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PM Imran Khan urges overseas Pakistanis to contribute to dam fund

Apparently Atif Aslam donated Rs 2.5 million in a cheque he gave to CJP at his residence
 
Was watching Maalik's show and a former (or current, I don't remember) WAPDA chairman was on the show and he said that even if we have all the funds today it will take atleast 9 years to build Basha.


To think that Mush did the ground breaking more than 10 years ago for the dam and this decade of democracy has seen absolutely zero progress on the ground.



Zardari was absolutely right when he said democracy is the best revenge, it's just that he didn't clarify who the revenge was being taken against, now we know it was against the people of Pakistan.
 
Syed1 said:
Was watching Maalik's show and a former (or current, I don't remember) WAPDA chairman was on the show and he said that even if we have all the funds today it will take atleast 9 years to build Basha.


To think that Mush did the ground breaking more than 10 years ago for the dam and this decade of democracy has seen absolutely zero progress on the ground.



Zardari was absolutely right when he said democracy is the best revenge, it's just that he didn't clarify who the revenge was being taken against, now we know it was against the people of Pakistan.
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ZAB laid the foundation for the Chitral tunnel in 1976, it was only completed last year...

Things work slow in Pakistan.
 
Syed1 said:
Was watching Maalik's show and a former (or current, I don't remember) WAPDA chairman was on the show and he said that even if we have all the funds today it will take atleast 9 years to build Basha.


To think that Mush did the ground breaking more than 10 years ago for the dam and this decade of democracy has seen absolutely zero progress on the ground.



Zardari was absolutely right when he said democracy is the best revenge, it's just that he didn't clarify who the revenge was being taken against, now we know it was against the people of Pakistan.
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Well yes they have said this before. The most viable dam in this regard is Kalabagh I think. It can be built in about 5-6 years and would cost much less.

I don't quite support Ayub, he was a dictator and did many things wrong but in terms of development he was perhaps the only guy with any real vision. Built dams for water storage and tried to run a serious population control campaign. The man could at least look beyond the next few years.
 
I think Mush made a huge blunder, if there was one person who was sincere enough and had all the powers behind him it was him and he still failed to initiate these most important projects.

Now all those saying this can't be done, i hope you do give us options as well because we will need more more money for lots of other things and this dam is not the only project. If we can at least get this project started and then take it forward with further loans once economy improves then it's a win-win.

It is nearly impossible to complete such projects through donations but at least we are now having serious debates about "HOW to BUILD" rather than "WHETHER WE SHOULD BUILD".
 
Waseem said:
I think Mush made a huge blunder, if there was one person who was sincere enough and had all the powers behind him it was him and he still failed to initiate these most important projects.

Now all those saying this can't be done, i hope you do give us options as well because we will need more more money for lots of other things and this dam is not the only project. If we can at least get this project started and then take it forward with further loans once economy improves then it's a win-win.

It is nearly impossible to complete such projects through donations but at least we are now having serious debates about "HOW to BUILD" rather than "WHETHER WE SHOULD BUILD".
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News coming in that the Government is looking to turn Diamer Basha Dam into a Private Limited company. And people will be able to invest in it by buying shares.
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Sarfaraz Ahmed "The Pakistan squad has decided to donate PKR 32 Lakhs for the Diamer-Bhasha dam fund. 16 players have decided to give 2 Lakhs each"</p>— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) <a href="https://twitter.com/Saj_PakPassion/status/1039059656512036865?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 10, 2018</a></blockquote>
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The Army has contributed 1 billion and 50 lakh rupees. Army chief personally went to the Supreme Court for this.
 
Just a reminder of how can the public donate for Dam Construction in Pakistan?

Account Title: DIAMER BASHA AND MOHMAND DAM FUND-2018

Account No: 03-593-299999-001-4

IBN: PK06SBPP0035932999990014

Those who want to deposit funds in the bank can donate in any branches of the State Bank of Pakistan, all branches of the National Bank of Pakistan.
 
I think we should actively promote donation on PakPassion site as this affects the future of our beautiful nation.
 
