KARACHI, Jan 2: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has said that several dams are required to be built keeping in view the interest of all stakeholders and to meet the growing water and energy requirements of the country.

He was talking to Governor of Sindh Dr Ishrat ul Ibad Khan and Chief Minister Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim at the Governor House here on Monday.

The provincial Minister for Irrigation Nadir Akmal Leghari was also present on the occasion.

Mr Aziz said the need for building new water reservoirs is also necessitated by the fact that Pakistan’s limited water storage capacity which presently stands at only nine per cent is going down further due to siltation.

“Given the fact that bulk of our population is dependent on agriculture, it is all the more necessary to improve water storage in order to enhance agricultural productivity”, he added.

“Doing nothing and staying still is not an option”, the prime minister said.

Mr Aziz also said that government lived up to its promise to release and publish all relevant reports on the use of water resources and hoped that it would encourage a healthy and informed debate on the issue thus enabling the government to take necessary decision in the best interest of the country and the nation.

The governor and the chief minister apprised the prime minister of the progress made in the implementation of various on-going development schemes and the steps being taken by the provincial administration to further improve the law and order situation.—APP