Farmers’ woes: Three years on, Sakhra’s flood-ravaged irrigation channel still ignored

The channels were to be reconstructed in a 2011 project, but were removed from the tender.

SWAT:

Farmers in a remote village of Matta Tehsil have no option but to pray for a miracle. The main irrigation channel in the area that was washed away during the 2010 floods is yet to be restored.

According to the district agriculture office, over 30,000 acres of agricultural land was washed away along with 100 main irrigation channels in the wake of the floods. The irrigation channel of Sakhra village was swept away and its agricultural land destroyed. Due to this, a large number of peach and apple orchards had to be cut down.

Now, the money has dried up.

Arshad Ali is among the many farmer who are facing a financial crisis. “I relied solely on my rice fields for earning a livelihood but I’m unable to do that anymore,” he lamented.

Similarly, Mohammad Naeem, a farmer and orchard owner, has been helpless since the floods hit his land. He has tried contacting the relevant authorities but all in vain. “We asked our elected representative and the concerned department for the restoration of the water channel but all we got in return were hollow promises,” he said.

The rehabilitation scheme of the Sakhra irrigation channel was initially included in the 22 schemes to be funded by the Provincial Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Settlement Authority (PaRRSA). The tender for the project to be advertised on December 22, 2011, before the Sakhra region was dropped from the tender allegedly due to political reasons.

The district irrigation department confirmed that they had included the project in a rehabilitation scheme funded by PaRRSA but dropped on the day of the tender. “The scheme was not in the list of Chief Minister Package, so it was dropped,” Bakhtiar Khan, an official of the irrigation department, said.

On the other hand, Adnan Khan, PaRRSA media and communication officer, said that PaRRSA has sufficient funds for the project and they are waiting for the scheme to be forwarded to them. “The agriculture and irrigations departments are responsible for implementing the project, we only provide funding,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 2^nd, 2013.