ISLAMABAD: The construction of new Khanki Barrage in Punjab is halfway through, but only after the clergy and people of the area agreed to relocate a grave that stood in the way of starting the work.

Salim alias Pathan Baba had died while working on the original Khanki Headworks around 1890 and was buried, as he had willed, at a site falling in the cofferdam for the new barrage.

His legacy became a touchy issue for the Asian Development Bank (ADB) which is providing $270 million for the project.

Relocation of Pathan Baba’s grave required careful handling because the ADB didn’t want to antagonise the local population. So it held a meeting with a well-known religious personality of the area, Dr Muhammad Asif Hazrawi, seeking his advice on and consent for relocating it from the project area. In addition to the environment and other officials and the contractor, the meeting was attended by the prayer leader of the local mosque.

After obtaining the advice of the religious leaders on the procedure for shifting the grave, the ADB officials held consultative meetings with community members and leaders.

Finally, with all stakeholders on board, the grave was relocated to a mutually agreed site. The contractor provided all the resources required.

Khanki is the oldest headworks in the country and provides water to the Lower Chenab Canal, but its current operations are mainly manual and cumbersome.

It was built from 1889 to 1992 and remodelled in 1935, but is now largely outdated.

The new barrage is being built about 900 feet downstream of the existing headworks. A new head regulator for the canal will be built upstream of the new barrage.

The project will be equipped with a modern gate system to regulate flow of water from the river into the canal and will be geared up to provide irrigation water to the command area on a sustainable basis. It will also be able to deal efficiently with floodwaters, if needed.

Published in Dawn, November 28th, 2015