HYDERABAD, Aug 29: The Sindh National Council has expressed apprehensions that President General Pervez Musharraf will soon announce construction of the Kalabagh dam because of the victory of government-backed parties in the local body elections.

At a meeting of the central executive committee on Monday, the SNC demanded that the report of the technical committee on water issue should not be considered as a certificate to construct big dams.

Party leader Punhal Sario presided over the meeting.

The committee believed that the destiny of Sindh and its people could not be decided by any so-called technocrat or technical committee.

The Sindh Assembly which represented the people of Sindh had unanimously rejected construction of Kalabagh dam and the greater Thal canal on more than one occasion.

The meeting decided to end farce of the technical committee as concept of big dams had been discarded throughout the world.

The committee claimed that hundreds of big dams had been decommissioned in the world to protect interest of the people and environment.

The meeting noted that under the present circumstances, any recommendation for construction of big dams was like signing a death warrant of the entire country especially Sindh, its people, and agriculture.

The SNC feared that the dam would take 10 to 15 years to complete and during this period the hatred between people would keep on increasing.

It appealed to all political leaders and well-wishers of Sindh to discard party chauvinism and personal egos to unite on one platform for launching a consistent struggle against the Kalabagh dam and Thal canal.

The meeting decided to hold a national conference in the second week of September to discuss the local body elections, NFC Award, Kalabagh Dam and other issues.