Pakistan Irrigation System Updates

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Under Construction Nai Gaj Dam.

WAPDA is constructing Nai Gaj Dam near Dadu in Sindh.

Scheduled for completion by end 2024, this multi-purpose project will store 300,000 acre feet of water to irrigate 28,800 acres of land.

It will also have a small hydel power station to generate 4.2 MW green, clean electricity...

 

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Spate irrigation prospects in Pakistan

khuram mubeen

Assistant Professor Agronomy MNS University of Agriculture Multan

On an average 9% of the irrigated area of Pakistan is under the system of hill ********. Though there is a potential of increasing the area under spate irrigation up to 34%.

Floods are often considered as havoc. However, the other side of coin has seldom been accounted for in a positive context. Rain water from dry mountains can be a potential source for irrigating low lying fields, and getting a reasonable crop production.

Floods in plains through rise in level of river flow and floods originating from mountainous areas (Hill ******** / Rod Kohi) differ from each other. The floods from rivers builds gradually, has a long lasting impact and recedes even more slowly.

On the other hand, hill ******** from mountains are transient (usually up to 10 hours) and appear shortly after rains. Speed of water flow is very high as compared to floods of rivers in plains.

What is spate irrigation?

The irrigation technique that diverts flood water from dry mountainous area by gravity through regulatory structures for crop cultivation in low lying farmland is referred to as spate irrigation. This irrigation system is a distinct feature of arid and semi-arid regions bordered by highlands.

There are two systems of management in hill torrent areas:

1. Upland rod kohi areas. Here check dams are built to create obstacles in the movement of speedy water. It aids in reducing losses to soil erosion. Contouring, terracing is practiced and mini dams are also constructed. Medium reservoirs can also be built where feasible.
2. Lowland rod kohi areas: In such areas regulatory structures, diversion bunds, headworks, field inlets and field outlets can be constructed. For smooth flow of water and to avoid erosion, water can be conveyed through an array of channels like stone masonry lined channels, closed channels, parabolic lined channels, plastic sheet lined channels and open channels etc. A well planned channelization of the water from river bed at the take-off point will make the most use of the area with better coverage and spread of water with effective groundwater recharge.

On an average, currently 9% of the irrigated area of Pakistan is under the system of hill ********. Though there is a potential of increasing the area under spate irrigation up to 34%. About 1.4 to 2.34 million hectare area is under spate irrigated agriculture. Nevertheless, the potential area is approximately 7 million hectares.


Following three aspects must be inculcated to harvest the benefits from hill ********

1. Building regulatory structures
2. Canal maintenance and repair system
3. Management of commanded area of the hill ********

Essential aspects to harness hill ********

Building dams, mini dams, headworks, regulatory structures etc. is the major responsibility of engineering authorities whereas command area management is a diverse subject involving multiple stakeholders. The bund repair and maintenance in such areas is of utmost importance.

In some areas, there is penalty on farmers who do not take care of repairing and maintaining bunds on annual and sometime on seasonal basis. Moisture conservation can be enhanced by ploughing, surface mulching, strip cropping, and growing cover crops like legumes etc.

Pakistan’s scenario

Pakistan has the largest area in the world under spate irrigation with maximum area being in Balochistan. In Punjab, this sort of irrigation is practiced in districts of Dera Ghazi Khan and Rajanpur and parts of Mianwali. There are 13 major hill ******** besides many minor ******** locally called “chur”.

In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa spate irrigation is practiced in Dera Ismail Khan and parts of Lakki Marwat and Kohat. In Sindh, it is mostly practiced in the northwestern Kirthar range along Dadu, Jamshoro and reaching up to part of Karachi district. There are 25 hill torrent systems in Sindh. Balochistan has 44% area of the country by geography.

However, only 13% area of Balochistan is irrigated. There are 19 major spate irrigation systems in Balochistan.
Government through irrigation department has established hand pumps for drinking water in some villages but still in many areas the human and animals drink water from the ponds or from water collected in depressions made by soil transportation and erosion.

