HYDERABAD, Dec 4: The Anti-greater Thal Canal and Kalabagh Dam Action Committee has decided to hold a protest march from the Quaid-i-Azam’s mausoleum to the Sindh High Court building on December 22.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the committee held at the residence of PPP leader and MPA Ali Nawaz Shah Rizvi here on Saturday evening.

The PPP Sindh chapter president, Qaim Ali Shah, presided over the meeting.

Awami Tehrik chief Rasool Bux Palijo, STPP chairman Dr Qadir Magsi, MMA leader Maulana Waheed Qureshi, JUI leader Taj Mohammad Nahyoo, PML-N leaders Afzal Gujjar and Makhdoom Shahnawaz, irrigation expert Nazeer Memon, MPA Shah Mohammad Shah, Qadir Ranto, Abrar Qazi and Haider Shahani were present on the occasion.

The meeting said consequences of announcing construction of the Kalabagh dam and the greater Thal canal would be disastrous.

Briefing reporters at the conclusion of the meeting, Qaim Ali Shah said the action committee had decided to meet heads of various political parties, donor agencies and technocrats to inform them about Sindh’s viewpoint on the Kalabagh dam issue.

He said that the people of Sindh would not accept any dam or canal on the Indus river.

Mr Shah said that Sindh had been facing an acute shortage of irrigation water for 10 years.

He said the action committee had decided to intensify the struggle against the dams.

The PPP leader said the people of Sindh did not recognize technical and parliamentary committees constituted by the president on water issues as they were illegal and unconstitutional.

He suggested that the government should have constituted a council of common interest, if any committee was to be constituted on water reservoirs and distribution of water, which would submit its report to the parliament for a debate.

Mr Shah supported the Awami Tehrik for convening an all parties’ conference in Hyderabad on December 6 on the Kalabagh dam issue.

He expressed hope that all the parties in Sindh would participate in the conference.

The PPP leader said a meeting of the action committee will be held in Karachi on December 15.

Responding to a question about the role of the MQM in the struggle against the dams, he said that the MQM would join in the struggle if they were sincere with the province.

Mr Shah said that the parties affiliated with the action committee would not meet any

commission constituted by the prime minister on the Kalabagh dam.

He urged the Sindh chief minister, Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim, to declare his point of view publicly on the anti-Sindh projects.