Choice of Bhasha Dam for hydropower development under scrutiny

An engineer questioned the choice of the Bhasha dam site for hydropower development at the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

Engr. Bashir A. Malik is appealing to the Chief Justice "to take a quick suo motto notice of this issue in the public interest and prevent construction of 922/892 feet high RCC Diamer Bhasha Dam to protect life and limb of 180 million people of Pakistan and their country from catastrophic risks all the way 1200 miles down the valley to the sea coast."

He alleges that Bhasha Dam is not a natural site for a storage dam like Tarbela and Kalabagh. It was identified as a site for hydropower development by the World Bank in 1967. However its first feasibility report was drawn for a storage dam on cue by Wapda in 1984.

The safety aspects of 922 feet high RCC Bhasha Dam stemmed from its unprecedented height and field risk factors. There is no RCC dam anywhere higher than 620 feet in China.

"There is no other dam of this height in the world. Diamir Bhasha appeared to be but a 'political' or fake dam!" exclaims Malik. 

Malik also noted that the location of Bhasha Dam falls under an active earthquake zone and in the valley terrain prone to extraordinary environmental hazards. This region is seismically very active due to its position near the collision boundary of the Indian and Asiatic tectonic plates.

Another serious risk factor identified by Malik is that there may be reservoir induced seismicity primarily due to immense weight of water stored behind a dam. It can trigger tremors.

He also questioned the choice of RCC, which is relatively soft and vulnerable to cracks and leakage compared to conventional vibrated concrete used for building thousands of high dams, bridges and skyscrapers etc.

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Tags: dam project, Bhasha Dam, Supreme Court of Pakistan, storage dam