Construction work of Daducha Dam will be completed on fast track, while so far nearly 12 per cent work of the project has been completed, said Rawalpindi Commissioner Muhammad Mehmood.
He said that excavation work of the spillway and perennial pipe flow was under way. According to a spokesperson, Potohar Region Chief Engineer Moeen Qureshi informed the commissioner that the Daducha Dam project was conceived in 2001 but its construction work kicked off in December, 2020.
The process to pay the compensation amount to the affectees of Mahota Dam was also under way. He informed that 80 per cent payment to the affectees has been done in Rawalpindi while 70 per cent owners of the land in Chakwal district had also received the compensation amount.
Read more: RDA to study inflatable dam on Soan River
He said the delay in completing the payment process was on part of the affectees as they are either least interested to get the payment or shifted to foreign countries.
Commissioner Mehmood had directed the revenue authorities of Rawalpindi and Chakwal to collect the entire data of the affectees and made all-out efforts to complete the process as soon as possible.
The spokesperson said the district administration had imposed Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act 1894. More than 1,640 Kanals of land had been acquired under which land acquisition in Kallar Syedan and Rawalpindi had been started.
The dam was being constructed on upstream of Soan River and all the rainwater from Murree and Kahuta hills will gather in the lake at Daducha village near Sihala on Kahuta Road.
As many as 10 villages, seven of Rawalpindi and three of Kahuta, came under the dam while 218 houses, seven industrial and commercial units and other areas are affected by the project. The total storage capacity of the dam would be 60,000 acre-feet, dead level storage capacity is 15,000-acre feet while live storage capacity is 45,000-acre feet. The water inflow to the dam will be 77,000 cusecs while the outflow is estimated at 42,000 cusecs. The total cost of construction of the dam is estimated at Rs6 billion.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 19th, 2021.
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