Chikkeh said:
Just a reminder of how can the public donate for Dam Construction in Pakistan?

Account Title: DIAMER BASHA AND MOHMAND DAM FUND-2018

Account No: 03-593-299999-001-4

IBN: PK06SBPP0035932999990014

Those who want to deposit funds in the bank can donate in any branches of the State Bank of Pakistan, all branches of the National Bank of Pakistan.
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Also can donate online -

http://dsqx.sbp.org.pk/DamFund/index2.php
 
Get Non-Pakistani's on board.

Americans donate $400 billion per year to charities and Canadians $50 billion plus. The whole cause needs to be promoted. In fact the govt of Pakistan should give tax exemption certificates and receipts to donors to make it more worthwhile for foreigners.
 
Savak said:
Get Non-Pakistani's on board.

Americans donate $400 billion per year to charities and Canadians $50 billion plus. The whole cause needs to be promoted. In fact the govt of Pakistan should give tax exemption certificates and receipts to donors to make it more worthwhile for foreigners.
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People give many for charities to aid people in need, not to finance infrastructure projects in far away countries
 
Syed1 said:
People give many for charities to aid people in need, not to finance infrastructure projects in far away countries
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Yep. Some may be willing so no harm in trying. Got to market it right, show that this is actually a great charitable venture where they will help provide water security for millions.

But the more practical measure is what I am hearing at the moment. Make the Dam a public or a private limited company where foreigners can buy a share for $1000 and locals at 125,000 rupees (smaller shares wouldn't be a bad idea as well). If marketed in the right way this can bring in some serious investment I feel. You can also add the humanitarian aspect to it, make them believe that they aren't just making a safe investment but they are also going to help millions of lives.
 
Syed1 said:
People give many for charities to aid people in need, not to finance infrastructure projects in far away countries
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It has to be promoted as a humanitarian crisis. Pakistan will be out of water by 2025, is that not a grave humanitarian issue?
 
Savak said:
It has to be promoted as a humanitarian crisis. Pakistan will be out of water by 2025, is that not a grave humanitarian issue?
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Things that are going to happen in 2025 don't exactly move people's hearts.
 
If someone invades Afghanistan again then it is very difficult for Pak to avoid getting involved one way or another. When your neighbour is at war it effects you big time especially when it's people start crossing the border.
 
Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Monday called on Chief Justice Saqib Nisar at the Supreme Court to present a cheque of Rs1,005.99 million as the army's donation to the Diamer-Basha and Mohmand Dams Fund set up by the apex court, according to a statement issued by the SC.

In July, the armed forces of Pakistan had announced they would contribute funds for the construction of the Diamer-Basha and Mohmand dams.

“The officers of army, navy and air force will contribute their two days’ pay, while soldiers [will be donating] one day’s pay to the announced fund for this national cause,” the military's spokesperson had said.

Last week, Prime Minister Imran Khan spoke to the nation in a brief televised address to appeal for donations to the dams fund set up by the Supreme Court.

"When Pakistan was made, every Pakistani had 5,600 cubic metres of water. Today, that stands at only 1,000 cubic metres."

"We have storage capacity of only 30 days for water when the safe period for water storage is 120 days. India has a capacity of 90 days. This is why making the dam for us is so important."

Warning of the rapid depletion in Pakistan's water resources, the premier said the country would face drought-like conditions by 2025 if immediate steps were not taken.

"I want to commend Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar [for starting the dams fund], but this was not his job," he had said. "This was the job of civilian leaders who knew this was going to swell into a crisis but did nothing to thwart it."

"I want to take over the fund-raising and want overseas Pakistanis to contribute like they used to do for the Shaukat Khanum Cancer Hospital, he had said.

The prime minister asked all overseas Pakistanis to make as many donations as they can to the dams fund in dollars to plug the country's depleting foreign exchange reserves as well as provide funding to start building dams, which he said he would personally oversee.

"I will safeguard your donations [against misuse]," he had promised.

Sarfraz and co chip in with Rs3.2m
Hours before the COAS handed over the cheque to the chief justice, Pakistan cricket team also made its contribution to the dam fund, according to captain Sarfraz Ahmed.

