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Sunday, March 10, 2013
Policy devised to overcome energy crisis: Zardari* Inaugurates Darawat Dam project
HYDERABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari on Saturday said the present democratically elected government has devised a comprehensive energy policy aimed at meeting the current and future demands of power.
Addressing a function here regarding inauguration of the Darawat Dam Project, the president said a number of initiatives have been undertaken by the present government to achieve goals set out in the energy policy.
The present government is focusing on the exploration of new resources of water and hydropower, he added. The president said the energy mix is also being improved to cater to the needs of time. He said the government is also developing other alternate resources of energy like coal, wind and solar. As part of the energy policy the government is building a number of small and medium dams throughout the country, he said.
The president said over two dozen hydropower projects are in progress, adding that on completion these projects would add 21000 megawatts of low cost hydropower to the national grid. He said these projects will also store 13 million acre feet of water for agriculture. Zardari said Darawat Dam Project is part of these small and medium dams. The dam has been constructed on Nai Baran near Jhangri village in Jamshoro district and it will provide water to irrigate additional 25,000 acres of land.
He appreciated the efforts of Minister for Water and Power Chaudhry Ahmad Mukhtar and WAPDA officials for completing the Darawat Dam project in time. President Zardari performed the groundbreaking ceremony of this dam three years ago and he inaugurated the completion of the project on Saturday.
He said although the government had inherited a serious energy crisis but it took a number of steps to resolve the crisis. He said the country is facing the energy crisis due to thoughtless reversal of the energy policies of mid-nineties. The president said the thoughtless reversal of economic policies is a root cause of economic set back. He said the present government did correct the past wrongs with the support of political parties. The ceremony was also attended by Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad Khan, Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah, Mukhtar, federal and provincial ministers and parliamentarians. dna
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk