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To respond to question frequently asked by the project affectees a comprehensive portfolio of such questions along with answers has been formulated for publication and distribution for the affectees and print media. Effort has been made to encompass most of the questions frequently asked. However, there may be still more queries and questions in the minds of the affectees who are  requested to contact the office of Commissioner, Mangla Dam Affairs, Mirpur , Azad Jumma & Kashmir for appropriate response and clarifications.

Q1: what was the need and justification of Mangla Dam Rasing?

A1: Last few years were the worst drought years in the country and scarcity of water has highlighted the importance of augmentation and conservation of reduced by 20%. For optimum utilization of Jhelum river water resources it is necessary to regain lost storage capacity, and also make provision for the future sedimentation of the reservoir.

Q2: Is Mangla Dam Raising an afterthought or the Raising was envisaged in the original Design of Mangla Dam?

A2: A provision of 40ft raising was made in its original design at an additional cost of US $18 million. However, it has been brought out through comparative study that 30ft raising is the most viable proposition.

Q3: whether other alternative options were examined prior to taking decision in favour of Mangla Dam Raising?

A3: Yes, the following two alternative options were examined,
            a) Desiltation
            b) Creation of multiple storages through construction of small dams.

 These options are discussed below in detail.

Desiltation:

In Mangla reservoir, about 2 billion tons of silt has already deposited and this is increasing at an average rate of 57 million tons per annum. The volume of the deposited silt is very huge and equals to 22 Mangla Dams. Desalting of such a large scale has not been undertaken anywhere in in world.

For desilting 2 billion tons of sediments, a huge fleet of dredgers and barges will have to be deployed. In addition 22000 x 10 ton trucks will be required to work round the clock for 5 years to transport the material to disposal areas. Disposal of the huge quantities of the dredged silt would be a major environmental hazard.  

Additionally, 500 sq. km area would be required for disposal of silt. 

Estimated cost of desilting main reservoir would be around RS.290 billion and the storage capacity gained through desiltation would be 1.2 million acre feet. As such, the unit cost of the capacity regained will be at least 10 times higher than that of Mangla raising. 

Thus the proposal of desiltation is both economically and environmentally not viable.

Construction of Small Dams:

Construction of small dams, wherever feasible, would provide irrigation benefits to limited command areas, but they cannot serve as an alternative to Mangla raising.

In addition, development of off channel reservoir at Kasgumma which will draw water from Mangla reservoir through a feeding tunnel was examined. The reservoir will have storage capacity of 0.5 million acre feet and will entail inundatin of about 1500 acres of very fertile land and displacement of 5500 persons from 14 well developed villages. In addition, unit cost of development would be double the unit cost of Mangla Dam Raising. So the option of small dams is not viable alternative to Mangla Dam Raising.

Q4: why dykes should not be constructed around the existing Mirpur city & Chak Swari, Islamgarh and Dudial Hamlets and other thickly populated settlements to minimize the dislocation of population?

A4: To minimize displacements, a feasibililty study for providing protection dykes was conducted. The study indicated two major problems: (i) foundation conditions are not suitable for constructing dykes ranging 80-120ft in height and (ii) reverse slopes of the protected areas would cause accumulation of municipal waste water and rain run off behind the dykes, requiring unaffordable financial resources for its operation and maintenance. Moreover, the dykes would have been an environmental hazard for those living behind the dykes.

Q5: What is the crest level of Mangla Dam before raising?

A5: 1234ft about sea level.