Greater Thal Canal: willfully ignored?

Project is still incomplete even after lapse of 19 years

NOORPUR THAL: The Greater Thal Canal which was supposed to irrigate millions of acres of land in Thal, Bhakkar, Layyah and Khushab could not be completed even after the lapse of 19 years. More than Rs10 billion has been spent on the project which went in vain, due to the incompletion of phase II and phase III.

The Greater Thal Canal project was inaugurated by former president Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf on August 16, 2001, at Noorpur Thal, adjacent to Adi Kot Chashma Jhelum Link Canal. The estimated cost of the project was around Rs30 billion.

The project was to be completed in eight years, and after completion, it was expected that almost Rs1.73 million acres of land would be irrigated in Bhakkar, Layyah, Khushab and Jhang districts. Apart from this, approximately 1.97 million acres of arid land would be converted into fertile land. So far, the first phase of the project has been completed with the cost of Rs10 billion.

The project was conceived in 1836 when Queen Victoria ordered a survey of the area. The survey was completed in six months. However, the project could not be initiated due to the opposition of the Hindus who alleged the British of giving undue favours to the Muslims living in the area.

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Former military ruler General Ziaul Haq also made an unsuccessful attempt to initiate this project in 1979.

Although, the construction of phase I has affected farmers' fertile land

After Musharraf's regime, the democratic governments shelved the project which could have brought an agricultural revolution in the country. The network of canals has vanished under the mounds of sand. The canal escape of the project has also turned into a forest of shrubs and wild bushes.



The government has allocated a fund of Rs250 million for the cleaning of the canal. Reportedly, the phase II and III comprise of Dhingana Branch, Mankera Branch and Noorpur Thal Branch which have been ignored for the last 19 years.

The completion of phase II and III would irrigate millions of acres of land in the area of Thal, Bhakkar, Jhang, Khushab and Layyah and change the fate of poor farmers.

Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs Chairman MNA Malik Muhammad Ehsanullah Tiwana who has also been a former Khushab Nazim, played a vital role in the inauguration of the project of Greater Thal Canal.

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He termed the project as a progressive development for the country. He said the previous governments did not take practical measures to complete this project, however, in collaboration with the World Bank, the survey and paperwork have been finalised to complete the phase II and III of the project, which would be resumed soon.

Rana Mohammad Saleem, a local landowner from Nurpur Thal explained the significance of the Greater Thal Canal project saying that the livelihood of farmers depended on one crop a year only if the area receives heavy rains. “If the Greater Thal Canal project gets functional, it will help us grow financially by cultivating three crops in a year,” he said.

Another local Malik Jafar Khan Bighur said the government should complete the project for the prosperity of the farmers and the economy both.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 11^th, 2020.