The national team, which is busy preparing for the upcoming Asia Cup 2018 these days, deposited Rs3.2 million.

"Each player contributed Rs200,000 to the cause," shared Sarfraz.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1432093/gen-bajwa-donates-rs1bn-for-dam-fund-on-militarys-behalf
 
Out of curiousity, how many people here have donated? Alot of well off overseas Pakistanis here. I'd imagine if 50 of us donated 1k each that'd be like $50k from pp community which could get a big buzz.
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Some numbers on the overseas funds collected for <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DonateForDams?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#DonateForDams</a> project have been communicated directly by <a href="https://twitter.com/Asad_Umar?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Asad_Umar</a> himself. And they are mind blowing&#55358;&#56623;. Be prepared for a super pleasant surprise. “Pakistan is about to change. The <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DamsFund?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#DamsFund</a> is just the beginning of it” says AU.</p>— PTI (@PTIofficial) <a href="https://twitter.com/PTIofficial/status/1039243925322715136?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 10, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Maverick84 said:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Some numbers on the overseas funds collected for <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DonateForDams?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#DonateForDams</a> project have been communicated directly by <a href="https://twitter.com/Asad_Umar?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Asad_Umar</a> himself. And they are mind blowing��. Be prepared for a super pleasant surprise. “Pakistan is about to change. The <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DamsFund?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#DamsFund</a> is just the beginning of it” says AU.</p>— PTI (@PTIofficial) <a href="https://twitter.com/PTIofficial/status/1039243925322715136?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 10, 2018</a></blockquote>
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I wasnt convinced at this idea but my sister in Law said my brother is donating a £1000 and she convinced me as well,IA i will also make a contribution.
 
My dad is gonna donate a £1000..now Ive got to sort some sadqa money and I'll be donating soon too..lol

loads of people I know are looking to donate,,
 
The bestway group founder Sir Anwer Perwez has a net worth of about 3 billion pounds. The current CEO also from his family has a net worth of 1.1 billion pounds. The bestway group itself earned a revenue of Morea than 3 billion pounds last year. The government can ask these guys to donate but more importantly can get the bestway group to invest vin the project. If the plan of making the dam a private limited company goes through I think the government can get the group to buy shares worth £1 billion. Seems doable for a company that size.
 
Fahdi said:
The bestway group founder Sir Anwer Perwez has a net worth of about 3 billion pounds. The current CEO also from his family has a net worth of 1.1 billion pounds. The bestway group itself earned a revenue of Morea than 3 billion pounds last year. The government can ask these guys to donate but more importantly can get the bestway group to invest vin the project. If the plan of making the dam a private limited company goes through I think the government can get the group to buy shares worth £1 billion. Seems doable for a company that size.
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Most of the Super rich have no interest in donating.
 
Bewal Express said:
Most of the Super rich have no interest in donating.
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My emphasis isn't on donations anyway. They'll pay $1000 at least(maybe more) with their eyes closed but aren't going to go anywhere near a million like some people expect, lol.

The main point is investment. These are Pakistanis running a huge company worth many billions of dollars, you can get them to put money in the dam if you show that it is a good investment opportunity.
 
Syed1 said:
Case in point Mr. Shahid Khan donating $1000 :))
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If that is true, that is almost like non donating, it is one thing for a really poor person or people without means donating within their limitations but absolutely insulting when someone has to literally go and beg a super rich individual to donate and then that individual donates a mere pittance.
 
I am pretty sure that the combined wealth of all Pakistani's living in Pakistan and Pakistani's living outside Pakistan is much more greater than imagined i.e. atleast $100 billion if not more. Then why is it proving to impossible to gather $10-12 billion in a fast record fashion i.e. within 6-12 months?
 
As promised, containers carrying billions of stolen wealth shall reach our shores any time now. I don’t think we will need any charity from our overseas heroes once we get our stolen wealth back.
 
Mamoon said:
As promised, containers carrying billions of stolen wealth shall reach our shores any time now. I don’t think we will need any charity from our overseas heroes once we get our stolen wealth back.
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Instead of making sarcastic remarks, why not actually contribute to the fund? IK has his hands full with naysayers as is.
 
