May 28, 2008	Wednesday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 22, 1429

KARACHI, May 27: Welcoming the federal government’s decision to shelve the Kalabagh dam project, Sindh Information Minister Shazia Marri said that such big dams did not guarantee a concrete solution to the problems of water shortage.

She was speaking at a press conference at the New Sindh Secretariat here on Tuesday. The minister said that Sindh, Balochistan and the NWFP were already opposed to the project and their respective assemblies had unanimously adopted resolutions against the construction of this dam.

She said that the decision, which was made public by Federal Minister for Water and Power Raja Pervez Ashraf, had proved wrong those elements who had claimed that the Pakistan People’s Party had two faces, one when in the opposition and the other when in power.

Ms Marri said that the Kalabagh dam was not a carryover dam and the PPP had been opposing it consistently as it would not be beneficial. She said that we opposed construction of any big dam on the River Indus. She said the PPP, however, supported the idea of constructing small dams to resolve the lingering water crisis.

When her attention was drawn towards the opposition of construction of Diamer Bhasha dam by the people in the Northern Areas, she said that the PPP would never go against the aspirations of people.