KARACHI: Expressing grave concern over the vast damages caused by floods after recent water aggression by India, Pasban Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman Altaf Shakoor said that the country needs an autonomous National Flood Management Authority (NFMA) on a war footing basis.
He said after the recent climate changes, Pakistan is badly hit by huge floods, causing extensive damage to life and property. He said there is a forecast of 22 percent more rainfall next year, warranting immediate steps from right now.
He said the country needs new water storage and diversion infrastructures. He said the country needs at least a dozen new dams in different parts of the country.
He said it also needs hundreds of artificial lakes to provide a buffer to any sudden surge in flooding. There should be an extensive network of connecting and diversion canals to ensure a safe diversion and re-routing of flood waters.
In this regard the country needs to construct dozens of flood canals and desert canals on urgent basis to safely divert flood waters to barren and desert areas without causing damage to population or agriculture.
He said politics on dams and canals should be stopped now, as the country cannot afford flooding damages every monsoon.
He said Pakistan faces a cycle of floods and droughts and it certainly needs better water management. He said rainwater harvesting is in the best interest of the nation and country.
He said the river routes on Pakistan-India borders must be redesigned and re-routed. All sorts of encroachments over waterways and river banks must be removed, providing affected people alternate land and accommodation.
He said different rivers of Pakistan must be inter-connected through link canals wherever possible.
For a safe diversion of excessive floodwaters, dozens of big and small desert canals should be dug up in arid and desert zones, particularly in Sindh and Balochistan, where the deserts of Thal, Cholistan and Thar could be easily used to dump excessive floodwaters through new flood canals.
Altaf Shakoor asked that the army should ensure that the proposed national flood management authority is set up on an emergency basis on the pattern of the Special Investment Facilitating Council (SIFC) in the best interest of the nation and country.
He also asked the provinces to set up their own flood management infrastructures to cope with rain and flood emergencies in an effective manner.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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