Member Working Group of Planning Commission of Pakistan on Energy Dr Engr Javed Yunus Uppal called for generating electricity from hydro power sources, which is cheap source of power generation. He also said that India generates electricity from hydro power sources which costs them Rs 1.50 per unit, while IPPs in Pakistan charge Rs 11.50 per unit.
He was delivering a lecture on Water and Power Issues and Their Solutions at Institution of Engineers Pakistan on Tuesday. He also said that due to strange reasons, instead of producing more electricity, the power plants in Pakistan, such as Uch and Mangla are getting huge breakdowns.
He also said that Lakhra Coal Plant, the only coal based power plant has been disbanded. Thar Coal project is in the doldrums too. Dr Engr Javed Yunus Uppal said that water and power situation has reached to an alarming level. Power is being disconnected to a number of districts in KPK, and 18 government institutions in Islamabad alone have been served notices for non-payment of electricity bills.
The IPPs are unable to purchase oil and the oil companies are unable to deliver supplies. The government has no option but to take chunks out of public money and pay to the energy companies. The government has no option but to resort to the International Monetary Fund and get loans rescheduled. The government has to take the difficult decision of getting electricity from India.
Uppal said that Allah has blessed Pakistan with world's largest sweet water reservoir that is Himalayas, Pakistan is at the verge of being declared as water scarce country. He said that huge area of land in the country is uncultivable due to scarcity of water. He called for building water storage dams adding that water is not reaching to the tails of the canals.
Uppal said that water is being wasted in the canals because of poor transmission, seepage, illegal cuts, and theft. He said that ego centric politicians are responsible for this situation because due to their political gains they hesitate to build water storage dams. He said that bureaucrats were also responsible who took decisions without taking public interest into account. This situation is the result of the ruthless commercially motivated groups who put larger national interest at stake for sake of their own selfish interest. He said that engineers should be involved in the decision making because technical decisions should be taken by technical people.
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