Commissioner Rawalpindi Division Liaquat Ali Chattha on Thursday said the importance of small dams for the agriculture sector, particularly in the Potohar region, could not be denied and efforts were being made to utilize the dams across the division with their full potential.
He expressed these views while presiding over a meeting and reviewed progress on small dams at his office in Rawalpindi.
Secretary Irrigation Dr Wasif, Deputy Commissioner Hasan Waqar Cheema, Director Development Nazia Sudhan, Project Director Irrigation, Tabraiz Elahi and other officers concerned attended the meeting.
Before starting construction work of new dams, their comprehensive feasibility report should be made, he directed. He said the patchwork of the approach road leading to the dams should be done by the district councils, adding that solid steps should also be taken to protect the dams and their catchment areas.
The dams are important to provide water for domestic use, agriculture, fisheries, irrigation and tourism said Dr Wasif and gave assurance of providing special funds for the repair and desilting of dams in the upcoming annual development schemes.
During the meeting, it was informed that in the Rawalpindi division including Islamabad, 58 dams were completed and operational. The gross storage capacity of these dams is 0.29 million acre-feet. The dams provide 43.15 million gallons of drinking water per day.
Out of a total of nine dams in Rawalpindi, eight were completed and operational while out of a total of 11 dams in Jhelum, nine were completed and made fully functional.
Similarly, out of a total of 17 dams in the Attock district, 16 were completed and working. Out of a total of 13 dams in Chakwal district, 10 were completed and made operational while six dams completed in Talagang were supplying water.
The Commissioner said that if there is an administrative problem in non-functional dams, it should be resolved as soon as possible by taking the local administration on board while the engineering issue could be resolved with the help of the irrigation department.
