LARKANA: Reacting over federal government’s plan to build Bhasha Dam, Awami Tehreek (AT) on Saturday called for winding up the project, believing that it would cause harm to Sindh’s interests.

In a statement issued to the media, AT office-bearers including its organiser Lal Jarwar said that going for building the dam was tantamount to sprinkling salt on the wounds of Sindh.

“A particular pro-Punjab group has since long been hatching conspiracies against Sindh with the aim of robbing away the smaller province’s share in water,” they alleged.

According to the statement, historically, people of Sindh oppose all such plans tooth and nail and stakeholders belonging to the province launched several joint movements against any dam to be built over River Indus.

Referring to the recent popular trend on Twitter against the project [Bhasha Dam], the AT leaders said people of Sindh always raised their voice against construction of any dam, canal or tributary over the Indus.

They said it was a message to the world in true sense and the government of Pakistan that sharing of Indus water by provinces was protected under treaties governed by international laws. They accused Punjab of repeatedly violating the decisions of the relevant commissions and committees formed for the water apportionment. They also alleged that before and after the Partition, it [Punjab] had developed a practice of doing this time and again.

“It’s a bitter truth that due to non-release of the mandatorily required water into Arabian Sea from Indus, it [the sea] has eroded thousands of acres of fertile land and continued to destroy precious mangrove forests which drastically affected the echo system,” they said.

The sea erosion and widespread damage to mangroves has rendered thousands of fishermen, other local people and peasants jobless, according to AT leaders.

They said a huge population living here [in Sindh] was in search of sweetwater.

Therefore, they said, the prime minister should reverse his decision to build the dam and ensure that Sindh was given its right of fully sharing Indus water.

Published in Dawn, May 17th, 2020