World Sindhi Congress (WSC) has condemned the Pakistan government's decision of building a dam on the River Indus.
Expressing concern, the global association of the Sindhis said that the Diamer Bhasha Dam will adversely affect the ecology and geography of the region.
The WSC said that Sindh and its indigenous people are already suffering from the shortage of agriculture water. Constructing a dam will aggravate their situation, depleting them of their already meagre resources.
"Unfortunately, since the inception of the country, every water, and energy project is planned and executed keeping Punjab's interest only. Pakistan has a long history of depriving lower riparian of their fair share of the water, bypassing local and international laws," they said in a statement.
The statement further read that the constructions of mega-dams will imbalance the relationship between water, land and indigenous people by destroying the existing ecosystem, which has taken years to develop.
Suggesting an alternative, the WSC has asked the Pakistani administration to scrap the plans for making mega dams and instead focus more on modern water management and electricity generation from solar, nuclear, and other renewable energy sources.
According to reports, "The Diamer-Bhasha dam is expected to cost 14 billion USDs with 6 Million Acre Feet of live storage" and will take three decades to payback. On the other hand, new technologies, which do not require billion-dollar investment and payback, begin on the first day of the project.
The organisation has also urged the international community to raise their voices powerfully and reject any mega-dam construction on the Indus River, the lifeline of the Sindh region.
"We also call the Sindh Assembly to pass a resolution regarding dismissing the Diamer-Bhasha dam which will deprive water to Sindh and its indigenous people," read the statement.
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