MANDI BAHAUDDIN, Dec 30: President Pervez Musharraf on Friday urged people to reject calls for strikes and agitation and said a decision on water resources would be made in the best national interest.

“Ignore strike calls as we are sincere about serving the nation,” he said while addressing a large gathering of elected local government representatives at Mona Depot, some 38 kilometres from here.

President Musharraf said the IMF and other international financial institutions had approved Kalabagh project’s feasibility.

The visit, sources said, marked the launch of the president’s whirlwind tour of the country to augment the pace of development at the grass-root level. He announced that he planned to visit each district to personally supervise development projects.

“I do not fear anyone, especially politicians who have nothing to offer but agitation,” he said, adding: “Agitation cannot stop us from forging ahead on the path to prosperity.”

According to APP, President Musharraf said it was not just a matter of a single dam. “We have to build three dams by 2016, otherwise our farmlands will become barren.”

Stressing the importance of water for agricultural and industrial growth, he said adequate water availability would ensure irrigation of more land and make generation of inexpensive hydroelectric power possible.

Blaming previous regimes for ignoring the construction of new water storage facilities for three decades, he said during that time, other countries had gone ahead with comprehensive plans for conserving the natural resource.

Enumerating steps taken by the government as part of its Water Vision, the president said brick-lining of thousands of water channels across the country would help save water and bring more land under cultivation.

He said the government was pursuing far-reaching development plans that would bring about a visible improvement in the lives of people in key sectors, including health, education, agriculture and industry.

Citing efforts aimed at poverty alleviation, President Musharraf said country-wide provision of electricity and safe drinking water by the year 2007 would quicken the pace of development.

Referring to goals for improving the health sector, the president said activation of basic health units and rural health centres at the primary level, establishment of tehsil hospitals at secondary level and improvement in the quality of services and equipment at district hospitals would provide adequate medical care to the people.