HYDERABAD, Aug 19: The Sindh Abadgar Board on Tuesday stated as Sindh had already opposed the Kalabagh dam after which President Gen Pervez Musharraf had rightly shelved the project, the issue should not be now revived.

This was stated in a telegram sent to President Musharraf by the chief of the farmers’ organization, Abdul Majeed Nizamani.

Referring to the construction of the greater Thal canal, Mr Nizamani said it had been started without reaching any agreement on water discharge downstream Kotri which was necessary under article-7 of the 1991 water accord.

Similarly, he said, the Kachhi and Rainee flood canal projects should have been commissioned after a decision on water release downstream Kotri was taken.

Mr Nizamani said the secretary for water and power at the first meeting of the Indus River System Authority on Feb 10, 1993, had stressed that the flow downstream Kotri must be worked out before dividing the surplus water among the provinces but the issue remained unresolved till date.

He observed that Pakistan had one of the lowest per acre yield in the third world so instead of bringing more land under irrigation, the existing system should be assured of full water supply.

The SAB president maintained that to supply water to new areas in the north would mean lesser supply to south, which should be avoided in the national interest.

He said Sindh had no objections against constructing carryover dams, provided water discharge downstream Kotri was ensured. He, however, made it clear that the reservoirs could only be constructed in the Northern Areas.

Mr Nizamani said according to article 14(b) of the water accord, systematised allocations were worked out and confirmed by the Council of Common Interest. He said the allocations could be changed pro rata in case of shortages and surpluses. He added that any decision of Irsa to change these allocations would tantamount to violation of the accord.

He also accused Irsa of violating the 1991 water accord. He said Irsa was constituted under article-13 of the accord according to which it was expected to implement the said agreement and not to violate it.

He said according to the accord, the NWFP and Balochistan had been allocated a certain share of water and Irsa had no authority to make any changes in the shares.

WORKSHOP: The Isra University Hospital here on Monday organized a workshop on angioplasty.