Dams were built to control and supplement irrigation network flows to support Pakistan’s agriculture. These dams are run primarily to meet the nation’s irrigation needs, with the production of low-cost hydroelectricity as a byproduct.
Every nation recognises the value of dams for daily human use as well as for the hydroelectricity and agricultural sectors. The nation still lags behind in providing for the most fundamental human need: water, despite spending millions on construction projects like metro buses and highways. There aren’t enough dams in Pakistan; in fact, the only significant dams constructed since then are Mangla and Tarbela, and despite the fact that the numbers are nothing short of alarming, no attention has been paid to this issue. The construction of hydropower projects is crucial in order to fulfil the rising demand, according to the most recent data and statistics. The amount of water per person is diminishing as the population grows, and the natural sedimentation process is making matters worse.
According to the Indus River System Authority, the lack of adequate storage facilities causes the nation to squander water valued at around 21 billion dollars annually. It has been suggested that Pakistan needs around three dams the size of the Mangla dam to store this additional water given its current circumstances. On monsoon days, when there is an abundance of incoming water and it all floods areas and eventually enters the sea, there are no plans to store water. Due to silt buildup and the fact that the existing dams are decades old, they are no longer as effective at storing water as they once were.
