Work on to construct 24 small dams: KP minister

PESHAWAR: KP Caretaker Minister for Irrigation Fazal Elahi has said work is in progress on the construction of 24 small dams in the province which will on completion irrigate 49,523 acres of land.

“As many as 37 dams have been constructed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from which 137,732 acres of land is being irrigated,” he said while speaking at the Pakhtunkhwa Radio’s program.

Similarly, he said, a feasibility study has been given to Nespak for mid-level dams in southern districts, work on which is in progress. Among other benefits, he recalled, the project would irrigate about 150,000 acres of land and protect Tank and Dera Ismail Khan from flood ravages.

The minister said the modern irrigation system has become indispensable for agricultural self-sufficiency. He revealed the federal government has a formula for the distribution of the water of the Indus River among the four provinces under the IRSA Act.

According to this act, he said, our province’s share is 8.78 million cubic feet (14 percent), but Khyber Pakhtunkhwa cannot utilize its share of water property due to the lack of an active canal system.

The minister added that the Chashma Right Bank Canal (CRBC) Lift Low Gravity Project has been approved by the federal government with provincial partnership.

He said the cost of the project being shared by KP is 35 per cent but this crucial project has been delayed due to lack of resources.

If this project is completed in time, he maintained, KP would be able to use enough of its share of water, which will bring 2,86,000 acres of additional land under cultivation.

The minister said the role of the British in developing the canal system of the subcontinent was great, but after independence, he said, major irrigation projects were completed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

These included Warsak Canal System (150,000 acres), Gomal Zam Dam Canal System (194,000 acres), CRBC Canal System (360,000 acres) and Marwat Canal System (170,000 acres).

Apart from this, he said, work on major projects like capacity enhancement of Baran Dam, Remodeling of Warsak Canal System, Pehur High Level Project and Siran Valley Right Bank Canal Project (Mansehra) is progressing rapidly.

About the alarming situation of continuous fall of underground water tables in different cities of the province, he said there are only two ways to prevent that.

First, he explained, was to stop waste of water as he said, people should meet their water needs from above ground water.

Second, he said, canal system development is necessary through the cities. He said work is in progress on Jabba Dam and Warsak Dam Tunnel to raise the water level in Peshawar.

He said that Rs7 billion have been paid to the relevant firm for the construction of a second tunnel parallel to the Warsak Dam Tunnel and the wide canals to be taken out of it will irrigate millions of acres of additional dry barren lands in the suburbs of Peshawar.

The minister said this would prove to be the milestone of the green revolution in the area. While there is also an urgent need to launch such projects in other cities, he added.

To a question about the timely warning system of floods, the minister said over 100 gauges have been installed on various rivers in the province to check the flow of water out of which 22 gauges have been converted into modern telemetric system.

Similarly, he said, 360 kilometers of embankments have been built across the province to prevent the rapid flow of water on all natural drains and rivers. He said important projects are under consideration in the federal development programme in the context of environmental change.

In response to another question, he said the Irrigation Department has started making full use of solar energy, while solar irrigation schemes are being given to all the districts of the province.