Life with WAPDA (1984-2020) – Part 3 of 4

 

In Feb. 2012 I reported back to WAPDA. Mr. Muhammad Ali Shah, the then GM (C&M) Water who knew me very well offered three options for new posting to choose any one from; Central Contract Cell (CCC), Planning & Investigation Org. and GM (Central) office. I opted for the former and he advised me to visit him after a week to collect posting orders. When I went to collect the same after a week he cut a sorry face and said: Somehow we can’t place you in CCC, therefore, you must give us alternate option. I opted for P&I Org. Nevertheless, my inquisition in the matter revealed to me that postings in CCC were subject to clearance from someone influential with Authority. Since I didn’t take the “prescribed and well defined route” therefore my posting was stalled in CCC. Without lamenting it, I resumed my services in P&I Org. in the following week. Few months later I was promoted as Director (Civil) and retained with P&I Org. on the recommendations of Mr. Ashraf Abid, the then Chief Engineer (P&I). Mr. Abid had been my senior colleague when we started our service with WAPDA at Kalabagh Dam Project in 1984.

On joining P&I Org., I knew that one of our batch mates Mr. Bilal Karimi was working there but had never met him before. I visited his office and introduced myself. He was immediately on his feet and smilingly said: So, you are Mr. Pitafi, I heard a lot about you. I enquired: What did you know about me? He smiled again and said: I always ask my Sindhi friends that they don’t take their respective work seriously? In response they would say: Have you met Mr. Pitafi? Had you met him you would not have passed such a comment.

Working in P&I Org. was altogether a new experience. Planning and design of new water storage dams and hydropower projects was an interesting field. I was assigned to supervise consultancy services of design of Mohmand Dam Hydropower Project in addition to some other assignments. In July 2016 I was promoted as Chief Engineer and kept working there till Jan. 2018. In view of my (and my team along with consultants) excessive efforts in the preparation of bidding documents and initiation of the process of award of consultancy contract and award of work for construction of Mohmand Dam Project it was widely believed in WAPDA that I would be posted as GM/PD of this project. Besides, I was also tipped by most senior officers for becoming GM of Mohmand Dam Project. However, the competent authority had an entirely different idea and arrangement in his/their mind. Eventually I was promoted as General Manager and posted as GM Projects/Project Director, Northern Areas in Jan. 2018.

Only after assuming the charge of the position of GM (Projects) Northern Areas did I come to realization that how problematic this position was! All six contracts of 3-High Head Projects (two each of Allai, Duber and Khan Khwar respectively) needed to be closed down. Similarly, 3-High Head Consultancy Services contract was still intact whereas all hydropower plants were in operation since 2014. In addition, all contracts of Satpara Dam Project were also in dire need of closing. The civil contract of Keyal Khwar HPP was terminated in Dec. 2017 due to poor performance of the contractor and it required to be retendered again. Perhaps this was not enough when I further learnt that more than 200 Audit Paras (PDPs and DPs) needed to be defended at DAC and PAC level for settlement.

Next two and half years were not a smooth sailing at all, however, with the cooperation and efforts of my junior colleagues in the office we were able to conclude all six contracts of 3-High Head HPPs and 3-High Head Consultancy services contract with the approval of WAPDA Authority. Non-approval of 3^rd Revised PC-I of Satpara Dam Project incl. Shatung Nullah Diversion thereby non-availability of PSDP funds is the major hurdle in conclusion of Satpara contracts.

 The most frustrating part of GMship is attending Departmental Accounts Committee (DAC) and to some extent Public Accounts Committee (PAC) meetings. In DAC meetings, the concerned GM/PD is treated as an “Accused” before some 20 judges to explain the justification of “Wrong Doing” by the incumbent or his predecessors, mostly it’s about predecessors’. In spite of providing all relevant details, explanations, proofs, DAC never agrees on settling the Proposed Draft Para (PDP) and digs out new queries and questions for furnishing revised reply and justification. In rare cases when DAC can’t find any more reasons to keep it pending PDPs are either put under ‘Verification mode” or changed into DPs and referred to PAC for decision when DAC has the power to settle PDPs at its own level.

Till 2018 the Draft Paras used to be defended in PAC by the respective Principal Accounting Officer (PAO) duly supported by WAPDA Authority. Now, concerned GMs are thrown into the arena for defending the DPs before the coveted forum. (Next...Part 4/4)

Life with WAPDA (1984-2020) – Part 2 of 4

 

In middle of 1998 I was promoted as Senior Engineer after 14 years and posted in Lahore. I always longed to live in Lahore since childhood, therefore, receiving posting orders was like fulfillment of one of my goals. I joined multimillion dollar National Drainage Program (NDP) Project office under a team of very competent senior officers/ engineers headed by Mr. Ahmad Khan Bhatti, and later by Mr. Hasnain Afzal, Mr. Shamshad M Khan, Mr. Nisar Ali Akhtar and others. Mr. Akhtar was Advisor/Procurement Specialist from Consultants for NDP. I owe my further learning and gaining valuable experience to him. He was a real mentor in the first place and Mr. Afzal in the later part of my stint with NDP. At the conclusion of NDP Program I requested Mr. Afzal to help me in getting transferred to Hyderabad again despite his relentless insistence to join him in Neelum Jhelam Hydropower Project. Two interesting events I would like to share here:

