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Construction of more irrigation channels wanted

By Zahiruddin

CHITRAL: Scarcity of irrigation water was ranked as the first problem of the people of Chitral which was termed responsible for the low per acre agricultural yield thereby enfeebling the rural economy. Former project manager of Chitral Conservation Strategy of IUCN, Dr. Inayatullah Faizi told chitraltimes.com here on Wednesday that in the public consultation meetings held by the organization, in as many as forty seven places in the length and breadth of the district, 93 percent participants complained the problem of irrigation water. He said that CCS had conducted extensive consultation with the people to prioritize their collective problems and then formulate a viable strategy. Area-wise, Chitral is the largest district of the province with an area of 14850 square kilometers but only four percent of it is cultivable and the rest of it is either mountainous or pasture. The residents said that although Chitral River and its tributaries flow across the valley with an average discharge of 30 thousand cusecs, but the topography is such that it irrigates hardly five percent of the cultivable land. They said that the rest of the land depends on natural springs or the mountainous streams fed by glaciers. They said that the irrigation system is dependent on channels most of which have been constructed by the people on self-help basis while the irrigation department has also constructed a small number of them. They said that individual holding of land is large but due to the scarcity of irrigation water, hardly one quarter of the cultivable land is cultivated but the rest of it remains arid. They said that for want of resources, the required network of irrigation channels have yet to be laid across the district. They added that apart from the irrigation department, Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP), Chitral Area Development Programme (CADP) and Sarhad Rural Support Programme (SRSP) has also constructed a number of channels. Irrigation water is not enough even in the under-cultivation areas and crops and fruits wither away while the productivity is also adversely affected, they said. The scarcity of irrigation water has caused the people to entangle in litigation and hundreds of cases are being heard in different courts of law currently. Expressing their dismay over the poor performance in the irrigation department, they said that more than 70 percent of the irrigation channels schemes were failed due to the alleged corruption in the department. They said that only a few of the irrigation channels of the department have been completed but the rest of them are either incomplete or have developed faults making it redundant. They said that many major schemes of irrigation channels like Singoor, Lavi and Droon Oveer have been closed when they found faulty while millions of rupees had been spent on each. They proposed that the government should allocate maximum funds in the sector of irrigation and also devise a strategy to control the rampant corruption in the department to ensure their completion and hire the reputed consultants to oversee and monitor the irrigation schemes. They said that prosperity will reign supreme in the area wiping out.