Sindh to build 32 small dams

KARACHI - Sindh government has planned to construct 32 small dams in the province to bring more area under cultivation by storing water, The Nation learnt on Monday.

The PPP-led provincial government also proposed to earmark more than one billion rupees in upcoming budget to construct small dams in Sindh while work on feasibility studies of more small reservoirs would be initiated in next financial year 2008-09.  

Keeping the importance of water reservoirs, the previous provincial government had also allocated handsome amount for conducting the feasibility studies of small dams.

So far, the provincial irrigation department conducted feasibility studies of four small dams namely Upper Kohistan, Central Kohistan, Lower Kohistan, and Nagarparkar Dadu and Thar districts costing Rs41.211 million while more amount has been earmarked for initiation of feasibility that could not be started due to lack of resources and other reasons, an official source told The Nation.

According to sources, the provincial irrigation department had prepared a presentation for Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah which was scheduled to be held on Monday but due to out of city engagements of CM, the briefing had been postponed.  

With construction of proposed small dams more than 50,000 acres land will be irrigated.  

Sindh, almost completely depends on canal irrigation, as groundwater sources have become unfit for use of irrigation purpose, an official said adding that the salinity and water-logging had affected 88.8 per cent of Sindh's agricultural land.

While depicting the picture of decreasing water resources of Pakistan a water expert quoted an official reports said, Pakistan's per capita availability of water has declined from 5600 cubic metres in 1947 to 1200 cubic metres in 2005, fast approaching the threshold level of 1000 cubic meters by 2007.

Seepage from irrigation canals has resulted in water logging in low-lying areas, disturbing the composition of salts in the soil which resulting reduction of the delivery efficiency of the canal system, he maintained.

He pointed out that Sindh has had to bear the maximum brunt of the large and inefficient irrigation network because already diversion of water of Indus River in upstream has resulted in the decline of water downstream to Sindh.

As a result, discharge of freshwater into the sea has come down which causing intrusion of sea waters into the mainland. While former provincial Secretary of Irrigation Department of Government of Sindh Mohammad Idrees Rajput talking to The Nation said, previous government had conducted feasibility studies of small dams by hiring services of Small Dams Organization but the feasibility study and construction of one small dam could be benefited.

Rajput further said the construction of one small dam located at Super Highway Noori Abad (on way to Hyderabad) would be beneficial but the construction of other dams namely Upper Kohistan, Central Kohistan, Lower Kohistan in Dadu District, and Nagarparkar in Thar district may could not be fruitful as the earth/soil of the dams area was stone pitching which would result early evaporation of water of dams.