Sindh River Canal Project: What’s the Real Issue?

ARY NEWS

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00:00The new canals that are being built in Sindh, I saw that this issue has become a part of national politics.

00:07First, the President of Pakistan spoke about this, then Bilawal Bhutto Zardari raised objections about this in his address yesterday.

00:13The six canals that will be built, where will they come from?

00:17What is the purpose of these canals?

00:21And what is their purpose?

00:23And why are the people of Sindh objecting to this?

00:25These are many questions that people want to know the answers to.

00:28Let me tell you where these six canals will come from.

00:31On 10 July 2023, when the government of Pakistan started the Green Initiative,

00:35six new canals will be built on the river Sindh, which are called strategic canals.

00:41According to the plan, three will be built in Sindh, two in Punjab and one in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

00:46Different areas of the country, such as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab,

00:50have been planned to accommodate at least 3.5 million acres of land.

00:54Four canals have already been built in this network of strategic canals,

00:59while in Punjab, the Cholistan Canal and Greater Thal Canal Phase 2 have not yet started.

01:04According to the plan, 12 lakh acres of desert area will also be irrigated,

01:09and it will be able to be made a profitable land,

01:12which will increase the revenue and will be able to bring a lot of change in the country.

01:16This is being claimed.

01:17In Sindh, the most objectionable to the developers is the Cholistan Canal,

01:21which in their opinion will reduce the availability of water in Sindh.

01:26If we can show it on the screen, then we will move ahead.

01:29What is the position of Arsa on six new canals?

01:32Under River System Authority's six new canals have different views on the distribution of water.

01:39The first view is that the six canals will run all year, but in the presence of water.

01:44The second view is that the canals will run for six months from April to September.

01:48How much money will be made from this plan, which the government claims?

01:52Mr. Musadeq Malik is talking about this.

01:54He is saying that 40% will be given to the provinces.

01:57They have also decided that these canals will be built and the barren areas will be populated.

02:02Only this additional water is not being delivered.

02:05In this scheme, sir, productivity, i.e. better use of water,

02:09i.e. producing double the crop in one unit of water,

02:14is all part of that program.

02:16Whatever will be the benefit of 40% will be given to the provinces.

02:2140% will be given to those who will populate these barren areas and deserts.

02:26But the 20% money that has been allocated for research...

02:33Let's try to understand this matter in a simple language.

02:36Mr. Naseer Mehmed is present with us.

02:38He is a researcher and a developmental professional.

02:40Let's discuss this issue.

02:43Thank you very much, Mr. Naseer.

02:45Thank you, Mr. Naseer, for joining us.

02:47I have shown you the position of Wifaq and Sindh.

02:50You must be aware of this.

02:52The government is saying that 40% will be given to the provinces.

02:55Then what is the real problem on the Cholistan Canal?

02:59What are the reservations of the people of Sindh?

03:02Do they have a problem with the percentage of money?

03:05Do they have a problem with the regulation of water?

03:10Thank you very much.

03:12Cholistan is not just the name of a canal.

03:15Cholistan is a big scheme.

03:18One part of it is Greater Cholistan and the other part is Smaller Cholistan.

03:23Right now, we are talking about the approval of Phase 1 of the Smaller Cholistan scheme.

03:30We are talking about 4.5 lakh acres of land to be populated.

03:35Then there is Phase 2.

03:37If you add Phase 1 and Phase 2, it becomes 12 lakh acres of land.

03:41If you add the whole of Cholistan, the area of Cholistan is 66 lakh acres.

03:48Of course, it will not be enough for everyone.

03:50But there is an estimate of 4 to 5 million acres.

03:54For that, the water has to be diverted from Chanaab and Jhelum to Satluj.

03:58It has to be sent ahead of Satluj.

04:00In total, there is an estimate of 5 million acres of water.

04:04The concern of Sindh is that Satluj was handed over to India in 1960.

04:09It does not have water.

04:11When you divert water from Jhelum and Chanaab,

04:15keep in mind that there is no additional water in Jhelum and Chanaab.

04:19In the 1991 Accord, every drop of water is distributed.

04:23Whether it is from Punjab or Sindh.

04:26If you look at the data of the last 25 years,

04:29IRSA always announces the shortage of water in April.

04:34The 25-year data of IRSA shows that there is a 13.5% annual shortage in Punjab.

04:40There is a 19.5% shortage in Sindh.

04:42This means that there is a shortage of water in the system.

