Prime Minister Imran Khan performed the ground-breaking of Mohmand Dam along with former chief justice of Pakistan, Mian Saqib Nisar. The ceremony was held at the project site on Swat River, about five kilometers upstream of Munda Headworks in Mohmand district.
Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Defence Minister Pervez Khattak, Federal Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Dr Noor-ul-Haq Qadri, Federal Minister for Water Resources, Faisal Vawda, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Shah Farman and Chief Minister Mahmood Khan, Wapda Chairman Lt Gen Muzammil Hussain (Retd), and other senior officials were also present at the ceremony.
Speaking in the occasion PM Imran thanked ex-CJP Saqib Nisar for raising awareness about the country’s water crisis and the need to build dams. The premier reiterated the resolve to help the nation overcome water scarcity. “Water crisis persists nationwide and it is linked to the construction of dams,” he said.
PM said that the whole country uses Gas from Sui but the people of Sui have been deprived of even simple necessities because previous governments have not paid attention to their needs. He assured the local people of the area that their needs will not be neglected and announced that government will spend over Rs4 billion on the development of Mohmand district.
Former chief justice Saqib Nisar also addressed the ceremony and highlighted the nation’s generous contribution towards the dam fund. Emphasising the importance of building dams, he said: “Water is our life.”
“The Supreme Court hasn’t done a favour to anyone. It [the dam] has become a campaign and a movement,” he said.
It is pertinent to mention here that The Mohmand dam is being constructed on Swat River and will be completed at a cost of over Rs183 billion by 2024. Mohmand Dam on completion will generate 800-megawatt electricity with a storage capacity of over two million acre-feet, besides bringing about 17,000 acres barren land under cultivation. The dam will also solve the problem of water scarcity in Mohmand district besides saving Peshawar, Charsadda and Nowshera districts from floods.
The residents of Peshawar will get 300 million gallons of potable water, whereas issue of water scarcity in Mohmand district would be resolved. Annual benefits of the project have been estimated at Rs52 billion. The project aims at helping mitigate risk of floods in Peshawar, Charsadda, Nowshera and Mardan.