Water rights are not followed in their true essence in most of the spate irrigated areas. If in dry years, a small volume of water is received through rainfall, the farmers at upstream have the rights to use it. But as a malpractice, influential people and those at upstream divert the water flow during wet years to their lands which results in non-availability or very limited water availability to farmers at tail of the command area.


Traditionally, at field level, tactical breaching of field bunds is done for field to field irrigation. However, it damages the bunds sometimes besides several other adverse ecological and social impacts.


Field management

On field management include selection of suitable crop and cultivars which require less water till maturity and can withstand dry spells and hot weather in summer. Sorghum and millets can be successfully grown and seeds of these crops are threshed at harvest for future use while their stalks can be dried for hay to feed livestock.

Mulching, tillage, strip cropping, using leguminous crops in the cropping system improves soil conditions and soil moisture holding capacity. Millet, cluster bean and mungbean is used in different areas in summer. In winter season chickpea, rapeseeds, mustards and wheat are mostly grown in different areas.

Dug well irrigation is also in practice in some areas like Mithawan hill torrent command area.
As the farmers do not use external inputs in subsistence farming; therefore, the returns from the field crops are also marginal.


Problem solution

• There is a need to build a database of spate irrigation in the country. Currently, there is very little academic research regarding key aspects of spate irrigation. Wherever feasible, spate irrigation should be augmented with judicious groundwater use.
• Improvement in indigenous vegetables, trees and fodder should be included in research program for improving the intended benefits. In most of the areas as the produce from the fields are obtained without using any chemical, there is a huge potential for developing commodity specific organic markets.
• Thal and Cholistan Development Authorities, rod kohi development authorities on at least province level should be initially established having experts from disciplines of agriculture, livestock, health, forestry and education etc. There should be concrete efforts for promoting the focus on fodder, pulses, oilseeds and wheat etc. using available water supply.

Scientific solutions

• Research should be focused on breeding crop cultivars that can extract water from deeper soil depths.
  Creating awareness and coordination among all the society groups is need of the time. On farm water management through active involvement of irrigation, engineering, conservation, agriculture and extension departments etc. can bring a significant change.
• Research should also be focused on developing drought tolerant fruit plants like Beri and Dates. There is potential of planting more forest trees in spate irrigated areas. This will also reduce the soil erosion and avoid negative consequences of climate change besides other benefits.
• Low cost drinking water technologies for humans and livestock consumption should be taken into account on priority basis. As the area is drought prone with water scarcity, hence growing crops through high efficiency irrigation systems like drip irrigation can bring fruitful results where applicable.
• Engineering and agricultural faculties of universities should incorporate spate irrigation curriculum for capacity building and preparing scientific brains in future perspective. It is of utmost importance to include spate irrigated area into national development plan.

An integrated approach unveiling all these aspects will definitely promise uplift in the socio-economic lives of poorest of the poor farmers in country.

 

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Clay Pot Irrigation System


The Potter’s Method

You can make your own ollas by hand with wet clay using several methods. However, no matter which one you use, the pots will need to be fired in a kiln, which can usually be found at a clay store, pottery studio, and at a college or university. The pots are made from a mixture of clay and sand at a ratio of 4:1, which will give it an effective porosity ranging from 10-15%. Depending on the clay, you can add, rice hulls, or sawdust at a ratio of up to 1:4 to increase the porosity of the pots. You could also simply add more sand, although using a more crude, impure clay
(which has a varied mix of particulate sizes) will result in larger pores during the firing process. Or, you can mix 20% sand with 20% quality clays, or the same percent of sifted rice hulls or sawdust. After mixing the clay, use a potter’s wheel to mold it into different shapes, typically with a spherical or round body and a flat bottom. The pots are then tempered by baking them at high temperatures.

