THE Baizai irrigation channel project has almost been completed at an estimated cost of Rs3.4bn and is expected to irrigate 25,000 acres of agriculture land both in Mardan and Malakand districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The project includes a 39km-long canal along with three douches of 1,626-metre-long, starting from Wartair Doandi (Malakand) and ending up at the Matta village of Katlang Tehsil in Mardan district.

Water was released in the newly-constructed Baizai irrigation canal on May 31 which brought joy to the local people. They hoped for a green revolution in the area. The project will be helpful in increasing agricultural production and reducing poverty.

Water is still flowing in the main canal, but is of no use to the people of the area owing to lack of revenue ‘chakbandi’ which is of utmost importance for even distribution of water in the project command area.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government should undertake revenue ‘chakbandi’ in the project area and complete it at the earliest so that the area people could benefit from irrigation water facilities.

This will enable them to increase agricultural production and result in socioeconomic uplift of the area.

Khan Faraz
Peshawar

Published in Dawn, November 30th, 2015