Officials’ negligence spoils Baragi lift irrigation scheme

LAKKI MARWAT: An irrigation scheme in Lakki Marwat is not operating since long due to the negligence of the officials of the Irrigation Department.

The former provincial minister, Humayun Saifullah Khan, had approved the lift irrigation scheme in Baragi village with a cost of Rs8 million in 1980s.

Umar Jan, Falak Naz, Habibullah, Amir Jan, Kifayatullah and other said that the scheme used to irrigate over 40,000 kanals of land and they used to grow various crops. “It could hardly operate for three years and then it closed down due to lack of proper maintenance and repair,” one of the farmers said. The farmers said that the officials of irrigation department had not paid attention to the scheme as there was no watchman or operator at the site. They said that an official of irrigation department, Zargul Khan, visited their village and made an estimate of Rs30 million for its renovation but it wasn’t approved.

They said the rain water had submerged the equipment several times due to which it got rusted. They appealed to the chief minister and chief secretary to order an inquiry into the failure of the scheme and direct the irrigation department to put it into operation once again by converting it to solar power. An attempt was made to seek comment from the Executive Engineer, Marwat Canal Bannu, Amir Muhammad Khan Marwat, but he did not respond.