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By: Syed Atif Humayun ID#: 7064

The focus areas of investments in water sector are: a. Augmentation of surface water resources.

b. Conservation measures (lining of irrigation channels, modernization/ rehabilitation of irrigation system, lining of watercourses and efficiency enhancement. c. Protection of infrastructure from onslaught of floods and water logging & salinity.

These water sectors programs are estimated to

utilize Rs. 19 billion.

Water Sector Programmes During (2010-11)


Completion of phase-I of Greater Thal Canal,

substantial completion (80 to 95 percent) of Kachhi Canal in Balochistan & Rainee Canal in Sindh for irrigation of 2.9 million acres. Completion of Mangla Dam Raising Project for additional storage of 2.9 MAF and additional power generation of 120 MW.

Completion of Satpara Dam in Gilgat Biltistan for

irrigation of 15,536 acres of agriculture land and 15.8 MW power generations. Substantial completion of Gomal Zam Dam Project in Tribal/ Khyber Pakhtunkhwa area. Lining of irrigation channels in Punjab, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Work on improvement of existing irrigating system in Punjab, Sindh, K.P.K & Balochistan at a cost of Rs.3.5 billion. Construction of new Small/medium dams throughout Pakistan (Winder, Darwat, Ghabir & Naulong dams) at a cost of Rs.3.1 billion.

A sum of Rs. 2.8 billion is being utilized for the

completion of remaining improvement of watercourses all over Pakistan under National Program for watercourses Improvement and Water Conservation through High Efficiency Irrigation System (drip & sprinkler) in Pakistan to upgrade irrigation in 291,000 acres. In drainage sector fast track implementation of RBOD-I, II & III Projects to protect and reclaim 4.9 million acres of irrigated land continued.

Irrigation System of Pakistan


Pakistan is faced with increasing water scarcity and

depending on assumptions of various future demand scenarios, annual water requirements at canal head could be in 135-170 MAF range in the coming years. Existing irrigation mechanism has reportedly working on 40-45 percent efficiency.

The historic average surface water availability is only

104 MAF per annum, and is persistently reducing due to siltation in reservoirs. The National Water Strategy envisages raising irrigation efficiency to 50 percent from the current level of 40 percent. In order to improve the existing system, various steps such as On-Farm Water Management Programme (OFWM) projects have been started in all provinces, in Gilgit- Baltistan, Azad Jamu & Kashmir and Islamabad Capital Territory areas.

The projects undertaken are:- National Programme

for Improvement of Watercourses in Pakistan, Chaghai Water Management and Agriculture Development Project (IDB Assisted), National Project to stimulate the Adaptation of Permanent Raised Beds in Maize-Wheat and Cotton-Wheat Farming System in Pakistan.

Efficient irrigation system is a pre-requisite for

higher agricultural production as it helps in increasing the crop intensity. Despite the existence of a good irrigation canal network in Pakistan, it suffers from wastage of a large amount of water in the irrigation process. Position of rainfall during monsoon and winter season is given in Table 2.15.

Water Crises
The development of water resources was a major

focus of public investment in the 1960s, along with the increase in private tube wells. The increased availability of water was a key factor which led to the green revolution. However the irrigation system and network in Pakistan has deteriorated in recent decades and a water crises seems to have emerged.

Due to poor maintenance the canal irrigation system

has had its capacity of carrying water reduced. Five major issues identified as water crises in Pakistan: 1. Pakistan does not have adequate reservoir capacity in its irrigation system to store water at peak flows. 2. Only 40% of water from canal head reaches the root zone, causing water logging and salinity, with a large proportion being wasted.

3. Very large infrastructure of irrigation exists in the country, it does not have a drainage system commensurate with the size of the network. 4. Inequality of power based on private property and privilege. 5. There has been insufficient maintenance of Pakistans irrigation network

An expanded water supply from the canal system has

been a major source of change in the use of land. However the availability of water has been constrained by several factors. Water acts as a major constraint because its management at the canal and farm level is very poor. Another problem is the persistent shortfall in the government irrigation revenue to cover the maintenance and operation cost of the canal system as part of the structural management support given by the IMF and the WB since the mid-1980s.

The Issues of the Tubewells


There are number of issues related to tubewells in providing irrigation facilities:
The first issue concerns the location of tubewells:

they are highly concentrated regionally, mainly in the rich old settled districts and the canal colony districts of Punjab. Outside Punjab there was very little tubewell development.

Secondly, given their size and cost, tubewells were

mainly installed by landowners withover 25 acres of land. Agricultural development bank of Pakistan provides numerous loans to farmers so that they could setup their private tubewells on liberal credit policy.

Conclusion:
The importance of water cannot be laid aside while

talking for economic growth and development of Pakistan as it serves as a life blood of the economy. With the rapid growth of population and increased use of water, its supply is not meeting its demand over the time. Water use practices in the country are not in accordance with water conservation and quality requirements. Most of the water is polluted and unhygienic for drinking purpose both for human and animals.

In order to overcome the burning issue confronted

with water requirements for agriculture and energy there is a pressing need to construct some new mega dams which could serve the larger interest of the people of Pakistan and their coming generations on basis of equity and justice. Every year due to floods a lot of water flows down towards sea and its inundation causes huge and irreparable losses to human lives, property and assets of public and private sectors. For overcoming such menaces small and flood dams at different sites should be constructed.

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