Govt’s indifferent policies are blocking construction of Kalabagh dam: Raja Jahangir Akhtar

Islamabad: Social and political activist Raja Jahangir Akhtar on Saturday said government’s indifferent policies are blocking construction of Kalabagh dam (KBD) which is lifeline for Pakistan. Nationalists are frequently blamed for opposing the project since decades but nobody blames government for it, he said.

Speaking to a press conference at hunger strike camp, Raja Jahangir Akhtar said that KBD would not been opposed if government had fairly dealt with the affectees of Tarbela and Mangla dams.

Those who were forced to leave their ancestral areas were not given their due even after decades which has triggered opposition for reservoirs among masses, he added.

The veteran leader said that if government announces proper compensation, residential, healthcare and educational facilities and Rs 1 profit for every unit generated, they will become partners of the government settling opposition for KBD forever. He said that government, economists and some politicians frequently paint good about benefits of KBD but they would never say a word about the benefit of those who would be displaced.

The income of all those in Sindh and Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa who would be affected by KBD be calculated and double return must be ensured, he demanded. Supporting the stance of nationalist leader Isfandyar Wali Khan, Raja Jahangir Akhtar said that he is correctly asking that what we will get for sacrificing for others. He said that those Kashmiris affected by construction and upraising of Mangla Dam got highly preferential treatment over Pothoharis which is not acceptable.

Legislators should look beyond their petty benefits and start making and amending laws for the greater good, he demanded.