Kalabagh is a town in Mianwali District, Punjab known for its scenic views of the Indus River and hills. It is the proposed site of the Kalabagh Dam, a multi-purpose project that would generate hydropower, provide water storage, and irrigation. The dam has faced opposition from Sindh, KPK, and Balochistan over concerns about water sharing and risks of flooding and waterlogging. Supporters argue the dam is needed to address Pakistan's energy and irrigation needs. While it has economic benefits, relocating residents and impacts on the environment are disadvantages that must be addressed.

1. Introduction:
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Introductionof Kalabagh
Kalabagh
—
Town and union council
—Country PakistanRegion PunjabDistrict & Tehsil Mianwali District
•Kalabagh a town and union council of Mianwali District in the Punjab
province of Pakistan.
•It is located on the western bank of Indus River.
•It is the site of the proposedKalabagh Dam .
•It is also famous for its red hills of the salt range andscenic view of the
Indus River traversing through thehills.
•It also produces handicrafts especiallyfootwear andMakhadi Halwa.
MAP

2. KalabaghDam Key Facts
Dam type Earthfill
Height (above riverbed) 79 m
Length 3,3352 m
Area at retention level 164 square miles(420 km2)
Catchment area 110,500 square miles(286,000 km2)
Gross storage capacity 7,900,000acre foot(9.74 km3)
Live storage capacity 6,100,000 acre foot (7.52 km3)
Dead storage 1,800,000 acre foot(2.22 km3)
Retention level 915 feet(279 m) amsl
Main spillway capacity 1,070,000cubic feetper second (30,000m3/s)
Designflood discharge 1,920,000cubic feet per second (54,000 m3/s)
Hydropower generation 3.6 GW
Maximum discharge 1,200,000 cubicfeetper second (34,000 m3/s)(in
1929)
Total volume of dam 34,000,000 cubic yards(26,000,000m3)
History
•Kalabagh became small state ruled by Nawabafter the collapse of
Mughal Empire.•Sikhs conquered the Kalabagh state in 1822 butlater

3. British restored the Kalabagh state after they defeated the Sikhs in
Second Anglo-SikhWarof 1848 and 1849.•HistoricallyKalabagh
remained a famous Awanstronghold in the district.
•Malik Atta Muhammad Khan (father of MalikAmir Muhammad Khan) was
declared "KhanBahadur" during the colonial period andKalabagh and the
surrounding areas weregranted as a "Jagir" to him.•Afterthe independence
of Pakistan the seventhNawab of Kalabagh, Malik Amir MuhammadKhan
became governor of WestPakistan.
•AccordingtothePC-IIoftheProject"KBDwasinitiatedbyGOPin1953•until1973,
the projectwas basicallyconsideredasastorage projectfor meeting the
irrigation needs•Theprojectplanning report,circulatedin March84, tried to
establish the technical and economicfeasibilityof the project•Thefeasibility
studyand documentationhave costthe GOP around one billion rupees so far.
Advantages
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•Electricity Production:
–KBD would supply cheap hydro-electricpower to the whole country.–KBD
would producealmost3.6GW
•The non-agriculturist factor would betrained in various trades in the
TrainingInstitutes to be established in the ModelVillage.
•Employment opportunities
–Almost35000directandindirect
•Dam will provide water for irrigation of four million acres:
–380,000acres in Minawali, Khushab and Jehlam–2150000acres in D I
Khan
•Water Reservation
–6.65 MAF water annually
•Kalabagh Dam as only a storage dam to offsetthe storage loss of
Tarbela and Mangla Dams,due to sedimentation.

4. Disadvantages
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•National food security would be jeopardized, thus subjecting the economy
toadditional burden of importing food grains.•Water logging of Punjab’s and
NWFP’scultivated land.
•The annual energy generated at Kalabagh isequivalent to 20 million
barrels of oil. This annualimport of fuel for thermal generation,
includingaugmentation of transportation infrastructure,would be an
additional burden to the economy.
•The dam will also have adverse impacts on theenvironment.
•It will also displace a large number of people.
–34,000 in NWFP.–59,000in Punjab.
•Telecommunication, power lines and gaslines also required relocation.
•182,000acres of productive land will belostunder the reservoir.
Provence point of view/Objectives
Punjab views:
•Pakistan hasn't built the dam and has alsobarrened a large area of Punjab
province bytaking out three rivers.•Punjab's view is also based on the fact
that adam of above 3GW productioncan finish all theenergy crisis of
Pakistan.•Punjab has also agreed not to claim any royaltyon generation of
resources from Kalabagh dam,yet they are not trusted by other provinces
Sindh’s views
•Sindh objects that their share of the Indus water will be curtailed as
water from the Kalabagh willgo to irrigate farmlands in Punjab and NWFP,
attheir cost.•Withthe construction of dams, such as ManglaDam and

5. Tarbela Dam across the Indus, Sindhisfear that there simply is not enough
water for another large dam across the Indus, let alonethree.
sindhis hold that their rights as the lower riparianhave precedenceaccording
to international water distribution law.•Sindh’s claim that even the earlier 1991
IndusWater-SharingAccord
,the documentalreadyguaranteedbythe constitutional body,the CouncilofCommon
Interests,hasbeenviolated,and thatPunjab has "stolen" their water.
KPK’s View
•The fact that the KPk will sufferthe adverseconsequences of the reservoir
but not getroyalties is seenas unfair.•Concerns that large areas of
Nowshera Districtwould be submerged by the dam and even wider areas
would sufferfrom waterlogging andsalinity as has occurred with the Tarbela
Dam.
Balochistan’s View
•The Baloch are not directly affected bythe dam assuch
–mostnationalist Baloch Sardars see the damas another instance of
Punjab lording it overthe smaller provinces.–By opposing the
dam they are signallingtheir disaffectionwith being the poorestprovince
and most neglected of all indevelopment.
Suggestions
•At this time of trouble people of Pakistan shouldshow the unity and should
support the projectwhich is in favor of whole economyby sating aside their
personal grudges.•Pakistanis an agriculture country and its morethen 65%
families are engaged with it so theyneed water to grow crops so their

6. should be airrigation system that can support our economyso it should be
built.
•RecentlyPakistan purchased Rental Power projectwhich is a great burden
on the economyof Pakistan,so as we all know that Kala Bagh Dam can
produceelectricityat cheap rate so it should be built.•The dam can provide
more then 35,000 directandindirect jobs opportunities and with the
constructionof Kala Bagh Dam there can be established a ModelVillage
and with its help our non agriculture sectorcan also progress.
conclusion
Kalabagh dam has both positive and negativeeffects forour nation but
positives are more thennegatives because in present and near futureour
economydepend on a large dam likeKalabagh so it should be built on top
prioritybasis.