ISLAMABAD: Farmers from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Monday requested provincial Irrigation Department of KP to develop a system to ensure un-interrupted water supply to farmers downstream of the canal.
Talking to media, farmers’ association leader, Khan Faraz, belonging to village Shamozai, Tehsil Katlang, District Mardan said that the continuous water stealing from the Baizai Irrigation Channel (especially in Wartair areas of the Channel starting from Wartair Dobandi and other villages) have irked the farmers attached to the downstream of the canal.
Farmers belonging to various villages of tail-end areas complained about the continuous water stealing from the Baizai Irrigation Channel (especially in Wartair areas of the Channel starting from Wartair Dobandi and other villages), fearing that if the problem persists, about thousands of acres would become unproductive.
Baizai Irrigation Channel Project, completed at a cost of Rs3.5 billion in 2011, is meant to irrigate 25,000 acres of barren land in Malakand and Mardan districts of the province. The project which includes a 39km long Main Canal along with three douches of 1626 meters length, starts from Wartair Dobadi (Malakand) and ends up at village Matta of Tehsil Katlang in district Mardan.
Faraz alleged that the upstream residents of the canal are using every means including pipes to steal water from the main canal. Consequently, the downstream farmers of the canal are deprived of their due water rights and their standing crops are badly affected due to non-availability of irrigation water. This fact has been brought to the notice of the Irrigation Department of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa time and again, but to no avail.
Replying to a question, Faraz said that the provincial Irrigation Department of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was requested to develop a system so as to ensure un-interrupted water supply to farmers downstream of the canal. This issue if not resolved promptly may create law and order situation for the provincial government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Faraz warned.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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