MenInG said:
Instead of making sarcastic remarks, why not actually contribute to the fund? IK has his hands full with naysayers as is.
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Won’t donate a single penny to this particular cause, and I discourage others from doing so as well.
 
Mamoon said:
As promised, containers carrying billions of stolen wealth shall reach our shores any time now. I don’t think we will need any charity from our overseas heroes once we get our stolen wealth back.
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So are you saying that PK has not been a victim of massive corruption most of which has been taken to London, Dubai etc? Bringing the wealth will take years, not weeks or months because your Noora friends and AZ use front men and companies and the countries that they have taken money to will do every thing to obstruct for the very basic reason that if they didnt, their own economies will take big hits in confidence. I wasnt going to donate but i have been persuaded and because you are not donating, it means that its probably a good idea, hence i will donate a little extra.
 
Bewal Express said:
So are you saying that PK has not been a victim of massive corruption most of which has been taken to London, Dubai etc? Bringing the wealth will take years, not weeks or months because your Noora friends and AZ use front men and companies and the countries that they have taken money to will do every thing to obstruct for the very basic reason that if they didnt, their own economies will take big hits in confidence. I wasnt going to donate but i have been persuaded and because you are not donating, it means that its probably a good idea, hence i will donate a little extra.
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We will not get a penny back. It is just political rhetoric.
 
Mamoon said:
We will not get a penny back. It is just political rhetoric.
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I am not expecting anything back, i see it as chance to help a country ravaged by corruption, finally led by a sincere and honest guy. Allah has blessed me with health and a good standard of living, and i see charity as a thank you to the All mighty.
 
Bewal Express said:
I am not expecting anything back, i see it as chance to help a country ravaged by corruption, finally led by a sincere and honest guy. Allah has blessed me with health and a good standard of living, and i see charity as a thank you to the All mighty.
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You misunderstood. I meant that we will not get a penny of the stolen wealth. All this talk of bringing back the looted money back to Pakistan is hot air.
 
Mamoon said:
You misunderstood. I meant that we will not get a penny of the stolen wealth. All this talk of bringing back the looted money back to Pakistan is hot air.
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You may be right because Foreign govts see our crooks as their assets to be blackmailed when they dont do as they are told.
 
image.png


What a surge .....

And apparently, the Rs.1 billion from the army hasn't been included yet.
 
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Mamoon said:
I don’t agree with charity politics. It is not a sustainable model.
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I agree actually, it is quite pathetic that a nation state has to resort to virtually begging for donations, but the hope would be that Imran Khan is planning on using the funds to build a sustainable model. Clearly the crooks who were in power beforehand have led Pakistan to this mess and you have to start somewhere to turn things round.
 
[MENTION=1269]Bewal Express[/MENTION] khan should go for increasing the taxes on mobile card etc back so that we can grab money from nooras as well.and history will remember that there was a particular species of human beings in a country who were trying to convince people not to donate money.what an utter disgrace.
 
DRsohail said:
[MENTION=1269]Bewal Express[/MENTION] khan should go for increasing the taxes on mobile card etc back so that we can grab money from nooras as well.and history will remember that there was a particular species of human beings in a country who were trying to convince people not to donate money.what an utter disgrace.
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In the medium and long term taxes will have to go up to reduce a huge budget deficit, and mobile phones is one option along with a wealth tax. Whatever is done will be unpopular but if people see improvements, then tax rises will be justified. Its quite interesting that i thought that this initiative would bomb but so far many of the people i have spoken to (including family) have been positive and seeing their positivity has forced me to re-evaluate, so IA i am also contributing.
 
Mamoon said:
I don’t agree with charity politics. It is not a sustainable model.
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Be as impossible as it may, whats the harm in atleast trying? Better than sitting at home with a depressingly negative attitude
 
But apart from donations. PTI will have to aggressively reform FBR asap and get the tax evaders to pay up.
 
Wow 3 billion.

