Chairman Wapda Syed Raghib Abbas Shah has said that Mangla Dam Raising Project has been playing a pivotal role in mitigating floods in addition to additional water storage facility. He said that due to raised level, the project has held back a large quantum of water of the river Jehlum and its tributaries to the tune of 1.5 million acre feet of water, which saved the low lying areas of Jehlum river from averting additional flood hazard. He said that the dam still has 1.5 MAF additional storage capacity for more flood mitigation.
Chairman Wapda expressed these views during his visit to the site of Mangla Dam Raising Project in Mangla on Sunday. He said that the completion of the Raising Project represents a watershed in the expansion of water conservation capacity in the country. He said that water is a precious resource, which is a life-line for the country’s agriculture. Hence, Wapda, he said, is making all-out efforts under the guidance and direction of the federal government to increase the water conservation of existing reservoirs to meet the needs of irrigation and hydropower production.
The Chairman Wapda said that the completion of Mangla Dam Raising Project is the manifestation of the joint efforts being made by the federal government, the government of AJ&K and Wapda to benefit from and optimally utilise the existing water resources in the country. He said that the Mangla Dam has become the largest water storage facility in the country after its raising by 30 feet height leaving Tarbela behind.
He said that the water storage capacity of Mangla Dam after completion of the Raising Project increased from 4.5 MAF to 7.39 MAF and thus it will store 2.88 million acre feet of additional water. He said that the filling of the Dam was recorded at 1225 feet out of total 1242 feet on Sunday. He said that the reservoir has stored 6 MAF of water by now and given weather forecast, it is likely to fill up to its maximum level by mid-September. He said that the project would add 644 million units of low cost electricity annually from the existing power house.
The chairman Wapda appreciated the team work displayed by the project office, Government of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, consultants, contractors, victims of the area and local media on the successful completion of the raised dam. He expressed his satisfaction on the normal behaviour of the components of the raised Dam.
Later in the day, the chairman Wapda also visited medical camps set up by Wapda for the flood victims of Azad Jammu and Kashmir. Divisional Commissioner and Commissioner for Mangla Dam Affairs Amjad Pervez, DIG Mirpur Tahir Qureshi, District Health Officer Dr Bashir, and senior officials of Wapda including General Manager and Project Director Ghulam Sarwar Memon, MDRP Chief Engineer Muhammad Saleem and MDO accompanied the Chairman during his visit.
