11 September 2004	Saturday	25 Rajab 1425

QUETTA, Sept 10: President Pervez Musharraf said on Friday that over 7,000 watercourses would be brick-lined in Balochistan over the next four years.

Speaking at a ceremony to mark the launching of a national programme for construction of concrete water tanks, watercourses and reservoirs at Kuchlak, 15km from here, the president said over 6,000 new water channels and 14,000 water tanks would be built in the province.

He said Rs60 billion would be spent on the lining of watercourses in the country. President Musharraf said Balochistan would get Rs5 billion for 7,100 pucca watercourses and 6,366 water tanks/reservoirs over the next four years and the projects would be monitored by the provincial chief minister.

The programme was aimed at raising the capacity of water reservoirs and to bring five lakh acres of additional land under cultivation, he added. The president said modern techniques would be introduced for irrigation which would boost the agriculture output. He said 14,000 watercourses and concrete water tanks would be constructed this year.

The president said completion of these projects would help irrigate orchards over 500,000 acres in the province, boosting fruit production and their export. It would strengthen national economy and help remove the sense of deprivation among the people of Balochistan, he observed.

President Musharraf said a cell had been established at the federal level to monitor work on the lining of watercourses being carried out under the water management programme throughout the country.

The provincial chief ministers would monitor implementation of the project in their provinces, he added. The president said billions of rupees were being spent on mega projects in Balochistan.

These included the Gwadar port, coastal highway, Kachhi canal, Merani and Subakzai dams and Quetta water project. The road network and railway system in the province were also being improved.

Gen Musharraf said commissioning of these projects would boost economic activities in Balochistan. He said the first phase of the Gwadar port and coastal highway would be completed this year, while the Merani dam would be ready next year. Work on the Kachhi canal was going on at a cost of Rs35 billion and Rs8 billion would be provided to Balochistan for the Quetta water supply project.

He said the coastal highway would be linked with Iran to boost trade. The federal government will provide funds for roads linking Quetta with Kandahar which would spur trade activities in the provincial capital.

President Musharraf said some elements in the province were not interested in the progress of Balochistan and were creating problems for the development projects with their propaganda.

They were involved in terrorist activities in the province, the president said and added that these elements had never taken any interest in the development of the province.

The government would foil their designs and would complete these projects for the progress and prosperity of the people, he added. President Musharraf categorically stated that no-one intended to occupy the land of Gwadar.

The land belonged to the local people and would remain with them, he said and called upon the people to extend full cooperation to the government for the uplift of the province.

He said he realized that the agriculture sector had suffered due to drought-like conditions in the province, but added that the government was making all-out efforts to overcome water shortage.-PPI

CHIEF MINISTER: Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Jam Yousuf urged the federal government to provide funds to the province for improvement of water resources keeping in view of the fact that Balochistan's economy depended on its agriculture, adds our correspondent.

The chief minister said millions of acres could be irrigated with the 60.6 billion cubic litres of rain water each year. He urged the president to announce a comprehensive package for construction of dams to store the rain and flood waters and maintained that the provincial government from its own resources had built 165 delay-action dams and 10 water-storage dams that would irrigate 0.862 million acres.

Jam Yousuf highlighted the drought problem being faced by the province since 1998, and said that the subsoil water level was rapidly going down which was not only affecting the working of tubewells but was also posing a threat to the British-era Karez system.

In such a situation, he said, it was the prime responsibility of planners, agriculture experts and irrigation specialists to develop water resources. The chief minister said that during 1970-2003 only 2,500 watercourses and 1,800 water tanks had been constructed in the province. He said the federal government had allocated half a billion rupees for concrete water tanks which would improve the situation.

The chief minister reiterated that the completion of mega projects would bring about fundamental changes in the tribal society of Balochistan ensure economic prosperity and provide employment to youths.