Too bad such a project will require money in a denomination greater than Billion. I fear that people will not see their money used or get it back
 
Sindh CM raises questions over Bhasha dam

KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said on Tuesday that he was not against the construction of the Bhasha dam but had “some reservations” about its “location and availability of water in the system” in such a quantity that the dam could be filled.

He was talking to media at the mausoleum of the Quaid-i-Azam where he had come along with Governor Imran Ismail and members of his cabinet to pay tribute to the Father of the Nation on his 70th death anniversary. After laying a wreath and offering Fateha, the chief minister had an interaction with media personnel.

On a question about the Bhasha dam, he said it (the dam site) lay in the seismic area and the quantity of water required to fill the dam was not available in the (Indus) system.

Says quantity of water needed to fill the reservoir is not available in Indus system; cautions about sea intrusion if 25MAF water is not released downstream Kotri

Elaborating on the water position in the Indus system, he said that last year instead of 10 million acre feet (MAF) only 7.5MAF water was released downstream Kotri.

“As a matter of fact, 25MAF water is required [downstream Kotri], otherwise the sea would keep encroaching further upon nearby villages (in the coastal area of Thatta district),” he said. “The history of last 10 years’ water releases downstream Kotri shows that for six years it was less than 10MAF and then it went down further by two to four MAF.”

Mr Shah said that the record of water releases downstream Kotri from 1922 to this date was available with the provincial government (of Sindh). “If anybody wants to verify the figures they are most welcome,” he added.

“Availability of water in the system is a big issue.”

He recalled that “before the construction of the Tarbela dam, 70MAF water was released downstream Kotri at an average and our [Indus] delta was thriving”.

“The Indus delta, which provides habitat to hundreds of different species of marine and wildlife, has been recognised as one of the largest deltas of Asia covering an area of around 14,600 square kilometres,” the chief minister said. “We have to protect it by releasing river water into it, otherwise all nearby villages and cities will vanish into the sea,” he said.

Mr Shah said that the Bhasha dam project was originally initiated by the Pakistan Peoples Party (government), but objections were raised on its technical issues. Therefore, he insisted, “the centre needs to take the federating units on board” over such controversial projects.

The chief minister said that his government and party’s policy on construction of dams was very clear as the Sindh government was constructing 34 small dams and work on them had almost been completed while work on 16 other (small) dams was to begin soon.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1432385/sindh-cm-raises-questions-over-bhasha-dam
 
Done my bit and contributed to this Fund.

Feeling good after doing something good, similar feeling when the country got united and participated in Funding for aid of survivors after earthquake in northern Pakistan.
 
Extra_Cover said:
Done my bit and contributed to this Fund.

Feeling good after doing something good, similar feeling when the country got united and participated in Funding for aid of survivors after earthquake in northern Pakistan.
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Kudos.
 
is this really begging? to ask people to contribute to a project that is imperative for their, or their relatives long term well being. I mean you could as easily call it crowd funding infrastructure investment, and whilst i have no idea whether it will succeed, you have to admit that this may prove how much you can leverage social media to get a message across globally, potentially revolutionising political engagement.

am i donating to it, not yet, for me for the project to be viable you need a billion ruppee donation daily for a sustained period of time (6 to 9 months) and consequently evidence of that money going towards construction of the project. in the mean time the cynic in me keeps thinking this could be a convenient way to help raise forex reserves for a cash strapped state.

my cynicism aside though, i believe you could revolutionise state led capital investment if this works. people will be far more willing to contribute "a voluntary tax" towards something tangible like this in a country where the ruling class suffer a massive trust deficit imo.
 
While countries are definitely not built or charity, I don't think that this fund is even being treated as a "model" of funding projects. This is more of a way to get people involved, raise awareness, and give them a chance to play their part and take ownership of the dam.

The reality is that this dam fund will probably cover less than 5% of the cost of building the dam. So far Rs. 3.1 billion have been raised, that equates to about $25 million USD, so they have barely covered 0.2% of the cost. If it's true that Rs. 60 billion are needed to start construction of the dam, then maybe this fund will truly help in some way.
 
