LAHORE, July 22: All major farmer organizations urged President Pervez Musharraf on Thursday to start the construction of Kalabagh dam from Aug 14.

These organizations gathered on the invitation of the Punjab Water Council at a local hotel. Prominent among the participants were Kisan Board Pakistan Secretary-General Ibrahim Mughal, Punjab Chamber of Agriculture President Chaudhry Sultan Ali, PWC founder convener Farooq Bajwa, PWC President Hamid Malhi and representative of the Aiwan-i-Zarrat.

Talking to newsmen, farmers urged the president to start the project and perform its ground-breaking on the Independence Day. They were of the view that the chief ministers of all four provinces had reposed their confidence in the water accord of 1991, which clearly stressed the need for storage.

They said the dam was an integral part of the accord and all experts agreed that the only feasible site was Kalabagh. The government should announce construction of the dam without further delay.

The farmers praised Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi for his stand on the water issue and grilled the parliamentary committee for allegedly confusing it.

"The chief minister has rightly said that clause-by-clause arguments on the accord must be avoided."

The farmers alleged that the parliamentary committee, led by Nisar Memon, was making a wrong conclusion by advocating nullification of the ministerial interpretation. This would worsen the situation, they said.