LAHORE: The demand for Kalabagh dam once again echoed in the Punjab Assembly following recent floods in the country causing massive destruction and loss of lives.

During the general discussion on the floods, former provincial minister Chaudhry Zaheer suggested that Kalabagh dam should be built so that floods could be avoided.

He said the proposed Kalabagh dam, would have stored only 10 million acre feet water, while more reservoirs would be needed to save the rest of the 25maf that went into the sea during the recent floods.

He demanded that those affected by the floods should be given state land to build their homes and that standard operating procedures (SOPs) should be devised to ban construction within 220 yards of a riverbed.

PML-N MPA Raheela Khadim Hussain regretted that neither the ‘judicial’ chief minister nor the parliamentarians were attending the assembly session when it was discussing the flood situation in the province.

She said Chief Minister Parvez Elahi, along with his son, was appearing in the “court” of Imran Khan instead of paying attention to the problems of the flood-hit people.

Mehwish Sultana said cotton crop had been badly damaged by the floods, while it was unlikely that the farmers would be able to sow the next wheat crop in the Rabi season.

She said the floodwaters also washed away precious livestock of the poor farmers.

She also demanded the government to construct Kalabagh and other dams to tame the river water and hill torrents to avert flooding and save water for agriculture and other purposes.

PTI’s Zaheer Abbas Khokhar demanded a judicial commission to ascertain the reasons behind such massive flooding and assess the losses caused by the calamity.

Yawar Abbas Bukhari regretted that both the PPP and the PTI were vocal on the flood issue, while both parties had been opposing the Kalabagh dam that could have mitigated the situation.

Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Raja Bisharat assured the house that the affected-hit people would be treated in the best possible way regardless of their political affiliations. The minister also tabled the University of Kamalia Bill 2022, which was passed by the house with a majority vote.

After completion of the agenda of the sitting, the proceedings were postponed till 3pm on Wednesday next (Sept 7).

Published in Dawn, September 1st, 2022