Bezai Irrigation Project: Mardan, Malakand to be made green
Rs3.24 billion project to be completed by 2013; project to irrigate 25,000 acres of arid and semi-arid land.
PESHAWAR:
The Bezai Irrigation Project will be completed by 2013, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Chief Minister (CM) Ameer Haider Khan Hoti was briefed on Sunday. The project would help bring a “green revolution” in the province and bolster the agriculture sector in K-P, he said.
Once completed, the project would irrigate 25,000 acres of arid and semi-arid land in Malakand and Mardan.
CM Hoti expressed these views during inspection of construction work of the scheme at Qasimi in Mardan district. He said that the government was utilising all available resources for the uplift of the agriculture sector as it has a direct influence on the country’s economy and peoples’ food needs. He directed the concerned authorities to complete the project at the earliest without compromising on quality and standards.
The chief minister said the provincial government would ensure that there is no lack of resources and that the project is completed at all costs, given how important it was. On the demand of the public, CM Hoti also approved the construction of a primary school and assured provision of gas facility to the area. Sajjad Khan, Project Director Bezai Irrigation Scheme, told the meeting that the multi-faceted project would be completed in 2013 with an estimated cost of Rs.3.24billion and it would irrigate 25,000 acres of arid land in Malakand and Mardan.
The length of the main canal of the project is 39.307 kilometres while the distributaries system length is more than 85 kilometres. In addition, three tunnels, seven distributaries and 24 small canals are also part of the project.
The chief minister said that the federal government will also financially assist the completion of this mega project. The government, he said, was working on a broad-based strategy to improve the socio-economic condition of downtrodden and poor people. Special focus would be given to cleanliness of irrigation canals so that the tail-end farmers could also get water easily, he added.
He said that floods had severely hit farmers and the government has distributed seeds and fertilizers to help them stand on their own feet.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 6th, 2010.
The Bezai Irrigation Project will be completed by 2013, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Chief Minister (CM) Ameer Haider Khan Hoti was briefed on Sunday. The project would help bring a “green revolution” in the province and bolster the agriculture sector in K-P, he said.
Once completed, the project would irrigate 25,000 acres of arid and semi-arid land in Malakand and Mardan.
CM Hoti expressed these views during inspection of construction work of the scheme at Qasimi in Mardan district. He said that the government was utilising all available resources for the uplift of the agriculture sector as it has a direct influence on the country’s economy and peoples’ food needs. He directed the concerned authorities to complete the project at the earliest without compromising on quality and standards.
The chief minister said the provincial government would ensure that there is no lack of resources and that the project is completed at all costs, given how important it was. On the demand of the public, CM Hoti also approved the construction of a primary school and assured provision of gas facility to the area. Sajjad Khan, Project Director Bezai Irrigation Scheme, told the meeting that the multi-faceted project would be completed in 2013 with an estimated cost of Rs.3.24billion and it would irrigate 25,000 acres of arid land in Malakand and Mardan.
The length of the main canal of the project is 39.307 kilometres while the distributaries system length is more than 85 kilometres. In addition, three tunnels, seven distributaries and 24 small canals are also part of the project.
The chief minister said that the federal government will also financially assist the completion of this mega project. The government, he said, was working on a broad-based strategy to improve the socio-economic condition of downtrodden and poor people. Special focus would be given to cleanliness of irrigation canals so that the tail-end farmers could also get water easily, he added.
He said that floods had severely hit farmers and the government has distributed seeds and fertilizers to help them stand on their own feet.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 6th, 2010.