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Multiple projects of water management to
ensure agricultural development
Water is life, everybody knows. But the poor people living in
Balochistan know it more than anybody else. It is a harsh reality of
life for them since decades and a dream they always prayed to be
materialized.
For them it is more a necessity to live than a facility with just less
than 15% having access to safe drinking water and vast tracts of land
still awaiting a reason to live. Barren stretches of land had least
sources of perennial water available for survival with just 200mm scanty
rain annually and minimal storage facilities. This Trans Indus province
has more then 13 major river basins, but all of them seasonal. For the
past half a century, seldom efforts were made to tame the floods, build
water storage facilities or construct dams, small or medium. Even check
dams and delay action dams were not built in required number.
The only dam was built on Hub River in 1960 to meet water needs in
Lasbela district. However, some water was spared through Lasbela Canal
for agricultural use in Hub Sub-Division. Under 1991 Accord, Balochistan
was allotted additional share of water from floods, but it could not use
its share merely due to lack of infrastructure.
But, during last four years, huge investment has been made on Mirani and
Sabakzai Dams (Rs 7387.550 m), Kachi Canal (Rs 31,204 m), Balochistan
Effluent Disposal (Rs 4485 m), Quetta Water Supply Project (Rs 7965 m)
and Improvement of Water Courses in Balochistan (Rs 5060 m) to meet
water supply requirements of the Province. Construction of Kacchi Canal
was merely a dream for the people of area three four years back. But
with work going on, this canal would bring under cultivation an
additional 713,000 acres.
Sabakazai and Mirani dams and Pat Feeder Rabi Canal would irrigate 8300,
32,800 and 150,000 acre land respectively. Due to financial constraint,
the Province could not be able to develop these resources and around 12
MAF of water was wasted as flood run off yearly. The Federal Government
is now planning to construct 200 small dams phase-wise, to double the
present cultivated area in 3 to 5 years. Potential sites like Porali and
Nawa-Batozai dams have become part of the Federal Investment.
It has also initiated multiple projects costing over Rs. 8 billion for
development of agriculture sector through water resource management to
magnify agri-production and improve socio economic conditions of the
people. National Programme for Improvement of Water Courses, Chagai
Water Management and Agriculture Development Project, Land and Water
Resources Development for Poverty Reduction and Expansion and Promotion
of Trickle Irrigation Project are the major projects. Under National
Programme for Improvement of Watercourses, construction of 6,366 water
storage tanks and lining of 7,100 watercourses is underway with the cost
of Rs. 5,060 million. Around 1,500 people have been directly employed
and 18,000 indirectly.
It would increase agricultural production, farmers’ income and
employment opportunities in rural areas through effective utilization of
available water resources. Remodeling and improvement of 87,000 canal
linked watercourses, involving complete earthen renovation, partial
lining of critical reaches and installation of water control structures
is underway. The project is estimated to save 8 MAF water, reduce water
logging and salinity, increasing cropping intensity by 15-20%, crop
productivity by 10-15%, and equity in water distribution.
Chagai Water Management and Agriculture Development Project envisages
development and optimal utilization of Chagai groundwater resources and
would bring fresh land under cultivation. Land and Water Resources
Development for Poverty Reduction in Pakistan is also being implemented
with a cost of Rs.3,400 million to reclaim 100,563 hectares cultural
waste land for cultivation besides the improvement of 43,847 hectares
existing cultivated land in the province.
Around Rs 200 million will be spent on Expansion and Promotion of
Trickle Irrigation Project to irrigate 2000 acre land where water
storage tanks would be constructed under President’s National Programme
for Improvement of Watercourses.
Drip Irrigation System has been planned in some areas besides another Rs.
500 million project aiming to cover an estimated area of 13,000 acres.
Irrigation projects of different magnitude alone are going to benefit
around 20 districts in the province and have no match in country’s
history.
As the work on Sabakzai Dam, water courses project, Naulang and Bolan
dams, flood water saving project, Patfeeder canal, flood protection
project, Rainwater Harvesting and Desertification control project goes
on, there is a bright hope of enlivening Balochistan’s water resource.
With these initiatives, one may hope that availability of water would no
more be a harsh reality for Balochistan people.
For the government, it needs to ensure the earliest completion of these
projects, a trickle down effect and more jobs for local people.
—APP |