·    WAPDA nominated me to attend a Land Drainage (Tile drainage) at ILRI, in Wageningen, the Netherlands in early 2000 for which I sent all relevant documents. In response I received a confirmation letter from ILRI to join the international course in mid of August 2000. When I applied for the visa I received another letter from ILRI informing me that their earlier confirmation letter was a mistake and they had put me on waiting list and since they have already received confirmation of all applicants therefore they regretted my participation. It was discouraging and hurting. During that time, NDP Consultants were headed by M/s EuroConsult, a Dutch firm. I explained the situation to the Team Leader (a Dutch) and requested him if he could intervene. He asked me if I had received a confirmation letter from ILRI. I affirmed it positively. He said: Give me a copy of that letter and meet me after three days. Exactly after three days he not only reconfirmed my participation in the course but also arranged my appointment with Dutch Embassy in Islamabad for issuance of visa. Within a week I was in the Netherlands.

·      During 2003 I applied for a lucrative job outside WAPDA through proper channel. My application returned/refused by Mr. Ahmad Khan Bhatti, the then Member Water with a long hand written note that read: Mr. Pitafi is an asset of WAPDA. We must not lose him. He has a long and bright future in WAPDA. Mr. Shamshad Khan, the then Director NDP advised me to get these comments of Mr. Bhatti framed and displayed on a wall.

Alhamdulillah, by closure of NDP in 2007 I had earned enough respect in WAPDA and regarded as an outstanding engineer hailing from Sindh. The praises poured in from different offices in Lahore. Mr. Raghib Abbas Shah, the then GM (C&M) Water was kind enough to agree and transfer me in Sindh but he posted me at Rainee Canal Project at Guddu where I never liked to go. I had wanted to go to Hyderabad to spend some time with my ageing mother. Finally, the competent authority convinced to my request.

While in Lahore during 1998-2007 I have had opportunities to attend international training courses and seminars/workshops in the Netherlands, China and India. Such chances were not easy to come by while posted out of Lahore. Further, when the time came and I was able to do Masters from University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore, I preferred to go for MBA instead which I did during 1999-2001 from the University of Punjab. The thirst of doing Masters in any of Civil Engineering fields, however, remained unquenched.

Working in Hyderabad with Consultants for Redesign of Left Bank Outfall Drain (LBOD) for initial two years and further two years for Lining of Canals remained highly fruitful and productive. I also earned accolades by getting nominated and then receiving an Outstanding Performance Award from Mr. Shakeel Durrani, Chairman WAPDA in 2009. In spite of above recognition, it was hard time adjusting in Hyderabad for both myself and family after having spent almost ten years in Lahore. I could not adjust to overall working environment of GM (South) office. It was entirely different culture of working in comparison to Lahore. Gossip precluded the completion of timely tasks. I used to sit long hours while many of us attended the office like visitors. The culmination point was the refusal of the then GM (South) WAPDA in allowing me to do Masters from Mehran University (by then ageing had taught me to concede to my earlier inflexible stance about doing Masters from the best or equivalent to NED university). For family and kids; the inferior schooling standards, non-availability of utilities, especially water supply, poor hygiene conditions, etc., kept them regretting the decision of leaving Lahore. Mr. Hasnain Afzal who helped me in getting posted in Hyderabad had earlier warned me on several occasions that you would regret going back to Hyderabad. After the sad demise of my mother in early 2011 we bade farewell to Hyderabad and returned to Lahore.

Mr. Sheraz Jamil Memon, my NED classmate and lifelong friend convinced me to join his office i.e. Pakistan Commission for Indus Waters (PCIW) on deputation from WAPDA. He was working as Additional Commissioner and also acting as Commissioner/head of office. I was reluctant in the first place to work under a friend (and a boss) but since we were very close friends I decided in favour of him and joined PCIW in March 2011. It was an altogether new experience while working in a different organization dealing with Indus Waters Treaty 1960.

Within a couple of months, I reached to a conclusion that working under a friend was not comfortable. We both have had different natures of dealing with superior officers and subordinate staff. Besides, WAPDA treated me as an alien and did not promote me in the next grade on the condition that I was away and working in a different organization. It was simply a heartbreaking event. Another discouraging situation in PCIW was that the institute was highly politicized and being run by a Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) directly. Unfortunately, Mr. Sheraz was directly under the SAPM’s hammer and facing hard time there. Since I had a choice of returning back to WAPDA therefore I availed the chance and left PCIW after working there for eleven months. Nevertheless, I had the valuable oppurtunity to attend Court of Arbitration for Kishan Ganga HPP Water Dispute on Neelum River at the International Court of Justice, The Hague, the Netherlands and also visited Indian Occupied Kashmir, notably from Leh Ladakh region to Kargil along Indus river. (Next….Part 3/4)

Life with WAPDA (1984-2020) – Part 1 of 4

 

It was my adolescence time during 1975-77 that I read much of the Urdu and a little bit of Sindhi literature apart from my academic books. The travelogues, in Sindhi, of a Marine Engineer Mr. Altaf Shaikh had a huge impact on me. I just wanted to emulate him by joining the Marine Academy in Karachi. After passing Intermediate exam with good grades I shared the same desire with my family especially father who by then was a petty contractor in provincial Irrigation Department. I was straight away instructed to purse Civil Engineering and become an Irrigation Engineer. That’s it.

