ISLAMABAD, Dec 12: President Gen Pervez Musharraf said on Tuesday that all major water reservoirs, including that of Kalabagh dam, would be built to overcome an imminent water shortage in the country.

“It is imperative that we construct water reservoirs by 2016 in order to overcome water scarcity. The country will otherwise plunge into a crisis. But we will not let this happen,” he told a function held in connection with the silver jubilee of the Pakistan Agriculture Research Council and the inauguration of the National Agricultural Research Centre.

The president said work on the Bhasha-Diamer dam had started and all other dams, including the Munda, Akhori and Kalabagh dams, would be built to provide adequate irrigation water.

He said many canals, including the Thal and Raini canals, were being constructed for better utilisation of the water available. He said Rs66 billion was being spent on brick-lining of 87,000 canals in the country, adding that 6,000 new canals would be brick-lined next year.

“We should use less water. We can irrigate more land by using modern techniques like laser-levelling, drip irrigation and sprinklers.” The president directed the Zarai Taraqqiati Bank to give loans to small farmers.

The president said Pakistan had tremendous potential in the agriculture sector because it had fertile land, a favourable climate and abundant water resources.

Referring to steps taken by the government to achieve self-sufficiency in food grains, he said the increase in support price of wheat had helped the country achieve surplus wheat crop.—Online