Averting floods: 37 small dams constructed in KP, says official

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has constructed 37 small and medium dams while 24 are being built on different rivers and water channels to avert floods and waste of water.

Giving the details, the Directorate of Small Dams of the Irrigation Department’s spokesman told the media on Tuesday that 37 small and medium dams were constructed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He said of these 15 were operated by the provincial government and 11 supervised by WAPDA.

Similarly, 19 dams were constructed in merged districts having 0.1377 enough water storage capacity. The spokesman said 24 small dams were being built in different districts of KP under the federal government’s PSDP programme.

Besides the completion of Pezu Dam in Lakki Marwat, Khattak Bandhan Dam in Kohat, and Makh Banda Dam in Karak by the federal government, he said Ichar and Manchura dams at Mansehra, Chashma Akorakhel dam in Karak, Sarozai Dam in Hangu, Sanam Dam in Lower Dir, Bada Dam and Ulta Dam in Swabi were constructed jointly by the federal and KP governments.

The spokesman said seven medium dams including Bara Dam in Khyber, Tank Zam in Tank, Sheikh Haider Zam, Chaudwan Zam, Daraban, and Kora Nullah in Dera Ismail Khan and Larzan Dam in Tank with 31.5-megawatt power generation capacity were in the design stage.

The designs of seven medium dams including Barwasa and Sher Dara Swabi, Sumri Payan Kohat, Surkhaway Mardan, Naki Nowshera, Shaheed Banda Charssadda and Tora Warae Hangu have been completed, he added.