LAHORE: Over eight million people on social media have endorsed building of Kalabagh dam for overcoming energy crisis in the country, said PML-Q Parliamentary Leader in Punjab Assembly Moonis Elahi.

“It is now time for all Pakistanis, especially Karachiites, to rise in support of the dam,” Moonis said in a meeting of the ‘PML Build Kalabagh Dam Movement’ here on Wednesday. The meeting also expressed sympathies with the bereaved families of heatstroke victims in Karachi.

The movement was launched by Moonis and the party organised a number of seminars to evolve consensus across the country.

“So far over eight million Pakistanis have endorsed ‘Build Kalabagh Movement’ that shows the people want immediate construction of Kalabagh Dam so that energy crisis can be overcome and Pakistanis rid of loadshedding,” he said.

Moonis further said that instead of starting the Kalabagh Dam project that could provide electricity at Rs2 per unit, rulers were focusing on projects that, if and when completed, would provide electricity at Rs25 per unit. He said the rulers would be held accountable for such “unpardonable sins”.

He said it was because of the flawed policies of the PML-N government that people were suffering from unprecedented loadshedding during Ramazan.

“At a time when the nation required energy projects like the dam, the rulers had allocated huge funds to extravagant schemes such as the metro bus. The recent deaths in Karachi and ongoing protests nationwide against loadshedding are a testimony to the government’s failed and misplaced policies,” he added.

Published in Dawn, June 25th, 2015

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