QUETTA: Chief Minister Balochistan Mir Abdul Quddus Bizenjo expressed Kachhi Canal would be the basis for increasing agricultural production in the entire region and will lead Balochistan to agricultural self-sufficiency.
He said this while addressing a public gathering during his visit to Tambo Tehsil of Dera Murad Jamali District.Radio Pakistan reported on Sunday that delegations comprising of tribal elders also called on the Chief Minister and thanked him for the ongoing development in the area. After the aerial inspection of Kachhi Canal, the Chief Minister also reviewed the ongoing work under the expansion and land development project.
It is pertinent to mention that construction work on extension of Kachhi Canal is scheduled to be completed by August 2022 to irrigate another 30,000 acres of virgin land in Balochistan’s Dera Bugti district.
Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) Chairman Lt Gen (retd) Muzammil Hussain during his visit to the project area during last year. Reviewing construction activities on the site, the WAPDA Chairman expressed satisfaction over the pace of work on the project despite the prevailing Covid-19 pandemic that has adversely impacted the world for more than one and a half year.
He directed the project authorities to strictly adhere to the timelines so that the extension work could be completed on time. Lt Gen (retd) Hussain added that WAPDA is committed to contributing towards a green and prosperous Pakistan, Balochistan in particular, by completing its projects to make water available for agriculture. “Kachhi Canal is one of those projects,” he said. The extension of Kachhi Canal is being carried out through three different contracts with a cumulative cost of Rs19.5 billion.
Under the project, the existing main canal will be further extended by another 40kms.In addition, a 32km long water distribution system will also be constructed in the command area to irrigate another 30,000 acres of land in Dera Bugti district. WAPDA has already constructed a 363km main canal and 81km long allied water distribution system to irrigate 72,000 acres of land. The canal possessing a discharge capacity of 6000 cusecs, that takes off from Taunsa Barrage in Muzaffargarh district of Punjab, enters Balochistan’s Dera Bugti district.
Kachhi Canal is a vital project to alleviate poverty and eradicate extremism in remote and backward areas of Balochistan by developing irrigated agriculture and an agro-based economy in the province. Experts have termed the land being cultivated in Sui and adjacent areas of Dera Bugti district through Kacchi Canal as a good omen for Balochistan as it has brought in a phenomenal change in the livelihood of the locals.
