June 13, 2008	Friday	Jamadi-us-Sani 08, 1429

RAWALPINDI, June 12: As scarcity of water is a major threat to the growth of agriculture in Potohar region, the Small Dams Organisation (SDO) has marked five potential sites for the construction of small dams, officials told Dawn.

The government had tasked SDO to carry out feasibility studies to identify potential areas for the construction of 24 small dams in the Potohar region, and at the end of first year (2007-08) this month, SDO was able to identify only five areas where small dams could be built, officials said while seeking anonymity.

By fiscal year 2010, SDO has to complete the target of 24 dams, which appears to be a difficult task due to inconsistence in the federal and provincial governments’ policies and priorities, they added.

The officials said political instability was one of the factors due to which the pace of work had suffered.

The same case is with the proposed Kot Fateh Khan Dam for which the Asian Development Bank has already agreed to provide $60 million. The pace of follow-up on the proposed dam has badly suffered due to political instability.

The official, however, said that there was progress on the PC-I of the dam prepared by the Small Dam Organisation. The dam site is at a distance of about 4km from Sihal village of Pindighab tehsil, Attock district.

According to official reports, there are 41 small dams in the rain-fed areas of the Potohar plateau in the Punjab province. Nine dams were currently under different stages of construction. Out of the dams under construction, four are in Chakwal, three in Jhelum and one each in Rawalpindi and Attock.

With increasing water demand and deteriorating water quality associated with a burgeoning population use of small dam water is expected to rise in Potohar in the future.

Reports say storage ponds and mini dams exist around the small dam command areas in high rainfall Barani command areas. The rain runoff passing through the command area reduces after the land management and development of irrigated agriculture.

Meanwhile, the barani research institutes have proposed new cropping patterns based on agro-climatic zones, existing cropping practices and proposed feasible crops. The existing preference to wheat, maize and fodder is maintained. Oilseeds and pulses are good choices for the rain-fed or irrigated areas of the belt.