Firing the ollas makes the clay hard and strong, while still allowing water to pass through. The temperatures required can vary, depending on the quality and mixtures of your clay, the type of oven used when baking, and your desired porosity, and could range anywhere from 200° to over 1,000° C. Small-scale, earthen-ware manufacturers generally temper their ceramic pots at 1200° C. A course, red clay with sand impurities and a mixture with 20% or less of straw should be fired at around 800° F, or around 430° C. Closed-oven firing at temperatures exceeding 450° C are ideal. Generally, the pots should not be fired much above 1,000° C, or their porosity will be limited. Adding more grog (ground old ceramic) will increase porosity by burning out the filler, leaving uniform pores and a high-quality pot. It is important to find the optimum temperature for your pots. If you make it too hot, the clay will become water-tight, making the ollas useless for our purposes. However, if the pots are not heated enough, then they may breakdown in the soil, causing leakages.

The Coil-Method

This method builds the pot piece-by-piece, in layers from the bottom up, by laying long, rolled coils on top of each other around the sides of a bowl or plate to build the pot. Begin by pinching a ball of wet clay to create a bowl-shape. Use this as the base of your olla, and build up around it from there. Or, you can take the bottom of an old, terra-cotta plate (puki), and lay down a tortilla-shaped piece of clay on top of it. Then, roll a lump of clay between your palms, creating a long clay rope of uniform thickness, and form the base of the olla by pinching and pressing this coil onto the sides of the clay tortilla with one hand, while turning the bowl or puki with your other hand. Add successive layers of coils until the vessel is completed.

The Casting Method

You can also make the jars out of a mold-casting. This is an excellent way to mass-produce ollas if you can successfully cast them. To make the urns, create plaster of Paris molds from pumpkins, squash, or gourds of various sizes. Then pour liquid clay into the molds to shape the urns, and fire them in the kiln to solidify the clay.

Using Milk Jugs as Ollas

You can also repurpose some used 1-gallon milk jugs to turn them into artificial ollas. Take your empty milk jugs, fill them with water, and freeze them overnight. Poke multiple small holes into the sides of the jug with a nail or ice pick and hammer. When planting near a wall or walkway, you may want to poke holes on only two sides of the jug, so that the water flows to your plants and not on your pathway. Bury the milk jugs, plant, and water in the same manner as the ollas.

Burying and Watering The Ollas

Start by digging a planting hole about three times as wide and twice as deep as the clay pot. If you encounter clay in your topsoil, discard and replace it with finer, higher-quality soils, as it makes it hard for the water to penetrate. In very heavy soil, you may wish to add sand or gypsum to improve its characteristics. In either case, you will want to fertilize the soil to add more nutrients for the plants. Simply take half of the soil you just removed, break it up using a spade or fork, and add it back into the bottom of the pit. Take the other half of the soil and mix in 1/3 of compost, aged manure, fertilizer, or potting mix with dolomite.

Before burying the ollas completely, it’s best to first fill them and check for leaks. Once that’s done, place the pot in the pit on top of the loose soil, and fill the pit around it with the fertilizer-soil mix. Then bury it up to its neck so that the top is about 2 cm above the surface of the surrounding soil. The top of the clay pot should remain exposed above ground so it can be refilled. To make the top of the pots easier to see, and to reduce evaporation, paint the top rims with white paint. The upper body of the buried clay pot can also be partially painted to reduce water use, but be sure your paints do not include any harmful materials, such as lead or cadmium.

When finished burying the pots, put mulch around the exposed neck at the surface to reduce water evaporation. Then, fill them with water and put a cover over the opening. Keeping the mouth of the jar fully covered prevents insects, animals, and debris from getting inside, in addition to reducing water loss through evaporation. If there are no fitted lids for the jars, you can use corks, plastic lids, cups, metal dishes, flat rocks, clay plates, shells, ceramic tiles, or even pot holders, depending on the size of the hole.

Water takes between 24 and 72 hours to flow through an olla. Depending on factors such as the plant’s water needs, pot size, soil type, time of year, and environment, the ollas may need re-filling every 2 to 3 days for small pots, or once or twice per week for larger ones. To keep the system working optimally, add more water to the pots as needed, and avoid letting them get completely dry. In order to avoid build up of salt residues along the inside surface of the olla that may prevent desired seepage, add water whenever the water level in the olla falls below 50%.

