A decade on, K-P dam yet to see light of day

Frequent design changes, FATA merger repeatedly stalled vital Bajaur project

BAJAUR:

Despite the passage of one decade and spending of Rs420 million, the Raghagan Dam is yet to see the light of day in Bajaur tribal district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P).

Talking to The Express Tribune a government official said that the Raghagan Dam project was scheduled to be completed in 2014 but due to the frequent changes in the design the project was delayed till June 2018 and after that work was suspended following the merger.

“After the merger the Fata Development Authority (FDA) was dissolved and the construction work remained suspended for another two years because all funds had been frozen,” he said.

Another official said that the main purpose of the dam was to irrigate a large area as well as improve the water table underground.

“When ex-FATA was merged with K-P in May 2018, FDA was also dissolved in 2019 and it was given under the Director General Irrigation (Small Dams). At the time of merger around 95 per cent construction work was complete and the remaining five per cent is yet to be completed,” he informed.

He recalled that in 2005 a private firm of Karachi designed the dam with the help of a local consultant and in 2008 it was included in Annual Development Program (ADP) by FDA.

“In the first phase funds were allocated for the acquisition of land, design, feasibility and construction was started in 2012 to be completed in 2014 originally,” he said.

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“One goal has been achieved from the project as the underground water level is now stable in the region,” he said, adding that irrigation of land will be possible once the project is finished and staffed hired.

The total cost of the project was estimated at Rs420 million including Rs130 million for the purchase of land and the dam will be able to irrigate 4,500 acre of land. Two irrigation channels were also part of the design with a length of 10.5 kilometer but these channels are yet to be constructed. An amount of Rs15 million has been spent on feasibility study.

Plantation around the dam was also part of the design and government had to provide boats for the water reservoir for recreational purpose.

“The design is faulty. It has to be changed once again before its completion as there are lands which could not be irrigated from the dam due to their height. Now Fata Water Resource Development Project (FWRDP) has made plans to install solar pimps for patches of land situated above the dam,” said a district official when approached.

Last year in July a boat capsized in the reservoir killing seven aboard due to lack of monitoring and safety mechanism.

“These are private boats and all the passengers were without life jackets which led to this fatal accident,” he said, adding that no report has been released by the administration to fix responsibility.

A local tribal elder Qari Abdul Majeed demanded of the government to complete the construction work on the dam and those people should be punished who are responsible for faulty design and constant delays as well cost overruns.

“The consultant didn’t visit the area before finalizing the design. He remained in Peshawar all the time. A bridge was also part of the design which was delayed three years due to faulty design,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 30^th, 2022.