARD on news to that it will be given, and trust all money dat given so faar ended up in pockets of punjabis. I HONESTLY think these people tryin 2 destroy pakistan by lookin at there own interests and treating people with no power (like kashmiris, balochis, nwfp, and tribal area people) different and when these people have enough and fight bak they get kidnapped and killled.

Water flows from above, from high ground, to low ground.
Can water flow against gravity?

The water is around New Mirpur, AJK has all the water they want.
Then the water flows into Mangla, and onwards towards Indus.
It doesn't flow from The sea, to the mountains.

Sindh, opposes sharing the water with the State of Jummu and Kashmir, not AJK.

Map of Mangla Dam and the flow http://encarta.msn.com/map_701541703/mangla_dam.html

huh wt kind of map is that, looks different from the original one hmmm, and by the way sind is opposed to sharing with AJK OK which is azad kashmir. basically the mangla dam water is for punjabis and i think some goes to sind but the kashmiris cant have it cz its not theres. i mean that what azad kashmir wants, they want some of the huge water but dnt knw what goin to happen

They scrap their own dam project and now have the gall to dictate to us! They can go jump in the Arabian Sea if they want water. This isn’t a government, but a gathering of feudal lords [apart from MQM members] looking out their interests. Dammed if they care about the people of Azad Kashmir….The Azad Kashmir government should reach out to the people of Sind, and bypass these feudal village idiots, and make an arrangement with them. There should be cooperation to build smaller dams and reservoirs to accumulate rain water.

Our region has punched well above its weight economically, education wise [highest literacy in Pakistan], contribution to defence [Azad Kashmir regiment’s battle honours are huge] and devotion to our fatherland. There has never been a rebellion to break away from Pakistan and we have always maintained our stance on unifying Kashmir to join Pakistan. But yet we have people who treat us with utter contempt!

Thank you Pakhtunkhwa [NWFP government], which has always had close links with Azad Kashmir and Punjab for their support.

Ho pyarai papa, Punjab asneh madath kiteh he....They sided with us. This blame it on the Punjab stuff is not right.

Kiya keh raha hai yaar?
Diffrentiate between AJK and State of Jummu & Kashmir.

Why should we give them the water, they have enough stolen water of Pakistan.
The editor of The Nation is pathetically not diffrentiating, or purposely creating a rift.

Again, the water is flowing through AJK to begin with, into a resorviour, then the Mangla Dam.
They get the water first anyways, not the other way around.

Ok, forget everything I said, just answer one question; Which other Pakistani newspaper reported this except for The Nation?
Constantly all of you cry blue murder over jewish conspiracy, but the anti-Pakistan propaganda disunifying us goes pass by you guys in a flash!

Ask yourself, why will Sindh wish ill for Kashmiris before embarking upon a hate infesting thought yaar.

Please, when has Sindh ever not complained. A spoilt child if there is any.

Show it, that Sindh opposed Kashmiri's from AJK.
As for Kalabagh, only Punjab was in favour, so the tantrum was not from Sindh.

Show just once Sindh has complained, except when Punjab broke the water accord twice.

LOL. here is a real joke. I was watching a program and in it there were two sindhi "leaders" were arguing for more water. But when they were asked how sindh gets less water when on the acre base, sindh gets more water than punjab, the "leaders" had no answer.

I don't think we should make this a province vs. province issue. That bitterness only suits our enemies. The fact remains, we are in desperate need to build numerous dams, both for increased electrical generation and increased water storage capabilities. Kalabagh does not need to be the first dam built, other smaller projects should be handled first and then movement onto mega projects should occur at a later stage. Punjab needs to do a better job distributing the benefits of such projects (whether they be water, or money in case of electricity generation) and the other provinces need to stop b!tching at every chance they get. Sindh must also realize that such dams (like Kalabagh) benefit the whole nation, and are necessary for accelerating growth in the entire country. With more dams you can irrigate more land, generate more electricity and at the same time provide job opportunities for countless people (through direct construction of the dams and indirect means). I would say that the construction of dams (along with other infrastructural projects) and the development of the Thar Coal reserves should be top priorities of the government (in terms of stimulating economic growth).

There are 4 provinces, and besides Punjab and Sindh, there are 2 other provinces, NWFP and Balauchistan
Convince the other 2, and Sindh will loose automatically (ok, convince just 1 other province).

The truth is, that 3 out of 4 provinces were against Kala Bagh, and all 3 of us are wrong?

Bro it refers to Azad Kashmir above, not the region occupied by India. As for the editor, you could be right, that he is playing with his words. The incident however has been bought up at federal level, with each province voting….That is a little hard to make up right? It’s true though, the incident has not been covered by anyone else.

I didn’t say Sindh wished ill upon us bro, we are all family and the Sindhi’s are dear to us, I was referring to the comments in the article. Let’s say for instance that it was not true, but when I see the likes of Zardari and other idiotic feudal lords, talking about how they will sell the Thar coal reserves, become force multipliers for India, and how our relations shouldn’t be held hostage to the issue of Kashmir, I and every other Azad Kashmiri will speak up. Also with the cancelation of their own large dam project and with their objection against us, it seems to all fit in place.

Balochistan isn't really affected directly so their opinion doesn't actually matter. They are just against the dam because its another way to b!tch at Punjab (which is a bullsh!t reason). NWFP just has the complaint that the turbines will be on the Punjab side and thus Punjab will get the electricity generation royalties, this can easily be fixed if Punjab agrees to split the royalties with NWFP (which if the central government requested, they probably would). But as I said before, this is all about a lack of trust of Punjab (which is partly justifiable). The dam will take years to complete any way, so construction on smaller projects should start first.

Their opinion doesn't matter? Now that's your opinion.
However, their vote mattered a lot, and that's a reality, not an opinion.

BTW, they get indundated before Sindh, look at the map of the Rivers.

It shouldn't matter on this issue because of the fact that it doesn't directly affect them in any way. There would be more electricity in the system, resulting in less power shortage within the country, so indirectly it would benefit them. The only reason they were against the dam was because it would be another way to take a shot at Punjab. Which is a completely ridiculous reason to vote against it. The whole argument against the dam is based on the lack of trust of Punjab by the other provinces, the dam in reality is good for the country. Kalabagh along with numerous other dams in Pakistan need to be built, that is fact, not an opinion. I agree that smaller projects should be handled in the time being, but Kalabagh should be built at some time.

Dont forget that it suppose to be a bribe to india by Americans for not contributing into Pipe line with Iran through Pakistan.


Why our memories are short and vision so faded?

That's a good thing dude, otherwise we'd have problems at a later stage.
They'd move to court, demand more input, and the works, and since we'd be signatories, we wouldn't have been able to just block the piplene off.
All's well that ends well.


Give us the Global forum and I'll tell you.
Until then, only Sharif people can tell you why we forget too soon.