THIS is apropos of the letter ‘Bullet train will be a dream come true’ (May 16). The letter postulates that the Pakistan Railways has land assets in Karachi which can be exploited for building skyscrapers and that could fund the dream train.
What is required is not only money but also electricity to run a bullet train which may not run on a dream. Unless and until a mega hydroelectric dam is not built to provide cheap power, a country plagued with 12 to 16 hours of loadshedding, cannot dream of a bullet train. The only possibility for cheap hydel power is the construction of the Kalabagh Ddam which can generate 3,600 MW of cheap power.
The other alternative, the Diamir Bhasha Dam, is only a gleam in the eye due to insurmountable problems of long distance from consumers and lack of funds by the World Bank due to objections by India being located in a disputed area.
The first groundbreaking of the Bhasha Dam was done in 2006, i.e. seven years ago, with no prospects of further tangible progress. Even funds for preliminary works of the dam were diverted by Raja Pervez Ashraf to build roads in Gujjar Khan. We would need another Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan to build a mega dam to provide ample power for a dream train.
The Grand Coulee Dam in the US was built during World War II which helped to win the war by generating cheap power that made it possible to make aluminum for fighter and bomber planes that tilted the balance of war against Germany as did the atom bomb against Japan. As such, first things first, we require a mega hydroelectric dam in Pakistan before we dream of a bullet train. Even the first electric train from Lahore to Khanewal could not be maintained due to lack of power and the poles as the overhead power lines were also pilfered by thieves.
We may have grandiose ideas but in order to translate these into reality we need to set priorities to do first things first instead of dreaming like Sheikh Chilli who broke his eggs in a fitful dream.
DR M.YAQOOB BHATTI
Lahore
Weighing the priority
THIS refers to Nawaz Sharif’s statement (May 4) about running a bullet train from Karachi to Peshawar. As a common man, I am not against such projects.
I had read a lot of criticism about the Motorway project, as well as about the Metro Bus Service of Lahore. One may not agree with all those objections but it is a fact that the Motorway project is not being used to the maximum capacity for certain reasons and so it is not business-efficient transaction.
In my opinion, the first priority should be to run the present railway system efficiently and, secondly, the new project of bullet train should be prioritised on the basis of overall economic conditions.
MIR TABASSUM MAIRAJ
Islamabad