Fantasy and Reality of Diamer-Basha Dam Chief Justice of Pakistan ordered to open account for funding of Diamer-Basha and Mohmand Dam on 6th July 2018. Both of these dams are very important as country is facing worst water crisis. Diamer-Basha Dam is located in Bhasha, an area in Diamer district of Gilgit Baltistan. The foundation of dam was laid in 2011 by then Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gillani. But the work could not begin due to lack of funds. Water And Power Development Authority (WAPDA) is the owner of this Dam. This Dam will produce 4500 MW electricity. It will also increase water storage capacity of the country from 38 days to 45 days. The Dam will comprise of 37000 acres of land. Diamer-Basha Dam would be the highest rollercompacted concrete dam in the world. The estimated cost of Diamer-Basha Dam is more than 1.45 trillion rupees. Only the reservoir will cost more than 650 billion rupees. The current amount in Supreme Court Dam Fund has reached 960 million rupees in one month. At this speed, It would take more than 120 years to collect total amount for the construction of Dam. So, it seems impossible to build this dam without government support. According to the orders of Supreme Court, the work on the dam has been started. But the nation would have to wait a very long to see this huge dam working. So, According to these stats, the construction of the dam by public funding seems like a fantasy more than a reality. Let’s close our eyes and hope for the best.