Domestic water effluent, or greywater from kitchens, can be used to refill the pots. Although, it should be filtered first, or otherwise it will clog the pours. You may also supply the olla with water mixed with liquid fertilizer. Simply mix the fertilizer or compost seed in the water, and use it as normal. The liquid fertilizer is more expensive than the granular kind, although, with the liquid variety, you’ll only need about 1/4 to 1/2 of the amount (per unit area of land) compared to granular fertilizers. This is due to the tremendous efficiency of the delivery of nutrients directly to the plant’s roots. Do not add this too often, however, as particles could build up and clog the pours in the clay.

Planting With Ollas

The system is useful for annual and perennial plants, woodlots, and horticultural, orchard or plantation crops. Tests and research conducted around the world — including China, Pakistan, India, Mexico, Brazil, Iran, California, Arizona, and New Mexico – have found that the following plants are suitable to use with clay pot irrigation:

• Asparagus
• Basil
• Beans
• Bee Balm
• Broccoli
• Cabbage
• Celery
• Cilantro
• Collard Greens
• Corn
• Chiles
• Chiltepines
• Chives
• Cucumbers
• Eggplant
• Garlic
• Leeks
• Marigolds
• Melons
• Mints
• Onions
• Parsley
• Peppers
• Peas
• Poppies
• Potatoes
• Purslane
• Rosemary
• Rhubarb
• Scallions
• Shallots
• Strawberries
• Squash
• Sunflowers
• Tarragon
• Thyme
• Tomatoes
• Tomatillos
• Yarrow

No research seems to be available on the consequences of using ollas in a dense polyculture. However, many other intercrops should work well with buried clay pots. The Fan Sheng-chih Shu, an ancient Chinese text describing clay pot irrigation, recommends planting 10 scallions around the pot, interspersed with four melon seeds, and to harvest them in the 5th month as the melons begin to ripen. Lesser beans can also be planted in with the melons and scallions. If growing root vegetables, like potatoes, then bury the ollas a bit deeper in the soil.

You can plant from cuttings or transplants, or you can raise seedlings in situ instead of transporting them from nurseries. However, ollas are not very good for seed germination, as there won’t be enough surface moisture to water them. A small amount of water should be added to the seed spot or transplant to help wet the soil and establish capillary action from the buried clay pot. If starting with plants that already have roots, water the surface until their roots grow low enough to establish themselves. If planting with cuttings, try setting up a double clay pot to propagate them. Take a sealed pot and set it inside a larger one with an open drain. Fill the space between them with sandy potting mix, and put the cuttings in there. This way, they will be kept moist but still get oxygen.

It has been noted that plants with thick roots, and those with woody perennial plant root growth, will likely grow right through the pots and break them. This makes the pots less useful for long-term tree irrigation, but they can still be used for system establishment. Trials in Pakistan using 8-inch clay pots, refilled every two to four weeks, showed that tree seedlings irrigated with buried clay pots had a survival-rate of 96.5%, compared to 62% for hand watering. The seedlings grown with buried clay pots were also 20% taller. After eight months, all tree seedlings grown around the pots were alive and well, while all of the trees irrigated with the same amount of water using basin irrigation had died. Examination of the root distributions showed that several roots had wrapped themselves around the pot, while two dominant tap roots went straight down to considerable depth. This shows that buried clay pot irrigation can help develop a sufficient root system for long term survival and permanent installation of fruit, nut, and desert trees like pistachio, mesquite, acacia, or eucalyptus. The pot only needs to be filled regularly during the first year and can then be removed.

