DERA GHAZI KHAN: The canal division of the irrigation department has refused to pay consultation fee to a private consultant after its failure to prepare an up-to-the mark feasibility for the remodeling and rehabilitation of the DG Canal.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB), however, has offered to take up the task, sources told Dawn on Tuesday.

The DG Canal which originates from the right bank of the Indus river at Taunsa Barrage was constructed in 1959 with a design capacity of 8,800 cusecs to irrigate 962,434 acres of trans Indus districts of Dera Ghazi Khan and Rajanpur. The length of its network along with its branches, distributaries, minors and dub minors is about 64,448 miles.

The entire cultivated command area is located on the left side of the canal while right side of the canal is often hit by violent waters of hill torrents of Sori Lound, Vadore and Mithawan despite the construction Kachhi canal on right side which runs parallel to DG canal at a distance of about 200 feet to 600 feet.

Dawn learnt that crossing structures were made along the Kachhi canal with insufficient capacity which damaged the crossing structures on DG canal.

Floods in 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2015 badly damaged the DG canal. In 2012, the heavy monsoon in September created flooding in the mountain drains which entered Dera Ghazi Khan by breaching the DG canal.

A private consultant company was hired to prepare the feasibility report of the rehabilitation and remodeling of the canal in 2014 but it allegedly failed to prepare an appropriate report, sources alleged.

The executive engineer of the canal division told Dawn that the department had stopped working with the private consultant and halted payments on charge of not preparing the feasibility report even after the passage of seven years of the contract.

Provincial Minister for Irrigation Mohsin Khan Leghari told Dawn that the department had refused to pay the fee to the consultant for their failure to prepare the right feasibility report. The minister maintained the construction work on syphons on the canal had been initiated with consultation of Nespak.

Mr Leghari said they had initiated consultation with the ADB. He said the ADB would prepare its own feasibility report to overhaul the entire canal and its miles-long irrigation network with the estimated cost of $68 million.

He said the rehabilitation of upstream Jhelum canal and work on the Greater Thal canal phase two would also be initiated on a priority basis. He expressed his hope that the project of rehabilitation of canals would enhance their capacity and increase cultivating areas.

Published in Dawn, February 10th, 2021