The government has been given the proposal for a ‘Chiniot Dam’ on the River Chenab that would have a barrage capacity of 1 million cusecs and a storage capacity of 1.29 million acre feet. Water experts say dams cannot be built on a plain, and therefore, Chiniot is the only natural site on Chenab River that allows a dam. During the current floods, one million acre feet of water each were diverted to Mangla and Tarbela dams.
“There is a proposed plan to build a dam at River Chenab at Chiniot but there has been no response from the government so far,” said WAPDA ex-Chairman Syed Raghib Abbas Shah. Climate change experts believe the massive floods are a consequence of deforestation, encroachment on river banks, and lack of dams.