The second largest dam in the world which India recenfly completed was initially funded through donations as well. World bank refused to fund it due to controversies surrounding it, so temples and other people started to donate for the construction. Later the world bank joined in as well. Of course donations only cannot fund such a big project but what they do is create awareness and public pressure.

Countries cannot be built on charities, true, but countries can’t be built by begging for loans either. If you need loans to pay the interest on the loans then you know you messed up big time. But of course nooras never had any problem with that.
 
Funny that taxes can generate billions of dollars for the govt but it takes an insanely huge amount of time for the govt to collect donations? Are the people of Pakistan Stingy with their money and unwilling to give money to the govt?
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Pakistan Cricket Team Donates Rs: 3.2 Million To Dams Fund. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DonateForDams?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#DonateForDams</a> <a href="https://t.co/Ywdz9yTtB2">pic.twitter.com/Ywdz9yTtB2</a></p>— PTI Islamabad (@PTIOfficialISB) <a href="https://twitter.com/PTIOfficialISB/status/1039899394387181568?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 12, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Five companies submit bids for Diamer Basha Dam

LAHORE: The Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) finally received on Wednesday pre-qualification bids from five joint ventures led by the international companies / groups for the construction of main reservoir and appurtenant structures of the 4,500MW Diamer Basha Dam.

Wapda also decided to establish its own consultant group by December this year that would assist it in initiating commencement and completion of the civil and other works on fast track besides building capacity of hundreds of engineers who would be exclusively used for the construction of hydropower projects including Mohmand Dam in Pakistan.

“We have received pre-qualification bids from five joint ventures (JVs) led by the international companies. Local companies are also part of these ventures. The process to evaluate the bids on certain technical and financial parameters and standards and negotiation with the shortlisted bidders over cost of the project will take three to four months. Probably it will complete by end of this year or January next year,” a senior Wapda official told Dawn.

Basha dam -- a multipurpose project -- aims at overcoming water storage and achieving flood mitigation and power generation targets. The project, which will be constructed across River Indus about 40-kilometre downstream of Chillas Town, will have 272-metre high Roller Compacted Concrete (RCC) Dam. It will have a gross water storage capacity of 8.1 million acre feet (MAF) and add more than 18 billion units of low-cost and environment friendly electricity to the national grid per annum.

The official said since the land acquisition for the project was already completed to around 90 per cent, launching civil work can be done within a short span of time.

“All feasibility studies, design etc of the project have already been completed. Similarly, the land acquisition too has almost been completed. So we will be in position to probably start civil work on the project by May next year,” the official added.

As the dam’s construction will also increase the life of Tarbela Dam to another 35 years, the Supreme Court of Pakistan continues to focus and direct the government to launch civil work on Diamer Basha and Mohmand dams which are mentioned in the category of “ready for construction” under Wapda’s priority mega hydropower schemes.

The country’s top court launched a campaign to raise funds for over Rs1,400 billion project. However, the PTI-led government recently merged this with the new fund raising account, that is, PM fund for Basha and Mohmand dams.

“During a recent meeting, the Wapda authorities briefed the PM on the action plan being adopted to complete the projects. The PM was told that a consultant group would be established soon that would enroll 600/700 engineers on the pattern of China where the China Three Gorges Corporation (CTG) enrolled 3,000 local engineers and utilised their skills in construction of the world’s largest hydropower project Three Gorges Dam. It was just done by the company to reduce dependence on the foreign engineers and companies for launching such mega projects,” he explained.

“The PM appreciated the plan, directing authorities to accelerate efforts for launching work on the project keeping in view the growing water issues in the country,” he said.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Wapda said the prequalification bids for the project would be evaluated in accordance with the bid documents and the relevant procurement rules of the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) and the Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC).

“Prequalification bids have been received at Wapda House from five joint ventures of foreign and local firms through international competitive bidding,” he said in a press release. He said the project would have a positive impact on the annual energy generation of the projects in the downstream areas as Wapda estimates that the annual energy generation of the existing hydel power stations including Tarbela, Ghazi Barotha, Jinnah and Chashma would increase by about 2.5 billion per annum, while annual energy generation of the future hydropower projects including Dasu, Pattan and Thakot would also surge by another 7.5 billion units.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1432564/five-companies-submit-bids-for-diamer-basha-dam
 
Mamoon said:
Countries are not built on charities.
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You're taking this out of context.

