Dams of Pakistan

Many dams (big and small) have been constructed on the mighty River Indus and its tributaries. The big dams are multi purpose dams which supply water for domestic and industrial purposes, generate electricity, irrigate fields and also store rain water.

Some of the dams are:

1. Tarbela Dam

With a height of 143 meters and a width of 2743 meters, it is largest dam built on River Indus at Bara near the village of Tarbela. It is also the world’s largest earth filled dam. Its reservoir is 243 square meters in area with a storage capacity of 119 billion cubic meters of water. It is a multipurpose dam.

2. Mangla Dam

Mangla Dam is constructed on River Jhelum .It is also a multipurpose dam. Its height is recorded to be 454 meters and width is 3140 meters. The reservoir‘s area is 97.7 square miles. It is the world’s third largest earth filled dam.

3. Warsak Dam

Warsak dam is built on River Kabul northwest of Peshawar. It is also a multi purpose dam 250 feet high 460 feet long. The storage capacity of its reservoir is 25,300 acre feet.

4. Rawal Dam

Rawal Dam supplies water to the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. It is a relatively small dam with a height of 24 feet and length of 6991 feet. Rawal Dam is known more for its beautiful lake and picturesque surroundings. It is a favorite picnic spot for locals and tourist besides being a natural habitat of many species of wild life.

5. Khanpur Dam

Khanpur dam is another dam better known for its scenic surroundings. Built on River Haro, near Khanpur village Hazaara district it supplies water to Islamabad and its adjoining areas. The height of Khanpur dam is 167 feet and it can store 110,000 acre feet of water. Nestled amongst tree covered mountains, it is frequently visited by people who come here to enjoy its breath taking beauty.

6. Hub Dam

Hub dam was constructed over the Hub River north of Karachi at the barren border of Sindh and Baluchistan. It supplies drinking water to Karachi and irrigates the district of Lasbela in Baluchistan. The capacity of its reservoir is 32 square miles. It is recognized more as a sanctuary for water birds and a habitat of different species of fish.

Alternate power and energy resources for Pakistan

There is an acute shortage of conventional power sources all over the world today. Most of the countries are searching for unconventional or alternative power resources to help them maintain a balance between the earth’s geology and the need for energy consumption. Pakistan has been doing its best over the past few years to successfully cut down on the consumption of regular sources of energy like fuels, and, at the same time, develop unconventional reservoirs to satisfy its energy requirements. Alternate power is a very good way out of conventional sources because of the seemingly endless advantages that accompany it. First of all, the biggest advantage is the fact that they are inexhaustible and therefore can be used as much as needed. Also, the fact that no by-products or pollution is produced during the usage of alternative power resources gives clarity to the fact of using such sources. As per the geological situation in the country, Pakistan has great potential to harness solar energy for powering its homes and industries. This would be very cheap and would not harm the earth in any manner. Yet another power source under test by the nation’s scientists is wind energy.

The people of Pakistan are in severe crisis regarding the energy deployments remaining in the nation reserves. The need to explore alternate energy resources in Pakistan has never been more urgent and immediate as now. There are a lot of problems which are posing deep concern in the use of conventional sources of energy. Global warming and fall in conditions relating to the environment are a couple of problems which is depleting water reserves. There has been discovery of huge coal reserves in the Sindh district but that is hardly helping any matters because there needs to be huge inputs of cash for this to be tapped. So it is inevitable that alternate energy resources need to be studied and emphasized upon. There exists a body called the Alternate Energy Development Board (AEDB) which strives to look for alternate energy resources but there has not been much development over the years. Some of the methods of countering this problem would be to develop solar and wind power technologies because of the many advantages they offer. They are inexhaustible as well as non-polluting in nature. According to reports, there are huge tracts of area in the Sindh district which have huge potential for harnessing wind power.

The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission

The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission has a long history dating back to 1956 when the first Atomic Energy Research Council was established. Further changes took place and the Atomic Energy Commission was incorporated under an Act. The Commission realized other modifications when it was transferred from the Science and Technology Research Division of Pakistan to the President’s Secretariat. This happened in 1972.

Over the years, the Atomic Energy Commission has developed into the biggest source of S & T in the nation. It employs the largest number of people with the largest scope of activities in the country. In the early years, the emphasis was on building a nuclear power reactor in Karachi and an experimental research reactor in Islamabad. Gradually, with the development of the commission, issues concerning the general security of Pakistan carried more emphasis. A host of famous scientists have done their research over here, helping the country develop an excellent protective structure. The PAEC has grandiose plans of setting up plants of 8800 MW by the year 2030. There are also ongoing studies for scouring new areas for setting up nuclear plants in the country.

Although many nations have nuclear capability, Pakistanis take a lot of pride in being a nuclear power of this world. This institute has earned huge respect in the eyes of ordinary Pakistanis.

The Advantages of Solar Power for Pakistan

With the depletion of natural reserves of fuels and other conventional sources of energy, solar power is starting to mainstream in Pakistan. The Pakistan think tank has realized the importance of tapping the sun for energy resources that will help the country in powering ahead for its technology. This technology if implemented properly can resolve Pakistan’s energy crisis. There are many advantages of solar power which are accentuated below.

The first and primary advantage of solar power is the fact that it is very cheap and easy to harness. There is no fear of over-using it because it is not depleted. A miniscule amount of energy of the sun is enough to perform the functions needed for a year. Secondly, the very fact that it does not emit pollutants makes it very useful for the planet on a whole. The rising levels of pollution have made the Pakistan scientists think of solar power as a very viable option. Thirdly, the option of harnessing solar power requires no sophisticated machinery as even the most rudimentary of people can do the same. With $200 worth of panels and other instruments, energy from the sun can be easily used to power the various electronic devices.