Water Development in Pakistan suffered heavily due to Geopolitics

Water development in Pakistan suffered heavily due to Kalabagh Dam controversy, provincial water disputes between Sindh and Punjab for the last about 70 years, and due to water dispute with India for the wrong partition of India and the forcible occupation of Kashmir where the origin of all rivers originate.  The provincial water dispute was settled in 1991 under the IRSA Act in the shape of Water Accord Agreement between the provinces. To implement Water Accord, Indus River System Authority IRSA was created in 1993. Water Accord para 13 states that IRSA is created to implement Water Accord.

Surprisingly, no financial and administrative powers were given to IRSA to implement Water Accord, meet water requirements of paras 2, 4, 6, by creating 22 maf storage dams and to carry out Integrated Comprehensive Water Management (ICWM) to implement para 14(e) to avoid all wastage of water. The ICWM will save 40 maf to 50 maf wastage of water in the highly wasteful, incompatible and obsolete canal irrigation system that is 150 years old.  The result is that water dispute between the provinces continued in spite of the Water Accord due to continued shortage of water for no dams. WAPDA has created no storage since the completion of Tarbela Dam Reservoir in 1974.  

Due to Kalabagh Dam controversy, WAPDA created status quo and built no storage dam for the last 38 years. Basha will take another 10 years if funds are available. Basha feasibility was established in 1981, even then Basha was not built. This means no dam for the last 48 years on the Indus due to the obstinacy of WAPDA.

The dispute on Kalabagh Dam is due to political controversy, and technical controversy between WAPDA and the project consultant. Project consultant did not agree with the hydraulic design dictated by WAPDA under the tailored TOR to provide 50 days restricted mid-level silt sluicing hydraulic design. The consultant recommended to provide 100 days un-restricted low-level silt sluicing hydraulic design to evacuate silt out of the reservoir. WAPDA design gives very short life span due to heavy and rapid silting. Silt flow at Kalabagh Dam site from a catchment area of 110,500 squire miles is about 540 million tons equivalent to 0.3 maf. Moreover, the dam site selected at the end of the Indus valley is wrong as capacity inflow ratio at Kalabagh Dam site is the poorest in the world. It is 6:93 besides many other reasons and some more technical flaws given in my blog.

WAPDA gave tailored TOR to the consultants. Such TOR imposed on consultant was not found feasible. The KBD consultants gave technically very safe hydraulic design to evacuate silt but WAPDA disagreed and wanted to impose its own hydraulic design. WAPDA hydraulic design will not evacuate silt out of the reservoir. Rapid silt will be deposited upstream of the Attock gorge that would cause severe backwater flow in Kabul River that will cause,  flooding of Nowshera city and Peshawar valley.

The ugly KBD controversy continued for 48 years. Even now WAPDA is adamant to build another dam and resists not to consider other unique and multipurpose dams, like the 35 maf Katzarah Dam, the 8.5 maf multipurpose Guroh Dop Dam and even the unique substitute for Kalabagh Dam, in the form of 4.4 maf Raised Fateh barrage, replacing Kalabagh Dam.  The dam-cum-raised Fateh barrage was initiated by me and suggested to the Government in 1994 when I was Chairman IRSA. No one cared. Even now KBD controversy is as severe as before.

The result of disputes, controversy for 37 years on dams and the prevailing lunacy resulted in the devastation of 22 per cent of Pakistan most developed area by the historic floods of 2010, causing losses worth billions of dollars and the crippling load shedding of worst type rendering more than 70 % industries idle. Economic life in Pakistan ceased, causing billions of dollars loss. People are on the verge of revolt. The Water Accord is continuously un-implemented. The miseries will only end if four dams proposed by me are built. For all these matters please refer to my blog titled fatehuk.blogspot.com

There is yet another water dispute between India and Pakistan created after the wrong partition of India. This is because the hydrologic unit of Kashmir, from where all Pakistani rivers originate is forcibly occupied by India. The Indus Waters Treaty between Pakistan and India was executed in 1960. Under this Treaty, Pakistan surrendered perennial water to India that was irrigating vast area in East Punjab of Pakistan. This is because canal Head works on the three Eastern rivers, Ravi, Sujles,and Bias went to India. In replacement to the perennial water surrendered to India, Pakistan was given time-based storage water (non-perennial) by building Tarbala Dam, Mangla Dam and network of link canals transferring water of one river to the next to feed the area of East Punjab of Pakistan deprived of its centuries old water rights. Water dispute is created with India due to wrong partition of India.