Be careful when producing fast-growing and spreading plants, like squash and melon vines with big leaves, as they may not be able to get enough water in some situations. Some sensitive species of plants could also be prone to pest or disease because of the constant levels of moisture in the soil. Heavy rains could exacerbate these problems when too much extra moisture is added to the garden. Beware of plants with invasive root systems, as they can grow out horizontally to steal water from the ollas.
When planting with ollas, there is the potential for breakage if left in the ground in areas with a winter freeze. In temperate climates, dig the pots up at the end of the growing season to prevent breakage. Burying the pot further underground, about 4-inches or so under the surface, may help protect it from freezing. The longevity of most ollas (without frost) is unknown, but estimated to be 2- to 5-years, depending on the quality of the clay, the mineral content in the water, and soil temperature swings. Prolonged use is likely to decrease porosity and clog up the pots over time. If this happens, soak the pots in water and scrub them clean, or re-fire to clear out the pores.

Spacing

The correct spacing of your plants will depend on the shape and size of the ollas, and of the crops you’re growing. Not much research is available as to the optimal spacing of plants around the ollas, but some women in the developing world used clay pots with a capacity of 5-liters each, and buried them at 0.5 m intervals in prepared seed beds. Ancient practices buried many pots on large swaths of land, using 530 pits per hectare (210 pits per acre), with each pit being 70 cm (24-inches) across and 12 cm (5-inches) deep. To each pit was added 18 kilograms (38 lbs.) of manure, and mixed well with an equal amount of dirt. An earthen jar of 6-liters (1.5-gallons) was buried in the center of the pit and filled with water to the brink.

Pots of about 1.5-gallons will seep water out to about 18-inches. The general rule of thumb is that each olla will water outwards at a distance about the same length as its radius. For optimal water utilization, arrange the pots in clusters, separated from each other at a distance equal to the width of their diameter or more, and plant in circles around them within about 18-inches around the base of the pot. In general, place your pots about 3 m (9-feet) apart for vine crops, and 1-1.5 m (3- to 5-feet) apart for corn and other tall-growing plants. The seeds or plants should be placed no less than about 1/2 of the radius away from the edge of the pot, and no more than the length equal to the diameter away from the edge, to maximize water absorption. It is helpful to leave a space between plants on one side of the pot to make it easier to lift the lid and refill it as the plants grow larger. You can also use pots in raised beds and containers. Simply use the 1-radius rule to find out how large your containers and beds need to be.

 

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Water supply in canals of South Punjab reviewed​

Recorder Report
June 22, 2023

LAHORE: The Punjab Agriculture Department and Irrigation Department have expressed their satisfaction over the situation of canal water supply for cotton crop in South Punjab.

Secretary Agriculture Iftikhar Ali Sahoo and Secretary Irrigation Wasif Khurshid presided over a meeting here on Wednesday to review the water supply situation and reached the consensus that it was satisfactory.

Iftikhar Ali Sahoo speaking on this occasion claimed that water supply in the canals of South Punjab was very important to achieve the cotton production target.

Four million acres of land had been brought under cultivation of cotton in the three divisions of South Punjab that are Bahawalpur, Multan and Dera Ghazi Khan, the Secretary Agriculture said, adding the promise of canal water supply during the cotton season was being fulfilled and for this, the Department of Agriculture and Irrigation were working together.

Apart from this, the field teams of the Agriculture Department were providing technical guidance by participating alongside the farmers for the better management of cotton at 52 Kissan Sahulat Centres in South Punjab.

On this occasion, Irrigation Secretary Wasif Khurshid said the Irrigation Department would allocate its shares to South Punjab during the cotton season on a priority basis.

He added that this year there was a 27 percent water shortage in the system of the irrigation department, but with better planning, water would continue to be supplied to the farmers of South Punjab so that the cotton production target can be achieved easily.

 

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From lined legacy to modernised channel​

Mohammad Hussain Khan
January 15, 2024

HYDERABAD: The irrigation staff is busy with the maintenance work of Akram Wah during the annual closure of Kotri Barrage in January.—Photo by Umair Ali


One of the two main perennial canals of Kotri Barrage, Akram Wah or the lined channel, will no longer be a lined channel once its remodelling and rehabilitation phase is done under World Bank funded Sindh Water and Agriculture Transformation (SWAT) project.

