October 26, 2003	Sunday	Sha’aban 29, 1424

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SUKKUR, Oct 25: Sindh Chief Minister Ali Mohammad Mahar has underlined the need for constructing water reservoirs to overcome the shortage of water in Sindh.

He was talking to journalists in Pano Aqil here on Saturday before leaving for Lahore along with Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Mohammad Yousuf.

Mr Mahar said the chief ministers of the four provinces would meet in Lahore on Sunday to take up a number of inter-provincial matters, including construction of water reservoirs.

He said the country’s water resources were fast depleting and if new dams were not constructed the country might face a big crisis. Sindh being at the tail-end would suffer the most, he added.

He said joint efforts should be made to construct new reservoirs as soon as possible.

About the Kalabagh dam project, the chief minister said Sindh would not oppose the construction of the project if its reservations on the issue were removed.

He said Sindh had always been calling for a consensus among the provinces on the issue and hoped that positive results would be achieved at the Lahore meeting.

He hailed President Gen Pervez Musharraf for taking up the water issue on priority under which a number of dams were to be constructed by 2025.

When asked about Wapda’s statistics sent to the Sindh government on its objections regarding the Kalabagh dam, Mr Mahar said these would be examined in detail.

Answering a question about the financial position of the province, he said Sindh had already repaid its overdraft to the State Bank.

Earlier, speaking at public gatherings in Abdul Ghaffar Indhar and Haji Khan Chachar villages in the taluka, the chief minister said several projects had been initiated in education, health and communication sectors. He said the law and order situation was under control and efforts were being made to further improve it.