HYDERABAD, Aug 17: The Sindh Water Committee on Wednesday severely criticised statement of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz that flood water that was flowing into the sea could have been stored if there had been dams.

At a meeting of the SWC, representatives of different parties and water experts criticised the reports work was going apace on the greater Thal canal.

Awami Tehrik chief Rasool Bux Palijo presided over the meeting.

The meeting said that the statement of the prime minister about floods indicated his total ignorance about matters relating to water.

It termed the statement as an attempt to hoodwink the people while playing to the lobby that favours dams.

It said that the present flow of Indus was not at all a flood as it was the normal flow at this time of the year.

The meeting recalled that according to the A.N.G. Abbasi report, 84 per cent of water of Indus and Kabul rivers, 90 MAF per year at the average, flows down only in July, August and September.

It said that the next big river of Pakistan — the Chenab — with an average yearly flow of 33 MAF, could not be stored as no storage arrangements exist.

The SWC said that the excess water of rivers and the rain water from thousands of rivulets always flow out to the sea at this time of the year.

The committee appealed to print and electronic media to get their facts straight and not to fall in the trap of propaganda unleashed by the dam mafia.

The meeting condemned that irresponsible and callous utterances of the Sindh flood relief commissioner on the flood situation.

It said that the relief commissioner and the Sindh government had failed to provide meaningful and adequate relief to rain-affected people of the province, specially Thatta and Badin districts.

The meeting claimed that the relief commissioner and governments of Pakistan and Sindh had not formulated any disaster management policies for Sindh.

It pointed out that even relief had not been provided to affected people of the 2003 cyclone.

It demanded that the government should provide relief to rain-affected people of the province.

The meeting demanded that the Sindh government should ensure implementation of recommendations of the technical committee on water resources and the resolution of the Sindh Assembly calling for the stoppage of work on the greater Thal canal.

It demanded that the government should ensure that the Chashma-Jehlum and Taunsa-Panjnad link canals were closed.

Sindh Democratic Forum chief Abrar Qazi, Sindh Abadgar Board chairman Majeed Nizamani, Muzaffar Sadiq Bhatti and water expert Nazeer Memon were present on the occasion.