The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry has stressed the need for immediate construction of water reservoirs and dams to meet increasing power shortage. LCCI Senior Vice President Meher Kashif Younis, talking to a delegation of economists here on Sunday, said that the country was currently facing the power and gas crisis and added that uninterrupted supply of power was a pre-requisite for the country's economic growth and development.
He said due to interrupted power supply, industrial and agricultural productions and industrial growth was being affected badly and issues like fulfilling international trade export commitments would arise. He said industry and agriculture were vital national sectors requiring smooth electric and gas supply for development.
"In view of the power situation confronting the country today, construction of water reservoirs and dams is absolutely necessary to meet water-power shortage," he said, adding that consensus regarding the construction of dams should be obtained at the earliest for the survival of the economy.
He said that international experts and studies conducted here by international bodies such World Bank, after detailed research, have identified certain sites feasible for Kalabagh Dam from technical point of view.
Meher Kashif Younis said new dams were inevitable to meet the ever increasing demand for inexpensive energy sources, and would also help bring down the cost of everything, including essential commodities. Acute water shortage facing the country, which he feared if not checked, would render Pakistan as a water deficit country in the world. "Big water reservoirs and dams are vital for the country's industrial progress and prosperity, as well as for a green revolution," he said, adding, "We can get rid of power loadshedding and outages only if new dams are built on war footing."
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