 While implementing the IWT, during the period of 37 years Tarbela Dam and Mangla Dam are silted up by 6.5 maf. This rendered the Indus Waters Treaty inefficacious as replacement storage at Tarbela and Mangla reservoirs to feed Eastern area of Pakistan is lost to silting of the reservoirs. Storage is the basic and integral component of the Indus Waters Treaty. The question is, Who will replenish the lost storage? This issue is disputable. It needs settlement.

Beside the above, India is allowed to create hydropower on run-of-the-river on our rivers, namely the Indus, Jehlum and Chenab Rivers. India has mis-used this facility by building 56 hydropower projects including mega dams on our rivers. By doing so, India played hidden and ill-legal trick by creating more perennial, live storage than as allowed. This live storage water is hidden in the technical terms of Pondage, Pondage level, Operating pool, surcharge storage, and run-of the-river wrongly defined in the Appendix –D of the IWT. This illegal storage is not detected by Pakistan till I pointed out. Under the guise of these definitions more live storage is created by India and India has acquired the ability to limit the supply of water at critical moment in the growing season. This has created fear of war. India is allowed 2.85 maf storage under the Treaty on the Western Rivers. The Government of Pakistan may request India to let Pakistan know, how much live storage India created in the 56 hydraulic structures including mega dams? Commissioner Water revealed in a meeting that India has built 56 hydraulic structure including mega dams whereas Senator John Kerry has mentioned 32.  Please read my several articles in my blog on the IWT.

Surprisingly, this illegal storage created was confirmed indirectly by Senator John Kerry in his report to the US Senate. An excerpt from John Kerry report is;

“India has acquired the ability to store enough water to limit the supply of water to Pakistan at critical moment in the growing season”.

Pakistan Rabi crop requirement is 36 to 38 maf. This will be adversely affected as India has control on it.  The additional live storage has created insecurity of water for our Rabi crop. This is done with the intention to use water as a weapon of mass destruction creating famine, hunger, death and genocide. John Kerry feared Water war (nuclear) that is not in the interest of USA and the whole world. This must be avoided by the UN, and Kashmir should be handed over to Pakistan to avoid the possibility of nuclear war and maintain peace in the region. It is not possible for Pakistan to live without water. Pakistan will not be able to sustain its largest contiguous canal irrigation system in the world. This would create food crisis.

My blog will help research workers as the blog contain about 100 articles on all aspects of water issues and their solutions. Nearly 7700 thousand research workers have visited the blog throughout the world till this date. I believe I am the only water resource engineer in Pakistan, who created such a blog only a year back that help scholars in their research work but Government is not taking its benefit. My blog will serve as guidance as it contains 55 years experience of water issues of Pakistan. All research workers can select articles of their interest out of the 100 articles. All research workers are requested to study articles of their interest in the blog. Many Research workers have requested me to advise them.  

Regarding my professional background, and experience, please find it in my book titled “God created the universe with the purpose to serve humankind”. Write the title of my book and my name (google) , you will get the book on internet revealing similarity and agreement of Quranic verses revealed 1442 years ago with the most modern and established science laws. This book gives details of my professional background and experience in its introduction.

