Mayor hails CJP’s order to build Bhasha, Mohmand dams

Karachi Mayor Wasim Akhtar has hailed the Supreme Court order to immediately build Bhasha and Mohmand dams.

Speaking at a press conference held at the KMC building on Thursday, he said it was a historic decision and appreciated the donation of one million rupees announced by Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar to the fund for the construction of the dams.

Akhtar mentioned that he too had donated Rs100,000 from a personal account, while other Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) officers had donated Rs100,000 following in the CJP’s footsteps.

He added that it was a good omen that the provinces were not in conflict and quoted the Council of Common Interest, which stated that it had no issue over the construction of these dams. He said the acute water shortage in the country could cause droughts and nations had been destroyed due to water scarcity.

The mayor appealed to the people of the city to come forward and donate generously to the account for the dams. He urged philanthropists to give their due shares for the construction of desalination plants, adding that 90 million- acre feet of water was wasted annually and, according to the Ministry of Water and Power, one million-acre feet of water costs Rs500 million.

Replying to a question, he said that if water was not supplied through taps, the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board should provide tankers for free. He added that a transformation of the entire system was required and after these dams were built, the Kalabagh Dam should be constructed.

When asked about Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s comment that the construction of dams was not the responsibility of the judiciary, Akhtar said that the Pakistan Peoples Party was responsible for the bad governance these past few years because of which such institutions had to address these issues.