Floods in Pakistan

[Dubious]

They don't have jahils in the name of government.

My very point education and priorities....

It is the result of the haphazard urbanization, farming and soil erosion that causes the rivers to burst their banks on otherwise rain water that could easily pass through. The frequency and damage of flooding is going up.

And what is the govt doing about these haphazard?

Mind you even if no one was doing nothing, rivers change their course over time - it is a known fact...

However when human beings live with this....THEY should adapt like Netherlands ...

My grandfather was a civil engineer and surveyor in the federal government. He was responsible for plenty of infrastructure, flood management, and he used to to tell us interesting stories, that how well the natural course of Indus, Jhelum and Chenab allows them to pass flood water. He served from 1947-1980 when he finally retired.

 

[fatman17]

Pakistan loses 1% of its GDP due to floods

 

[AsifIjaz]

Every few years India Send water down rivers which coupled with water from Jehlum and Chenab river destroys everything in its path.
A few weeks ago i was sitting with a few currently active and a few retired officers from irrigation department and they were discussing as to why the government is not paying an amount of less than 1 billion and fixing the flood problem with Sutlej. It was told that long ago a summary was sent to Punjab Government suggesting that water level in Burewala, ArifWala, Fortabbas and adjoining districts has gone below 250 feet hence government can fix the problems of dropping water level and floods by creating 15 to 20 foot deep artificial lakes of 60 to 100 acres each.
There is vast barren land in or around the districts mentioned above. A single lake can be completed in 1 to 1.5 year and this would be preserve or at least improve the water level and will also decrease the water discharge downstream thus saving devastation to southern punjab and largely sindh. This discussion has got me thinking. IF true and feasible this can be a short term solution and a blessing as well.

 

[Dubious]

Every few years India Send water down rivers which coupled with water from Jehlum and Chenab river destroys everything in its path.
A few weeks ago i was sitting with a few currently active and a few retired officers from irrigation department and they were discussing as to why the government is not paying an amount of less than 1 billion and fixing the flood problem with Sutlej. It was told that long ago a summary was sent to Punjab Government suggesting that water level in Burewala, ArifWala, Fortabbas and adjoining districts has gone below 250 feet hence government can fix the problems of dropping water level and floods by creating 15 to 20 foot deep artificial lakes of 60 to 100 acres each.
There is vast barren land in or around the districts mentioned above. A single lake can be completed in 1 to 1.5 year and this would be preserve or at least improve the water level and will also decrease the water discharge downstream thus saving devastation to southern punjab and largely sindh. This discussion has got me thinking. IF true and feasible this can be a short term solution and a blessing as well.

IF TRUE, why isnt anyone acting on it?

 

[AsifIjaz]

Beats me @Akheilos .... Strange things happen here. projects of Strategic importance are put on back burner for projects that are vital but should not take precedence.
inaction as probably it will not lead to much fanfare and will only limit the destruction to a certain extent. Another example discussed was the Chiniot dam... a site identified years ago and the feasibility was started only this year. This along with the few sites in potohar are the only few places (downstream Mangla/Tarbela) where a dam can be constructed and water stopped.
Offtopic: I also came to know of a covered canal that was made from north to south Libya .. through the desert to take fresh water from one end of the country to the other. thats the value of fresh water.
anyways the leaders need to set their goals straight. small dams and storage areas is the call of the day. comparatively takes less time to build and collectively control a lot of rain water.

 

[Dubious]

Beats me @Akheilos .... Strange things happen here. projects of Strategic importance are put on back burner for projects that are vital but should not take precedence.
inaction probably it will not lead to much fanfare and will only limit the destruction to a certain extent. Another example discussed was the Chiniot dam a site identified years ago and the feasibility was started this year. This along with the few sites in potohar are the only few places where a dam can be constructed and water stopped.
Offtopic: I also came to know of a covered canal that was made from north to south Libya .. through the desert to take fresh water from one end of the country to the other. thats the value of fresh water.
anyways the leaders need to set their goals straight. small dams and storage areas is the call of the day. takes less time and collectively control a lot of rain water.

Its called pathetic management skills

 

[Thorough Pro]

a million thanks to PPP, ANP, and all those who supported them against construction of Kalabagh Dam with complimentary blood of thousands on their hands that dies from these floods.

Metro bus har cheez ka solution, Pakistan does not need dams. These floods would never had happened if Kala Bagh dam & other dams were made.

 

[AsifIjaz]

a million thanks to PPP, ANP, and all those who supported them against construction of Kalabagh Dam with complimentary blood of thousands on their hands that dies from these floods.

Yar Kala Bagh Dam is definitely important but not the end of the world...Chalo if not Kala Bagh then go for other sites...
we are obsessed with 2 scenarios.. Biggest or largest in the world or at least south asia.. and second one is the elections after 5 years decide what you do and where you spend.
This or the previous governments could have started a few dozen small dams.. Potohar, Dera Ghazi Khan, Chakwal, Jehlum districts alone can hold a dozen small reservoirs at the very least. Same goes for the 5 / 6 dams that were supposed to be constructed in Balochistan to control and then use the rain water later.

same goes for Katzara / Skardu dam. they can increase the life of Mangla by 2 to 3 decades as they will stop the sediment from coming downstream. it is only then that we can start dredging to recover some of the lost storage capacity of Mangla (due to sedimentation). Yet nothing is being done...

Metro bana lou, road bana lou, motorway bana lou... with no action for dams and transmission lines. The sum spent on 3 metro buses (though important.. needed) could have been deferred by 5-6 years and we could have constructed a dozen small dams and initiated 1 or 2 mega ones.

