05 July 2004	Monday	16 Jamadi-ul-Awwal 1425

RAJANPUR, July 4: The Pachadh area in Rajanpur is facing a severe water shortage. Animals are dying and people have to travel over 10 miles to fetch water for drinking and other purposes.

To provide water to Pachadh, work on Aasni canal project at Head Bakharpur had been started some 10 years ago, but it was not completed for some unknown reasons. Dera Ghazi Khan and Rajanpur get equal water share from Head Taunsa despite the fact that the former has 150,000 acres of land that is cultivated as compared to the latter where 350,000 acres are brought under cultivation.

According to a survey, Rajanpur has a healthy wheat output. Its cotton is also of better quality, therefore, it is more expensive than cotton in the other areas. If Rajanpur is given its full share of water, it has the potential to contribute handsomely to country's cotton and wheat production.

The Aasni canal project, if completed, will not only bring thousands of acres of land under cultivation, but it will also provide drinking water to the people. This area, according to farm experts, has the potential to produce crops without the use of fertilizers for well over 20 years.