Wars on Waters!
By the Editor

AS an update designates, a push on the lifting the edges of the magnificent Mangla Dam is almost close to be set off for the eventual affluence of the nation—in entirety. The task has been taken in hand to meet the much-required needs of water—a fact which needs no elucidation.

Lexicon backed by history manifest that wherever the humankind opted to dwell—at the end of the Stone Age—its foremost choice was a locale, near or at the banks of waters. May it was to be a small stream or a gushing river. Hence, water turned to be the leading require for the survival of civilizations all-around the Orb.

Even otherwise, one can live without victuals for sometime, yet certainly not without air and water—as it is an out-and-out natural phenomenon sans two opinions.

Well-acquainted with such a veracity, invariably a lot of hue and cry is raised on the construction of dams or alike water reservoirs, prima facie to clutch political ends—even at the cost of the poor people, who are conveniently exploited on the soils of Pakistan—with one ploy or the other. It’s really paradoxical.

If the egalitarians with such a perception, which negates realism from all aspects analyze with sincerity, they would come to know that amid explosion of population, the needs of waters are also swelling, not only for intake but more significantly for the agriculture sector for optimal growth of crops—and of-course to generate power to keep the wheels at industrial units rolling with swift pace.

Overtly to give impetus to the national economy as well as to fulfill the basic requirements of the human race to live-on as a bona fide right, bestowed upon every-one by the Nature.

Taking the significance of dams and reservoirs, one shall have to admit that as and when a scenario like war between the nations would shell in times ahead, it would be fought not to seize or expand domains—but singularly to national enlarge water resources. To quote a simple example, if and when any irritant between India and Pakistan would surface in times ahead, it would be on the issue (s) of water instead of any other topic—let me say pragmatically, even like the volatile scuffle on Kashmir.

Every-one is aware of the intensity of water basins—India is hideously trying to create in forcibly held-part of the Himalayan State of Jammu & Kashmir. The modus operandi of the Indian mindset is—obviously to divest and deprive Pakistan of a basic need for survival—the water.

Though Pakistan is trying its level best to stop India from such a callous and nasty act, as it is a flagrant violation of international laws and more exclusively the Indus Basin Treaty—yet each and every patriot has to stay as sentinel not only to frustrate the designs of the pointed and dotted foe but simultaneously going by a course whereby optimal magnitude of the needs of water can be realized well on time to make perceptible paucity—evaporated for all times to come.

If we wouldn’t, a perilous scenario would be imminent, with much-more might, than is being propagated by a set of politicians in the silhouette of castle in the sky—the swindling qualms vis-à-vis the ‘fate’ of specific terrain (s)—which are befitting for watercourses or dams.

Virtually, its’ not any-one’s personal need, but a national obligation which, in no case be compromised in any mode or manner—whatever it may be. The best way to make all the pretenders is to make each-one of them convinced—of-course with focus on the people so that they are not misled on account due to lack of the exact realities and genuine info.

The Dams are natural or artificial means of increasing the water storage capacity of running water. Dams, then, are impediments of some sort located across the axis of streams, creeks, and rivers.

With this reality, Pakistan must build new dams to meet its needs as global warming and environmental changes are causing the depletion of water resources. We must build more dams to store water resources as we do not know how much water our rivers would have in vistas.

Aside from causing floods and cyclones, global warming would reduce snow in the mountains and lead to scarcity of water. As the experts view, to achieve a higher level of GDP, as a minimal, more or less 50,000 MW of electricity would be considered necessary in the coming epoch.

Via a natural course, there are multiple types of dams—with national and artificial atop. Natural and accidental dams occur when debris accumulates in a waterway. Such an accumulation may crop up, for instance when snow or ice pile up and block a river in the spring.

Ice dams are notorious associates of spring floods in the northern part of USA and often form when river ice is trapped against bridge abutments—but occasionally these ice dams may take place simply because the large pieces of ice wedge against themselves and the banks and trap more and more of the ice chunks floating down stream.

In steep terrain, ice dams can become quite substantial and entrap very large amounts of water. Ice dams are particularly risky because they are unstable and release themselves with violent surges of water that may cascade and scour the lower streambed for miles.

Other natural dams occur when mud or landslides migrate down slope until stopped by the bottom of a ravine or valley and then block an offshoot. Volcanic ash may behave in the same style or the uplift associated with an awakening volcano may also block a watercourse and function as a dam.

There is geological evidence in the western USA of an enormous natural dam in the headwaters of the Columbia River that blocked a major mountain drainage system impounding a volume of water—perhaps equal to the largest of the Great Lakes. The sudden rupture of this dam thousands of years ago and the violent, short-term release of its impoundment created one of the major hydrologic events in the geologic history of North America.

On a much smaller scale, natural dams can occur in the smallest of streams when the bank caves or when wind blows down a tree across a waterway. These little dams are part of the natural cycle of any stream and are also important for their effect upon surrounding vegetation and wildlife.

Natural dams for instance are part of the important ecological cycle of bogs and marshes which create very specialized natural communities—in a waterway. As part of larger natural processes these dams are themselves in process: they are persistent, but transitory and not permanent features of an ecosystem.

Yet on the other hand the virtual dams—phrased as artificial dams—and designed and made by human-beings are much more steadfast. Such reservoirs are the dams build by people as they attempt to use water—to meet specific human needs.

Man-made dams can be minor affairs such as a couple of logs and a few rocks to create a small pool for livestock or for that matter the big ones can—invariably—be the largest human constructions on the earth through God-gifted vision and intellect.

Although 20th century dams along the Colorado and Columbia Rivers in the western USA have captured most of the thought about dams, these irrigation and flood control projects were dwarfed by other dam constructions. The Aswan Nile dam in Egypt, along with hydro-electric projects in Brazil, the James Bay project in Canada, and the Three Gorges project on China's Yangtze River—with Mangla and Tarbela in Pakistan are all dam projects of great technical, human, and ecological significance.

Going by this realism and the significance of dams, everyone is supposed to recognize the impact and fine distinction of these dams. Another universal feature of the earthen dams is—that such structures are comparatively safe, sound and inexpensive with great utility—both in agriculture and in industrial water supplies.

We feel optimistic that the plans towards edifice of new dams, which are being envisioned by the people, sitting at the helms of affairs shall give top-most significance to this theme, not only to give a fabulous momentum to the nation’s economy—but also to open-up free-from-worries environs for the generations ahead—by catholic fortification of the beloved homeland—as the herald and harbingers of a strong, progressive and prosperous—Pakistan.● 

 -  Mumtaz Hamid Rao
www.MumtazRao.net