Its remodelling and improvement will be done for Rs898 million by Sindh Irrigation and Drainage Authority (Sida) under SWAT, for which an agreement has been signed between Managing Director (MD) Sida and Project Implementation Consultants (PIC) for proposed works.

The channel is a perennial canal on the left bank of the Indus River and takes off from Kotri Barrage. It was the only channel, out of Sindh’s 14 main canals, that was lined in Sindh. A few years back, part of Sukkur barrage’s Rohri canal was lined but only to benefit a construction tycoon’s housing scheme in Nawabshah to avoid seepage. Other branches of different canals were lined recently for water conservation.

Akram was operationalised in 1951 and badly hit by the floods of 1956 as Kotri Barrage crossed 981,000 cusecs due to floods. This peak was later passed in September 2010’s super floods when a flow of 939,442 cusecs passed downstream the barrage.

The remodelling and rehabilitation of Kotri Barrage’s Akram Wah canal may address some of Sindh’s water woes

The canal was then repaired for Rs0.6m, and it started feeding perennial supplies to the Gaja area in 1957 after its construction. It became operational around 1958 after the construction of the Kotri barrage. At the time of construction, it was partly lined and partly earthen.

After construction, the lined channel was named after Akram Shaikh by the then governor of West Pakistan as per the January 1961 document that shows the history of “Wah” and is part of the record in Sida (a copy of which is available with Dawn). The canal’s renaming was done to recognise the services of Sheikh as chief engineer of irrigation in West Pakistan during the execution of the Ghulam Mohammad (Kotri) barrage.

“The designed discharge of Akram Wah was increased from 3,714 to 4,300 cusecs in the 1960s,” said deputy director (irrigation and floods) Sajjad Ali Soomro. He said that the section of the present canal’s structure could not be enhanced due to settled areas surrounding the canal.

“Our consultants will review the feasibility study of Akram Wah in the Water Sector Improvement Project. They can see whether the lining of Akram Wah is indeed necessary. Consultants will also vet that feasibility report,” said MD Sida Pritam Das.

He said that only a few panels of lining are intact in Akram Wah, and the rest had been eroded because the adjacent agricultural land is located on an elevated surface, and seepage has hit the lining structure.

“Secondly, at the time of construction, the aspect of groundwater recharge was perhaps not factored in by engineers,” observed MD Das. But, he said that consultants will look into the lining of the canal.

Like perennial irrigation flows of the canal, Akram Wah’s problem remains chronic since it hasn’t carried the withdrawal of designed discharge at its head for decades, although it feeds lower Sindh’s Tando Mohammad Khan, Badin as well as parts of Hyderabad district’s rural area with a cultivable command area of 0.49m acres and gross command area of 0.59m acres.

Hyderabad’s Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) also withdraws water from the channel for drinking. To ensure required flows for agricultural purposes to farmland, Sida feeds the canal through the non-perennial New Phulelli canal’s Alipur regulator to offset its never-ending water deficiency. It irks those dependent on the water of New Phulelli for their paddy cultivation.

Ironically, cultivation of paddy in the left bank of Kotri barrage’s command areas, though it is banned in left bank areas of Guddu and Sukkur barrages by the provincial government under West Pakistan legislation, is seen in Akram Wah’s command areas during Kharif season. During this period, the water shortage situation aggravates in the Indus River system in general and Sindh in particular.

Akram Wah’s water was used to irrigate Sukkur barrage’s left bank command area, which was otherwise fed through the Rohri canal of Sukkur barrage. These areas are located at the tail end of the Rohri Canal.

As the Indus River system experiences a shortage of flows, Kotri Barrage faces the worst water shortage during the summer, reporting the highest water shortage figure percentage-wise. “Growers dependent on New Phulelli canal’s water are justified in raising hue and cry against diversion of their share of water just to meet needs of Akram Wah. We sincerely hope to resolve this in this project,” MD Das said.

