INDIA has unleashed a water war against Pakistan by unleashing water in Indian dams. The loss to the economy can be met but loss to Pakistan security in the water war can have serious consequences. The solution to this problem is as follows:

From the Indian border to the point of their meeting of the Indus river, these dry rivers have length more than 100 miles in each case. Why don’t we turn these river-beds into river lakes and water reservoirs?

Volunteers all over Punjab and other provinces can come from each section of society and simply dig up 10 to 15 feet river-bed and the earth so removed can be used for embankment, which can give us another 10 feet height. So, we can have lakes stretching to 100 miles in length and 30 feet in depth.

Other technologies can be handled, along with the old river track, to tackle the rainwater coming from fields and cities. If India opens this water-front, the whole length of the water-sheet so sent into Pakistan can be stored into this lake and water can be used all year round for irrigation, drinking, navigation, fisheries and other purposes.

I would request our army to handle this project as a defence need.

M. Saeed Alrai
Former IG, Police
Rawalpindi

Published in Dawn, September 16th, 2014