Pakistani expats collect OMR4,000 for dam fund

Energy Saturday 20/October/2018 22:13 PM
By: Times News Service
Pakistani expats collect OMR4,000 for dam fund

Muscat: Pakistani nationals living in the Sultanate have donated over OMR4,000, less than one month after the Ambassador of Pakistan to Oman encouraged them to contribute to a fund to build dams throughout their country.
Syed Faraz Ahmed, General Manager at Oman United Exchange (OUE), said the exchange house is sending donations to the PM-CJ Diamer Bhasha dam fund, which is monitored by the State Bank of Pakistan.
“OUE has collected over OMR4,000 in just 25 days from Pakistani nationals living across Oman, and looking forward to collecting more,” Ahmed said.
Talking exclusively to the Times of Oman, Mohammed Zaeem, General Secretary of the Pakistan Social Club Oman (PSCO), said the club will seek to collect more funds from their members.
“We will strive to collect more through the club and add to the already collected amount. In this regard, PSCO is planning to create further awareness to motivate the community to contribute. The club is already in the process of seeking the approval from the authorities,” said at PSCO.
The initiative was taken by the Embassy of Pakistan in Oman after an appeal was made by newly elected Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, calling upon overseas Pakistanis to contribute to the dams’ construction fund.
While talking to the media last month, Khan said there will be droughts during the next seven years if dams are not built now.
“When Pakistan was founded, every Pakistani had 5,600 cubic metres of water. Today, that stands at only 1,000 cubic metres.
Pakistan has only 185 dams, and only two are large ones. In contrast, India has 5,000 dams and China has 84,000 dams, including 4,000 large ones. We need to avert the looming water crisis confronting Pakistan.
“We have storage capacity for only 30 days of water, when the safe period for water storage is 120 days. India has a capacity of 90 days. This is why building the dams is so important,” said the prime minister. “If every overseas Pakistani donates $1,000, we will have enough to build the dams ourselves,” he said, adding,
“This fund will only be used for building dams. I know not every overseas Pakistani will be able to give $1,000, especially the ones working in the Middle East.To them, I would say donate as much as you can. But overseas Pakistanis in Europe and the United States, I want them to send at least $1,000 or even more if they can.
“I promise that I will safeguard your money,” he assured both the citizens living in Pakistan and nationals living abroad.