Defense Minister Khawaja Asif has attributed recent flood damage to the invasion of rivers beds and natural river roads, urging the Government to prioritize the construction of small dams instead of decades of planning to start mega projects.
Speaking on the floor of the National Assembly on Monday, the Minister of Defense said that rain is a blessing, not a calamity, and urged the nation to assume responsibility for the consequences, caused by the invasion, as well as the bad urban planning.
“Rain is a blessing. Destruction is caused because we have built housing societies and commercial structures in lands that belong to rivers and rainwater drains,” Asif said.
He pointed out that many residential and commercial developments have been built illegally in flood -prone areas, even in cities such as Sialkot, where the invasion has blocked river routes, worsening the impact of floods.
The Defense Minister also criticized the country’s long dependence on the construction of Mega dams, which often takes decades to complete, suggesting that small dams must be prioritized at the village level to handle water and reduce flood risks effectively.
“The big dams such as Bhasha, Diamer and Mohmand take 10 to 15 years to build. When waiting for them, we run the risk of losing everything. We must start building small dams, each town should have their own,” he said.