04:45If you subtract 5 million acres from this,

04:48when you divert water from Jhelum,

04:51there is a Trimu Barrage in Jhelum.

04:53There is a Panjnat Barrage.

04:54They also have land.

04:55The people of Punjab live on it.

04:57What will they do?

04:59Therefore, there is a shortage of water in Sindh.

05:02For example, this year you do not have drinking water.

05:05The court of Punjab has said that you should not wash the houses.

05:09This is the situation of water in Punjab.

05:12When you divert water from Mangla Dam,

05:15there will be a shortfall in the command area below.

05:17There is a shortage of water in Sindh.

05:18The two link canals from Indus can be diverted from Indus.

05:24In short, keep in mind that Indus river is not one river.

05:28If you divert water from anywhere,

05:30it will flow down to Panjnat and flow into Sindh.

05:32Still, the water of Sindh will flow.

05:34It will flow from Indus or from any canal.

05:36So that is the problem.

05:38Sindh has an objection to this.

05:39Tell us from the perspective of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,

05:44will the water of Punjab also be affected by this?

05:50It will definitely happen.

05:51I have come to Lahore for a conference.

05:55The people here have said that there is a shortage of water.

05:58They are also raising the question that if the water is already committed,

06:01then where will you stop the water?

06:03Will you do corporate farming of Cholistan?

06:05Corporate farming cannot be done on the Chemahi canal.

06:09Corporate farming is a large-scale farming.

06:11If you talk about 40-50 lakh acres,

06:14if you talk about its commodity trading,

06:16then it cannot be done on the flood canal.

06:18The last time the flood came in the river was in 2010.

06:22After that, the riverine flood did not come.

06:24In 2022, there was no riverine flood.

06:26So when there will be such dry years,

06:28this year is a flash drought,

06:30which the Pakistan Meteorological Department has said

06:32that it is the season of flash drought.

06:34Because flash drought is more severe than drought.

06:36So there are international trade agreements.

06:39Today, what do you say to them that we cannot sell Ghala

06:41because we do not have water?

06:42It does not happen on the Chemahi canal.

06:44Around the year, water is needed for it.

06:46Therefore, the water of the inhabitants of Punjab will go that way.

06:49The existing commitments of Cholistan will also divert water.

06:53Obviously, new water cannot be invented.

06:55The water will go from here.

06:57So is politics also being done on this issue?

07:00Or do you really think that because of genuine grievances,

07:03this conversation has now reached the level of diplomacy?

07:07Because we see that politics is also being done on these issues at the local level.

07:11How much politics is there in this and how many legitimate concerns are there?

07:15You see, it has been 6 months.

07:19We have reached the politics of loyalty a little late.

07:23We are sitting in the back.

07:24People have been on the roads for 6 months in Sindh.

07:26It is not the case today.

07:28There are demonstrations on the basis of daily for 6 months.

07:31If you follow Sindhi media,

07:33you see on social media for 6 months,

07:35no day is empty, no conference, no seminar,

07:37no hunger strike, no demonstration.

07:38All peaceful.

07:39The good thing is that everything is peaceful.

07:41Those demonstrations are going on.

07:43The people are demonstrating.

07:46There are also political party workers.

07:48But these are not just nationalist parties.

07:51Every party is demonstrating.

07:52The religious parties are also demonstrating.

07:54The federal parliamentary politicians are also demonstrating.

07:58Students are demonstrating.

08:00Teachers are demonstrating.

08:02Lawyers are demonstrating.

08:04So all this, people are not so simple or so ignorant

08:08that they will come out on the roads for no reason.

08:11But there is a small town in Sindh.

08:13If you have ever been there,

08:15you will see that 15,000-20,000 people have come out in a small town.

08:18There is a lot of anxiety.

08:20Thank God that someone has started listening to Wafaaq.

08:24This has come under debate on the mainstream media.

08:26Politics is not a bad thing that I should discuss it.

08:29Why not politics?

08:30Politics is a good thing.

08:31Politics should be on the issues of Pakistan.

08:33There is a genuine concern behind this.

08:36You go to Sindh right now.

08:39The water indent at Sakhar Barrage is going down by 50%.

08:43Irsa has made a circular.

08:46It has been a week or two.

08:48They have said that only drinking water will be available.

08:50There is no water for the crops.

08:52Now think that where only drinking water will be available

08:54and there is no guarantee for it,

08:56then it is not just a matter of politics.

08:58It is a matter of people's rights.

08:59No doubt.

09:00Thank you very much, Naseer Mehman.

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