What is wrong with asking for donations from PAKISTANI'S, last I checked the country was called Pakistan!

The point is to spread public awareness, the more money they get in goodwill gesture from people, people who love Pakistan, the better. Not to mention, this also means the less the country has to borrow (even if it is a fraction of the amount, still).

The problem with Pakistanis, in general, is that they want everything done but don't want to work hard for it. Nations are built on sacrifice and hard work! For Pakistan to ever prosper properly and become a developed country the people need to take ownership and work hard! Pakistan as a nation really needs to get its priorities straight.

Stop always overly criticizing for the point of criticizing, you're better than this!
 
mmkextreme_1 said:
You're taking this out of context.

What is wrong with asking for donations from PAKISTANI'S, last I checked the country was called Pakistan!

The point is to spread public awareness, the more money they get in goodwill gesture from people, people who love Pakistan, the better. Not to mention, this also means the less the country has to borrow (even if it is a fraction of the amount, still).

The problem with Pakistanis, in general, is that they want everything done but don't want to work hard for it. Nations are built on sacrifice and hard work! For Pakistan to ever prosper properly and become a developed country the people need to take ownership and work hard! Pakistan as a nation really needs to get its priorities straight.

Stop always overly criticizing for the point of criticizing, you're better than this!
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Exactly this. I see this more as a way for the PTI government to build goodwill with Pakistanis, and show them that they can trust the government to use their money correctly. It may even create enough goodwill to increase the number of people paying taxes in Pakistan.
 
Dam opponents are traitors: CJP

LAHORE: Chief Justice Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar remarked has said that elements hell bent on creating hurdles in the way of building dams are traitors and enemies of the state.

The remarks came during the proceedings of a suo motu case at the Supreme Court’s Lahore Registry on Saturday against free extraction of ground water by bottled water companies.

Hinting at invoking Article 6 of the Constitution – applicable in high treason cases – against elements opposing building new dams, he said he was trying to determine if the scope of this article allowed it to be invoked against “opponents of this national cause”.
“I received a WhatsApp message, opposing the dam building effort. I will work relentlessly in this regard,” the CJP said. “Everyone opposing this effort is a traitor and an enemy of the state.”

The CJP said that he had no other objective but to serve the nation.

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“Do not humiliate yourself by offering me any position after my retirement,” the chief justice said. “If Pakistan had not come into being, I would have been working as your Munshi (clerk),” the chief justice told Aitzaz Ahsan, who was representing Nestle in the case on water bottling companies.

Advocate Salman Akram Raja appeared on behalf of Pepsi Co.

The bench observed that its prime concern was determining whether these companies had been paying for the subterranean water they had been extracting for years and whether the water sold by these firms was ‘mineral water’ as claimed by them or simply tap water.

The CJP remarked that bottled water was being consumed in almost every household while the poor had no other option but to drink unhygienic water.

Justice Ijazul Ahsan, a member of the bench, observed that all over the world, companies paid a price for using groundwater.

Earlier, Additional Attorney General Nayyar Abbas Rizvi told the bench that there were 82 mineral water units in Karachi, 16 in Sukkur, 15 in Hyderabad, 12 in Islamabad and eight in Lahore.

He said these units extracted groundwater either by sinking boreholes or deep wells, adding that boreholes were generally at least 30 feet deep while the depths of deep wells ranged between 120 and 410 feet. He pointed out that Nestle had been extracting groundwater from a 403-foot-deep well.

Nestle’s counsel Barrister Ahsan said that the company had been paying charges levied by the government for using groundwater.

Managing Director of Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) Zahid Aziz said that the current tariff for using groundwater was 2 paisa per 100 liters. He said the agency had proposed to increase the tariff at 75 paisa per 100 liter.