Under SWAT, Akram Wah’s works include removing damaged lined panels of the canal in certain sections as the debris blocks the flow regime of the channel. Retaining walls will be built at vulnerable canal sections where it passes through the city. Four cross regulators are to be replaced along with some bridges that constrain the flow.

One hopes that the canal’s remodelling will address all issues once and for all under this project.

From lined legacy to modernised channel

The remodelling and rehabilitation of Kotri Barrage’s Akram Wah canal may address some of Sindh’s water woes.

www.dawn.com

 

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Mirani Dam

Mirani Dam is situated on the Dasht River on south of the Central Makran Range in Kech District of Balochistan the province of Pakistan. It is a standard sized Dam which is used for multi-purpose and is a concrete-faced filled with rock. The Kech River and the Nihing River fed the 302,000 acre feet reservoir of the dam. In 2006, the construction of this dam was accomplished and it took the possession of Dasht River in August 2006. In 2007, the dam successfully resists an extreme flood event due to its quality construction. In Kech Valley the dam is used for irrigation of 33,200 acres and moreover it is also provide drinking water to Turbat and Gwadar.

In 1956, the achievability report of the Mirani dam project was first concluded but due to the other major projects the project of dam went to the back screen. After almost 45 years, in the wake of Gwadar Port development the dam was commissioned in 2001 by Pakistan’s Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) in order to supply was to the city of Gwadar. In August 2001, the inauguration of the dam was performed by the president of Pakistan. National Engineering Services Pakistan (NESPAK) designed the dam and in 2002 the construction contract was commenced and then soon after that in 2002 the company commenced its operations and in 2007 the project was completed.

During summer Kech and Nihing streams flow from rainfall and from the mountains the snow melts and enter into the dam. If the constant supply of water is provided to Kech Valley which contains cultivable soil then agricultural activity could be carried out of it. Mirani Dam was basically constructed to store water from three rivers in summers and even in floods in order make available water for irrigation reasons during the whole year to take 33,200 acres of previously unrefined land in Kech Valley under development.

The second purpose of its construction was to provide continuous amount of clean drinking water to the municipality of Turbat and Gwadar all over the year. The gross storage of the dam is about 302,000 acre-ft and the live storage is about 52,000 acre.ft. The construction of this dam proved to be a successful project as it fulfills the water requirement of the neighboring cities.

 

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Moronj Dam project

WAPDA awarded contract of consultancy services for Moronj Dam project

In order to utilize water resources in South Punjab, WAPDA has awarded a contract award for consulting services for the Morang Dam project. The project will bring economic stability in the region and improve the living standards of the people.

According to WAPDA officials, the contract has been awarded to joint ventures of three companies headed by Nespak. The contract is worth Rs 156.226 million.

The contract includes feasibility study of Morong Dam, detailed engineering design, tender documents and preparation of PC-1. The Morong Dam project will be constructed on Kaha Nala.

Kaha Nala is one of the largest mountain canals on the outskirts of Rajanpur in which the average annual flow of water is 183,000 acre feet. The total storage capacity of the dam will be 800,000 acre

 

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CONSULTANCY SERVICES AGREEMENT SIGNED FOR MURUNJ DAM PROJECT

May 29, 2020: In a major development for harnessing scarce water resources in Southern Punjab, the Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) awarded the consultancy contract worth Rs. 156.226 million to a joint venture headed by NESPAK for feasibility study, detailed engineering design, preparation of tender documents and PC-I of Murunj Dam Project.

WAPDA General Manager (Hydro Planning) Muhammad Amin and NESPAK General Manger (Water and Agriculture) Javed Munir signed the agreement on behalf of WAPDA and the joint venture respectively in a ceremony held at WAPDA House.

Murunj Dam Project will be constructed across Kaha Nullah about 15 Kilometer (Km) from Mari village and 116 Km west of Rajanpur, Punjab. Kaha Nullah is one of the largest hill ******** of the Koh-e-Sulaiman Range located in the vicinity of Rajanpur with average annual inflows of 183,000 acre feet.

