KARACHI, Dec 13: Chairman, Sindh National Front, and chief of the newly-formed five-party nationalist alliance Sindh Qaumi Ittehad, Sardar Mumtaz Ali Bhutto said on Tuesday that 80 million people of three smaller provinces have already rejected the Kala Bagh dam and there was no need to hold debate with President Gen Pervez Musharraf over the issue.

“If Gen Musharraf still wants any debate, he should go and talk to the people of Sindh, Balochistan and NWFP directly, whose answer to him would be “No to Kala Bagh dam” as peasants, growers and common man are the real sufferers agitating against the disputed project,” SNF chief said, adding, “If the President is interested in holding a debate himself, Mr Rasool Bux Palejo alone is enough for him.”

Mumtaz Bhutto said the Tarbela dam had already ruined the two million acres in Sindh alone.

“The rulers have repeatedly been saying that the river water goes to waste in the sea, but the fact is that except this season, not a single drop of water had been discharged to sea since last 12 years with the result that hundreds of thousands of acres has been destroyed due to sea intrusion. The Indus river has ceased to flow beyond Kotri barrage and the people of Sindh fear that its flow would end at Gudu barrage in future if Kala Bagh dam was built.”

To a question about MQM chief Altaf Hussain’s statement opposing the KBD and also that they would not support the government on this issue, Mumtaz Bhutto doubted sincerity in his statement.

Quoting examples, Mumtaz Bhutto said the MQM chief opposed presence of military at Dera Bugti extending threat to quit the government, but the military is still there and MQM is sitting in the government becoming more stronger. Similarly, it supported the government at the time of allocating funds for Greater Thal canal, he added.

He said that the politicians do not know the gravity of problem. They just make statements based on the false data provided by the corrupt bureaucrats eyeing the billions of rupees to be allocated for KBD.—PPI