  2. The prestige and efficiency of WAPDA has drastically dropped since 1974 onward. It has become politically dominated organization and is at the lowest ebb of professional efficiency. It abandoned Kachi canal alignment wrongly planned by it, it failed in its mega project of Salinity control and reclamation project known as SCARPto evacuate salinity out of the Indus basin and maintain salt and water balance in the soil. After this failure, WAPDA wrongly conceived and planned National Drainage Programme (NDP). This too failed. Finally, the idea of providing Drainage System is abandoned though Drainage is the integral component of irrigation system. WAPDA made Kalabagh Dam controversial, it delayed dam construction for 48 years that resulted in shortage of water, flood havoc of 2010 and crippling load shedding.

Now WAPDA is trying to make Katzarah Dam, Guroh Dam and Raised Fateh Barrage controversial by informing people, that their area will be submerged by dams. WAPDA is creating fear in the mind of those whose area would be submerged. WAPDA has become inefficient, corrupt, feels no responsibility and has become incapable to conceive, plan and execute mega projects. Chairman WAPDA is not Water Resources Engineer. He is, either  General,  politician or a retired civil bureaucrat. This is strange, and shows political domination. Please, read my various articles in the blog.

3.  I have discussed some points of the Indus Waters Treaty as above. For more see the blog.

4. The Water Accord has not been implemented during the past 20 years as storage is not created. The provincial water disputes continue. There is dire need to implement para 2 of the Water Accord in which 117.35 maf of water is distributed between the provinces whereas, water available to the system is 90 maf to 95 maf.  Moreover, paras 4, 6, and para 14(e) of Water Accord require immediate implementation to meet 22 maf of water required by IRSA to implement Water Accord. In a way, IRSA has not proved successful to end disputes so far, till more storage is created to settle water disputes. This needs financial and administrative powers for IRSA besides close cooperation of WAPDA with IRSA. This needs shifting of WAPDA Head quarter from Lahore to Islamabad and the appointment of experienced Chairman WAPDA. I believe for this reason, the Chairman WAPDA is made ex-officio Member IRSA with no power to vote. Please refer to IRSA Act.

5. During 1994, when I was chairman IRSA, water shortage was the main problem that I faced. I therefore repeatedly suggested the immediate construction of the unique, 35 maf Katzarah Dam, the 8.5 maf, multipurpose Guroh Dam and the 4.4 maf, Raised Fateh Barrage. I discovered 12 mega dams in Pakistan during 1959 to 1961. Fateh Barrage was conceived by me in 1994 to settle water disputes and Kalabagh controversy, but the lunatic controversy on Kalabagh Dam replacing it by the Raised Fateh barrage as its substitute is not considered so far. Please refer to my blog for all these projects. Lack of interest by the Government, by its organizations, and scarcity of fund and no water policy are the reasons for failure to build new dams as suggested by me.

6. No. People are steeling about 16 maf of water from the Indus River indirectly in the river reach from Chashma to Kotri. This is also the cause of shortage of water shortage that creates water dispute. The people have installed unauthorized tube wells near the bank of the Indus River. There is no watch on such theft by the provincial Governments and IRSA as politicians are involved. Refer to my blog. WAPDA telemetry can serve no purpose as this theft from the Indus is indirect, via the groundwater pumping.

7. Kalabagh Dam site was wrongly selected as it has the poorest capacity inflow ratio with short life span. Moreover, WAPDA gave tailored TOR to the Project consultant, imposing a wrong hydraulic design. The KBD consultant did not agree. They suggested a design based on the concept of barrage to  evacuate silt. WAPDA did not agree to the design of consultant. Besides this, the project has become politically controversial due to several other reasons. Please consult my blog for my articles on KBD and on Raised Fateh Barrage. The KBD controversy cost the nation, flood devastation of 2010, crippling load shedding, water shortage and failure to implement Water Accord. I conceived Raised Fateh Barrage, a unique substitute for KBD to settle the mad controversy. For this purpose, I recently held three meetings with the Government of Pakistan and allied professional organizations including WAPDA. Let us hope something good comes out of it. Delay in the construction of dams is criminal as the remaining part of storage in Tarbela and Mangla Reservoirs will soon silt up.“death of the reservoir starts the day it is built”. We cannot afford to waste time as we have already wasted 48 years by not building the second dam on the Indus though we have lost 6.5 maf of storage due to rapid silting. 