 

[Dubious]

Yar Kala Bagh Dam is definitely important but not the end of the world...Chalo if not Kala Bagh then go for other sites...
we are obsessed with 2 scenarios.. Biggest or largest in the world or at least south asia.. and second one is the elections after 5 years decide what you do and where you spend.
This or the previous governments could have started a few dozen small dams.. Potohar, Dera Ghazi Khan, Chakwal, Jehlum districts alone can hold a dozen small reservoirs at the very least. Same goes for the 5 / 6 dams that were supposed to be constructed in Balochistan to control and then use the rain water later.

same goes for Katzara / Skardu dam. they can increase the life of Mangla by 2 to 3 decades as they will stop the sediment from coming downstream. it is only then that we can start dredging to recover some of the lost storage capacity of Mangla (due to sedimentation). Yet nothing is being done...

Metro bana lou, road bana lou, motorway bana lou... with no action for dams and transmission lines. The sum spent on 3 metro buses (though important.. needed) could have been deferred by 5-6 years and we could have constructed a dozen small dams and initiated 1 or 2 mega ones.

How I see it is more like if we get electricity Pakistan will prosper...How dare it?

If we have electricity then we wont have roads to transport the goods....Pakistan wont prosper - View of other team

If we have electricity we wont get loans - another way to see it

 

[nForce]

Every few years India Send water down rivers which coupled with water from Jehlum and Chenab river destroys everything in its path.
A few weeks ago i was sitting with a few currently active and a few retired officers from irrigation department and they were discussing as to why the government is not paying an amount of less than 1 billion and fixing the flood problem with Sutlej. It was told that long ago a summary was sent to Punjab Government suggesting that water level in Burewala, ArifWala, Fortabbas and adjoining districts has gone below 250 feet hence government can fix the problems of dropping water level and floods by creating 15 to 20 foot deep artificial lakes of 60 to 100 acres each.
There is vast barren land in or around the districts mentioned above. A single lake can be completed in 1 to 1.5 year and this would be preserve or at least improve the water level and will also decrease the water discharge downstream thus saving devastation to southern punjab and largely sindh. This discussion has got me thinking. IF true and feasible this can be a short term solution and a blessing as well.

Regarding the bold part, there is nothing abnormal in water release from India this year or previous year or previous year.
Dams and reservoirs in India are also nearing their capacity and we already have flood-like situation in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Orissa and Manipur.

 

[AsifIjaz]

why so sentimental here bhai.. send it with a gap of a few days.. and even if not... no pun was intended. so relax

 

[fatman17]

Every few years India Send water down rivers which coupled with water from Jehlum and Chenab river destroys everything in its path.
A few weeks ago i was sitting with a few currently active and a few retired officers from irrigation department and they were discussing as to why the government is not paying an amount of less than 1 billion and fixing the flood problem with Sutlej. It was told that long ago a summary was sent to Punjab Government suggesting that water level in Burewala, ArifWala, Fortabbas and adjoining districts has gone below 250 feet hence government can fix the problems of dropping water level and floods by creating 15 to 20 foot deep artificial lakes of 60 to 100 acres each.
There is vast barren land in or around the districts mentioned above. A single lake can be completed in 1 to 1.5 year and this would be preserve or at least improve the water level and will also decrease the water discharge downstream thus saving devastation to southern punjab and largely sindh. This discussion has got me thinking. IF true and feasible this can be a short term solution and a blessing as well.

The land around vehari and its adjoining is very sandy loamy. Water will seep down eventually. Further downstream would be better.

 

[AsifIjaz]

@fatman17 agreed... it is sandy towards arifwala but not towards sahiwal...
anyways vehari, burewala, pakpattan, arifwala, fortabbas, ludan, qaimpur... etc etc... if there is barren land then we can all take a sigh of relief if a few lakes are made. They can make a new kheinjar / manchar lake ... bottom line is.. we must think out of the box.

 

[fatman17]

@fatman17 agreed... it is sandy towards arifwala but not towards sahiwal...
anyways vehari, burewala, pakpattan, arifwala, fortabbas, ludan, qaimpur... etc etc... if there is barren land then we can all take a sigh of relief if a few lakes are made. They can make a new kheinjar / manchar lake ... bottom line is.. we must think out of the box.

I'm not in disagreement

 

[Thorough Pro]

Kalabagh is the best natural location for a dam, so much work has been done on that project.

Yar Kala Bagh Dam is definitely important but not the end of the world...Chalo if not Kala Bagh then go for other sites...
we are obsessed with 2 scenarios.. Biggest or largest in the world or at least south asia.. and second one is the elections after 5 years decide what you do and where you spend.
This or the previous governments could have started a few dozen small dams.. Potohar, Dera Ghazi Khan, Chakwal, Jehlum districts alone can hold a dozen small reservoirs at the very least. Same goes for the 5 / 6 dams that were supposed to be constructed in Balochistan to control and then use the rain water later.

same goes for Katzara / Skardu dam. they can increase the life of Mangla by 2 to 3 decades as they will stop the sediment from coming downstream. it is only then that we can start dredging to recover some of the lost storage capacity of Mangla (due to sedimentation). Yet nothing is being done...

Metro bana lou, road bana lou, motorway bana lou... with no action for dams and transmission lines. The sum spent on 3 metro buses (though important.. needed) could have been deferred by 5-6 years and we could have constructed a dozen small dams and initiated 1 or 2 mega ones.