LAHORE, Aug 8: The Punjab Water Council on Monday got after the “president and petty politicians” for ignoring Punjab to appease Sindh on the issue of the Left Bank Canal on Kalabagh dam.

Speaking at a press conference, PWC officials claimed that the left bank outlet was a matter of national importance, rather than being Punjab-specific; it concerns 80 per cent agriculture in the country.

Northern Punjab had been surviving on replacement component since the 1960s when the Indus Basin Water Treaty was signed. It has not got any water for development since then. Kalabagh dam with a canal on the left bank was the only hope of the northern part of the province, they said. Now that hope was dying as President Pervez Musharraf and politicians chose to keep quiet on the issue because of small interests, they added, saying these politicians contest elections from here but remain silent when it comes to the interests of Punjab.

The officials berated president’s claim that the idea of left bank canal was being dropped because of Sindh’s fears about theft of water by Punjab. This was the most ridiculous of excuses, they said. At present, telemetry system was installed at every water diversion in the country and the irrigation officials from Sindh and Punjab were monitoring every barrage, they said and asked how could Punjab steal water in these circumstances.

Living in federation hardly allows that kind of luxury to any of the province, they said and added: “Punjab could divert over 80,000 cusecs of water from Indus arm, but it has not been doing so because it was bound by federal decisions. It has not done so even in severest of water crisis, rather it has donated water to Sindh.”

It was an insult to accuse Punjab of having intent of water theft and then base the entire future water planning on such a negative perception, they said. The present political setup is guilty of such planning, and politicians had cravenly fallen to arm-twisting by those who were out to sacrifice Punjab’s rights, they added.

They denied that the canal’s technical feasibility was the reason for dropping the idea. Though the left bank canal has to be tunnelled through the salt range, which could turn into engineering nightmare. But in the 21st century it should not be a problem to dig such a canal, the said. The president also had not mentioned technical reasons for abandoning the canal, and categorically stated that it was Sindh’s fear of water theft and the PWC was resenting the same, they said.

They also refused to reject Kalabagh dam without left bank canal, saying that the dam’s utility could not be denied even without the canal. But, it was Punjab’s right to feed its northern part with water from kalabagh dam, and this right would not be looked over come what may, they said.

The PWC would use “every possible” mean to have both dam and the canal. It would lobby, generate popular and political pressure and try to convince people from other provinces in favour of a canal, they said. The prospective canal, they said, would only convey water from Punjab’s share to its upper part, adding it was not part of some conspiracy to steal water and hog other’s rights.

Punjab had never taken any anti-development stand nor it would do so now, but it would also not let others deprive it of its rights, they declared.