Completing Bachelors of Civil Engineering from NED University of Engineering and Technology in August 1983 was an honour and achievement of great milestone of my young life. Like most of my classmates I also wanted to win a scholarship and do Masters from the US (first priority) or British University. Doing Masters from a foreign or local university on own expenses was simply out of question/affordability. Joining Irrigation Department or Communication and Works (C&W) Department along with seeking scholarships was the next option. However, nature had had some other planning for me; it sent me to Lahore in December 1983 to join WAPDA after I went through appointment process. The irony was that joining WAPDA was my last priority among tens of federal and provincial organizations. Eventually I was forced to join it in January 1984 owing to my family’s deteriorating and feeble financial position. I was supposed to support them with my income, rather paltry income though.

I started working with WAPDA half-heartedly, aiming to resign it as soon as I have had a better alternate opportunity. It was not forthcoming soon though. I was working at Kalabagh Dam Project site in Pirpehai, district Mianwali when the Project (technically feasible and economically viable) was politicized and became bone of contention among the provinces and WAPDA was advised by the federal govt. to slow down the award of project in 1985. In the meanwhile, my senior colleagues helped in getting me transferred to Hyderabad Sindh in July 1985.

Few trivial but interesting events to share about being at Kalabagh:

·       Soon after joining I started reading all technical documents about the project to get acquainted with the scope and progress of work. A high level meeting chaired by World Bank representative took place at the site wherein foreign and local consultants along with senior WAPDA officers participated. We, some newly appointed junior engineers, were also allowed to participate to gain a learning experience. During the meeting, the Chair asked a question, meaning of an abbreviation. All remained dumb. I replied him spontaneously since I had read it recently in the technical documents. When the meeting was over everyone appreciated me for saving them from the embarrassment.

·       Within a month of my arrival at Kalabagh I was given a proforma by the Admn. to fill in for sending the same back to WAPDA House. It was a kind of biodata and dates of joining WAPDA and retirement were to be recorded. When I wrote down date of retirement as 31.08.2020 I was literally petrified. I kept looking at the year of my retirement: 2020. It was a far reality in early 1984. It was simply indigestible to stomach and unthinkable to mind. I just shook up my head and said back to me; never mind, 2020 is not going to come!

·       Four of us, junior engineers, from Kalabagh appeared for our departmental promotion examination (Four papers) in Lahore in January 1985. About a month later four envelopes in our respective names arrived through postal service and received by our senior engineer. He did not open but observed them closely. He called all four of us in his office and said: Your results are here. I have not unsealed the envelopes but by looking them from outside I can firmly declare that only Pitafi sb has cleared the complete exam while others have cleared in parts. We were astounded. I was excited, naturally, on his guessing. We opened the envelopes hurriedly and found our results exactly the same way our senior engineer had predicted earlier. Now we asked him to explain how he could guess it correctly. He smiled and said: Few people clear the complete examination in one attempt. Pitafi’s envelope contains a single sheet only therefore the envelope weighted light while others had more than 20 sheets. These envelopes weighted thick and heavy. So, I had passed the exam along with 4 others in entire WAPDA while rest of 100s of candidates cleared either one, two or three papers.       

After joining SCARPs Monitoring Organization (SMO) in Hyderabad it was revealed to me that it was not an ideal office to work with for an engineer’s career propagation. I found it blessing in disguise because I never wanted to keep working with WAPDA anymore. Between 1985 and 1991 I appeared in two TOEFL exams (getting good marks on both occasions), applied for Science and Technology Scholarship (twice), Asian Institute of Technology Scholarship, East-West Scholarship, and what not but failed to earn any of them. My colleague and friends advised me to do Masters in Mehran University of Engineering and Technology, Jamshoro and argued that at the end of day people/employer would only ask whether you have done Masters or not, they would not ask name of the institution. I ignored them on the grounds that either I would do from a better or an equivalent university, even if it was local/in-country.

Besides, I appeared in job interviews for Irrigation Deptt., C&W Deptt. and Pakistan Railways but fared badly in the interviews. I don’t blame them for their partiality or question the integrity of selection committees. Eventually in early 1992, I realized that my destiny was written with WAPDA and I needed to excel here. With some hectic efforts and a fairly long visit of nearly a fortnight to Lahore that I succeeded in getting myself transferred to Lakhra Coal Power Project near Khanot village, Distt. Dadu. I joined it in March 1992. It was a field job with lot of opportunities to learn and a responsible position to supervise construction activities. By then I had given up the decision to leave WAPDA and suppressed the desire of doing Masters. I kept working here till 1998 and earned reputation of an excellent worker/engineer. (Next…..Part 2/4)