The Gomal Zam Dam, one of Pakistan’s major energy projects, is currently facing serious administrative and technical problems.
In October 2016, after the dam’s safety system failed, both the rotors of the power house burned down, resulting in a complete shutdown of production that has not yet been restored, leaving the entire area without electricity.
According to local social worker Tariq Shah, four main objectives were set at the time of construction of the dam, including providing power to 30,000 families with 17.4MW of electricity, irrigating 200,000 acres of land, constructing the Waran Canal, and the command area development project. These sub-projects cost $16.68m. But the project has been in constant decline since it was handed over to government in 2013. Most of the canals taken out of the dam are now in ruins. Farmers say that their land was bought for canals for peanuts, but now daily fights over the unfair distribution of water have become the norm.
The locals also facing difficulties regarding clean drinking water. During the rains, the water becomes so turbid for two to three months that it becomes harmful to both humans and animals. The dam’s engineer, Muhammad Noman, is of the opinion that due to rains in the mountains, soil gets mixed with the water, which is beyond their control. He suggested that large ponds be built in the dam areas so that the soil can settle down and the water becomes usable.
A major objection to the project is that the majority of the dam’s 300 employees are not locals, which was also raised in the National Assembly Standing Committee on States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON) meeting in 2022. Apart from this, tourism is also completely banned in the area.
Construction of the dam on the Gomal River in South Waziristan began in 2001 and was completed in 2013. The main objective of this important project was to stabilise the local economy by storing water, preventing floods, and making barren lands cultivable, but in current situation, these goals seem unachievable and limited to mere paper work.
