Staring at the sun: Load-shedding forces farmers, locals to switch to solar power

FATA political administration introduces first water policy in light of water crisis

PANDYALI: Dried up wells and no clean drinking water have left locals of a remote village of Pandyali tehsil of Mohmand agency immensely perturbed, forcing them to take matters into their own hands.

Although the land has plenty of underground water resources, it has no facilities to dig the area for irrigation purposes. In the past, locals irrigated their bare land using old oxen-driven water pumps (arhat), which they later upgraded to electric pumps. However, due to extended power breakdowns in the area nowadays, non-operational electric pumps have caused the tube wells to dry up.

Presently, residents are struggling for clean drinking water. With their main source of income (farming) also dried up, and drinking water unavailable, many have been forced to migrate. Muhammad Zaman, a farmer in the village, told The Express Tribune though the land is highly fertile and underground water sufficient, the problem lies in extracting it from the 300-foot-deep well.

He explained since the only means of extraction is through electric pumps—and electricity comes for two hours in as many days—most tube wells have become bone dry. As a result, many locals left farming altogether. However, after the introduction of solar panels in the area, farmers are now considering taking it up again.

Zaman himself had solar panels installed to irrigate his land. Having invested Rs300,000 on his farm, the farmer doesn’t find the amount costly as he is confident of a return on investment within a year.

Besides irrigation, Zaman provides clean drinking water to locals of his village by running the tube well for two hours a day so that women can come and fetch the scarce commodity.



However, Zaman explains he is one of the few who has the resources to install solar panels. There are many who lack the funds to invest in solar energy, despite having fertile land to grow crops.

He added the area is famous for off-season vegetables like onions, coriander and tomatoes among others. They are supplied all over the country and even exported. Due to the permanent breeze in winter, the area has no dew or fog, thereby making the land comparatively more productive to grow off season crops.

In his opinion, the political administration should be spending money on such projects to help farmers with solar energy, thus enabling a better livelihood for the poor, rather than spending it on non-productive activities.

According to the FATA Secretariat officials, the government has started working on installing new solar tube wells, while also making old tube wells solar-powered. They are aiming to install wind-powered tube wells in the windy areas of the region, making it the first water policy by the authority for the tribal belt.

However, Zaman feels such a project in the region will not benefit the common man as it will be in favour of influential tribal maliks, who will use the resources to install solar panels on their land rather than in an area where people can get water.

FATA Development Authority’s Tariq Khan has a different story to tell. He says they have installed a wind-powered tube well at the Pak-Afghan border. To add to that, Mohmand Agency MNA Bilal Rehman says 60 such tube wells, at the cost of Rs100 million, will be completed in the tribal agency in 2016. Funds for the purpose have been allocated by the government and are under process. Furthermore, additional tube wells and wells will be made next year as the government is focused on resolving the issue of lack of clean drinking water and irrigation of bare land in the agency.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 16^th, 2016.