8 . No. I cannot suggest who can give such information. For Indus Waters Treaty, the responsible man is the Commissioner Indus Waters based at Lahore. This organization was sleeping all the time since 1960 when India built 56 hydropower projects and is building more. This organization has not pointed out that Tarbela and Mangla Reservoirs are silted by 6.5 maf and requires replenishment.

It has also not pointed out the hidden live storage in the technical terms that are wrongly defined in the Treaty in its Appendix-D. Please see my articles for details. For example, pondage means still water, but  the Treaty defines it as live storage.                             

Engr Fateh ullah Khan  Gandapur                                                      

Former Chairman IRSA.

 Mobile  (0300 5920641), Islamabad line No: (051 2106387),   Peshawar line No: is ( 091 5824918)

Copy to Secretary Water and Power, Government of Pakistan.

 Please refer to your letter No. W1-4(20)/2011 dated May 31,2012. Subject: Articles written by Mr Fateh ullah Khan Gandapur.

 Riaz Ahmad Khan Advisor will be submitting his repot to you after conducting three meetings on these issues held in IRSA Office. I submit this report for your information. I thank you for noticing these issues and directing Riaz Ahmad Khan to hold meetings.    

 It is requested to take suitable action as things are getting worst. Power shortage has created hell, floods have destroyed the country, floods will destroy again and again, water shortage is a great threat to cause famine, silt destroys the storage, water disputes are growing, controversies created by WAPDA have stopped water and hydropower development, food shortage will cause revolt. Everyone is in agony. WAPDA attitude towards the development of water and power remained very poor. WAPDA failed for not building dams on the Indus for a period of 37+1o=47 years itself is a crime, because people suffered due to 2010 floods and the crippling load shedding. I request the Government to take notice of water and power woes.

Copy to Chairman IRSA.

 All these problems are required to be solved with the coordination of IRSA, as control on Indus River water falls under the regulation and distribution of the water of the Indus River system as provided  under the IRSA Act. Moreover, Water Accord paras 2, 4, 6, and 14 (e) requires IRSA to implement these paras. Integrated Comprehensive Water Management is the answer to our water and power issues and to avoid all losses of water as provided in para 14(e) of the Water Accord. WAPDA has failed as it created controversies and a long status quo. Therefore Water Accord could not be implemented.

Copy to Deputy Chairman Planning Commission, Government of Pakistan.

Planning Commission is a supreme body consisting of top intelligent individuals in all fields. I request them to help by bringing these devastating issues to the personal notice of the President and the Prime Minister who are in dark.

 There is no Water Development Policy. We cannot utilize our great natural resources. Article 38 of the Constitution requires to develop these resources to provide food, clothing, housing, medical facilities, education and other human needs. Please advise the President and the Prime Minister that credit will go to their Government if multipurpose 35 maf Katzarah Dam, 8.5 maf Guroh Dop Dam and 4.4 maf Raised Fateh Barrage are approved for construction.

 Katzarah Dam will create 35 maf storage equal to six times the storage of Basha or Kalabagh, control 100% flood in the Indus, generate hydropower and control silt in the Indus River water that comes from the highly erodible soil in the Skardu valley. This finding is reported by Dr Attaullah appointed by the World Bank to investigate the source of silt in the Indus River water. Katzarah Dam if built shall serve as Water shed Management Dam. Basha Dam life will increase from 80 –90 years to 700 years if Katzarah is built. Katzarah has unique narrow dam site in the world. Katzarah cost is not more than Basha. WAPDA has intentionally avoided preparing Katzarah technical feasibility though Nisar Memon committee directed WAPDA to prepare it at once. WAPDA promised to prepare it by September 2005. WAPDA did not comply as it cannot see any other dam than Kalabagh.