Pakistan
Katcha bandits accused of selling Sindh’s water revealed
This issue was brought into light during Senate Committee’s meeting
A recent meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Water Resources took an unexpected turn when committee member Poonjo Bheel made a shocking accusation: dacoits from the Katcha region are illegally selling water from Sindh.
This revelation ignited a heated debate, particularly when the Kala Bagh Dam was brought into the discussion.
The meeting, chaired by Senator Shahadat Awan, saw Bheel express his frustration over what he described as rampant water theft in Sindh, which has severely impacted the livelihoods of local farmers. Bheel lamented the lack of action from authorities, noting that neither the federal government nor other provinces have stepped in to address the issue.
Tensions escalated when committee member Humayun Mohmand called for transparency regarding the Kala Bagh Dam, urging that scientific research on the project be made public.
Mohmand questioned the lack of recent discussions on the dam, suggesting that the issue should be revisited to clarify its potential impact.
Bheel, however, opposed bringing the Kala Bagh Dam into the conversation, arguing that it was not part of the meeting’s agenda.
He stressed that Sindh has already suffered significant injustices, and any discussion on the dam would only deepen these grievances.
Bheel insisted that the focus should remain on resolving the water crisis in Sindh, rather than reopening old controversies.
The debate underscored the ongoing tensions between provinces over water resources, with Sindh representatives expressing deep concern over the mismanagement and alleged theft of their water.
During the meeting, a WAPDA member briefed the committee on the Chashma Lift Canal project, which is estimated to cost Rs 190 billion and was approved by the Council of Common Interests in 2017.
The Additional Secretary for Water Resources added that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government would fully fund the project.