The companies, the CJP said, had been using the natural resource for almost free and earning a huge profit by simply bottling this water.

Terming water more precious than gold, Justice Nisar observed, “We will not close down their businesses, but we cannot allow them to rob the nation of its water.”

Water scarcity: conspiracy or mismanagement?

During the proceedings, the CJP asked Barrister Ahsan to hold a dialogue, in his capacity as an elderly ‘baba’, with the water bottling companies on behalf of the court to rationalise the tariff for using groundwater.

Ahsan responded: “There is just one ‘baba’ and that is you.”

The bench summoned the CEOs of all water bottling companies today (Sunday) and directed them to bring along data for the past five years about prices they paid for the extracted water and how much they earned by selling it.



Not to give up on Kalabagh dam dream

The CJP also said the Supreme Court would not give up on the dream of building Kalabagh dam. Relentless efforts, he said, would be made to build this dam. “It is essential for Pakistan’s survival and security.”

He was addressing at a cheque distribution ceremony at the office of the Akhuwat Foundation here.

The CJP insisted that the SC would not allow moves of the enemies to succeed. “This nation will protect these dams by forging unity. This nation will keep an eye on dams and thwart every move against this initiative.”

Highlighting the issue of water scarcity, the CJP said that five months ago, he was in Quetta and had been informed that the people of that city might have to migrate elsewhere on account of depleting groundwater.

He said afterwards, he invited experts to apply their minds in this regard. He said that the experts had told him that the only way out was to build more dams “otherwise, the nation will have to fight for its existence”.

As an alternative, he said, the court had decided to build Diamer-Bhasha and Mohmand dams. As soon as work on these two dams finished and the nation remained united, work would be initiated on Kalabagh dam.

The CJP said that the court was not expecting its initiative to go this far. “Amazingly, it yielded far better results,” he said. “Even children are donating money for dams.”

He pointed out that Chief of Army Staff Qamar Qamar Javed Bajwa had donated Rs1 billion for the dams’ construction.

Applauding eunuchs efforts in this regard, he said that they had handed him a cheque of Rs200,000.

https://tribune.com.pk/story/1803970/1-cjp-warns-applying-article-6-dam-critics/
 
[MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION], what would you say to CJP's remarks as a dam opponent? :))
[MENTION=138254]Syed1[/MENTION]
 
InziRules said:
[MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION], what would you say to CJP's remarks as a dam opponent? :))
[MENTION=138254]Syed1[/MENTION]
Click to expand...

I would suggest the CJP should save all of us the trouble and declare himself the khalifa of this newly established Medinah state, because that is pretty much how he operates.
 
Mamoon said:
I would suggest the CJP should save all of us the trouble and declare himself the khalifa of this newly established Medinah state, because that is pretty much how he operates.
Click to expand...

Would you have liked to have lived in a Madinah state?
 
https://tribune.com.pk/story/1810371/1-fund-construction-diamer-bhasha-mohmand-dams-renamed/

The Supreme Court on Monday approved a change in the name of the Diamen-Bhasha and Mohmand dam fund.

The fund will now be called Supreme Court and Prime Minister’s fund for Diamer-Bhasha and Mohmand Dams.

The top court approved the name change during a hearing held to review the crowdfunding initiative, reported Express News.

Chief Justice Saqib Nisar said the apex court will welcome all individuals who want to be a part of the fund and added that as the prime minister has a stature, the inclusion of his name is not necessary.

“Supreme Court should be added to the name of the dam fund, not the chief justice’s name,” said Justice Nisar.

Qureshi urges Pakistani-Americans to contribute towards dam fund

Justice Ijazul Ahsan remarked that “if Prime Minister Imran Khan wants to be a party to the court’s initiative, then we will support it”.

PM Imran on September 7 lauded CJP Nisar’s efforts for the collection of funds for the construction of the reservoirs by stating that, “ the Chief Justice has done something which should have been done by the country’s politicians.”

CJP seeks nation’s help for building dams, repay debts

Earlier, PM Imran announced the merger of the Prime Minister’s and the Chief Justice’s dam funds and appealed to the nation for donations.
 
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