The available water resources are very scarce in Rajanpur and adjoining areas facing acute shortage of fresh water for drinking and agriculture.
Murunj Dam Project has three main objectives namely storage of water for irrigated agriculture and drinking purpose, flood mitigation and power generation.

The project will have gross water storage of 800,000 acre feet. Annual monsoon rains give rise to flashy hill ******** causing inundation of thousands of acres of land in the adjoining foothills and rendering damages to public property and cultivated land each year.

The project will generate 12 megawatt (MW) cheap and environmental-friendly electricity. The project is unique in nature for Southern Punjab and will help alleviate poverty from the remote and backward region. It will change existing economic indicators and uplift the living standard of the people.

The project will have tangible benefits and bring about 120,000 acre barren land into irrigable, ground water recharging, and fisheries development. Implementation of project will have significant positive impact and uplift of local economy.

 

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Kurram Tangi Multipurpose Dam project coming along at a staggering pace due to relentless efforts by FWO work force. Once online in 2022 the Dam will see 18 Megawatt of power generation and 41Kms of irrigation canals capable of irrigating 16400 acres of land under stage 1.

On completion of stage 2 (currently in planning) the total combined capacity of the Dam will be an astounding 83 Megawatts bringing much needed prosperity for the populace of newly merged North Waziristan District of KPK.

Courtesy: FWO

 

[ghazi52]

KurramTangi Multipurpose Dam project coming along at a staggering pace due to relentless efforts by FWO work force. Once online in 2022 the Dam will see 18 MW of power generation and 41Kms of irrigation canals capable of irrigating 16400 acres of land under stage 1.

On completion of stage 2, the total combined capacity of the Dam will be an astounding 83 MW bringing much needed prosperity for the populace of newly merged North Waziristan District of KPK.
Courtesy: FWO

 

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KurramTangi Multipurpose Dam project .... KPK

New Command Area (84,380 acres)

(Sheratalla Canal 12,300 acres, Spaira Ragha Canal 4,080 acres, Thal Canal 68,000 acres)

Supplementing Existing Civil 107,500} 170,500}
& Marwat Canals 278,000 acres

Stage-I

Kaitu Weir Works and its allied structures are to be constructed across, Kaitu River, which is located near Spinwam, 28 KM from Mirali Tehsil H.Q. of North Waziristan Agency.

Salient Features of Stage-I

· Kaitu Weir Height 18 ft
· Feeder Tunnel Discharge Capacity 633.4 cusecs

· Spaira Ragha Canal (CCA) 4,080 acres

· Sheratalla Canal (CCA) 12,300 acres

 

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Views of the beautiful land of Dawood Khel

Dawood Khel , District Mianwali, Punjab

 

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Pakistan could benefit by Rs 900 billion as three largest water reservoirs fill up..


Pakistan’s three largest water reservoirs Tarbela dam, Mangla dam and Chashma barrage are almost at capacity. This is important because this season, 3 million acre feet (MAF) of water flowed through Kotri Barrage into the ocean.

Rao Irshad, a member of the Indus River System Authority (IRSA), said that due to the three dams not filling up last year, the carry-over reserves in them were only 6 MAF when the Rabi season started on October 1, 2019. Due to this, canal water shortage was estimated to be 49% in Rabi season. But this year, the carry over is expected to be more than 11 MAF which will reduce the canal water shortage to 20%.

It was told that by September 1, the total water reserves would be around 13.62 MAF; 6MAF from Tarbela dam, 7.35 MAF from 1240 ft water level at Mangla dam and 0.27 MAF from 270,000 acre feet water stored in Chashma Barrage Lake. Out of this, 2 MAF would be provided for provincial needs till September 30 while the remaining 11.62 MAF will be used in Rabi season

 

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Tarbela Dam

 

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Weir Site of Baran Dam
The extension of Baran Dam in Bannu district , KP which will bring thousands acres of barren land under cultivation in the area and will also serve as a tourist spot.