Thousands Protest Musharraf Dam Plan in Pakistan
Date: 30-Dec-05
Country: PAKISTAN
The protesters, from mainstream opposition parties and nationalist groups, chanted slogans against Musharraf and his proposal to build the Kalabagh Dam in North West Frontier Province (NWFP) bordering Afghanistan.
They gathered in Jehangira, a town close to the border with Punjab province, where many people also oppose the project.
"It not an issue of our rights; it's a matter of our survival," ethnic Pashtun leader Asfandeyar Wali told the rally, which police said totalled up to seven thousand people.
"Pakistan and Kalabagh dam cannot go together," he said.
The government says the dam on the Indus river will benefit farmers, produce hydro-electric power and help control floods.
Opponents say it will deprive many farming communities in Sindh and Baluchistan provinces of water and opponents in NWFP say it will submerge a wide area, displace thousands of people and cause devastation in the event of floods.
Water has long been a divisive issue in drought-prone Pakistan and successive governments have been forced to shelve plans for constructing the dam, which was first proposed in 1953.
Opposition to Kalabagh and other dam projects has prevented construction of new reservoirs for 30 years and forced the government to opt for expensive thermal power generation.
A similar protest rally was held in Karachi a week ago.
Addressing an audience of journalists at a luncheon in the eastern city of Lahore, Musharraf defended his plans.
"It's necessary to make dams," he said. "The construction of dams is in the national interest because after 25 years Pakistan will face a severe water crisis," he said.
Musharraf has recently stepped up efforts to get the Kalabagh and other dam projects off the drawing board, touring the country to drum up support and calling for a meeting of all political parties to try to forge an agreement.
But in his speech, Musharraf said he would announce start dates for Kalabagh and two other dam projects before the next presidential elections in 2007, even if the opposition disagreed.
"Even if there is no consensus, we will go ahead with the construction. We will have to take some tough decisions."
