RAWALPINDI: Commissioner Rawalpindi Syed Gulzar Hussain Shah on Friday asked the Small Dam Organisation to take steps for resolving problems of citizens whose land has been acquired for the construction of the Daducha Dam.

He also directed the officials concerned to expedite work on the dam.

He expressed these views while presiding over a review meeting on development schemes held at the commissioner office. Additional Commissioner (Coordination) Jahangir Khan, Additional Deputy Commissioner (Revenue) Shoaib Ali and other officers attended the meeting.

The commissioner said water scarcity had become a global problem and countries were considering ways to meet the shortage. “Pakistan is one of the most affected countries and due to non-construction of dams the per capita water availability has quadrupled in the last 50 years,” he said.

However, he said, the Punjab government was making efforts to tackle the issue on an emergency basis.

The construction of Daducha and other small dams will save millions cusics of water that is wasted due to floods every year, he said.

Small Dams Organisation officials while giving a briefing on Daducha Dam said work was in progress at the site and overall physical progress was 16pc.

The dam is situated 25km from Rawalpindi city. An amount of Rs6.49 billion has been allocated for the dam and after its construction the gross storage capacity of the dam will be 60,000 acres feet. It will take 30 weeks to complete the project. The dam will also be a tourist point.

The commissioner said at present the dependence on groundwater for agriculture, industry and drinking was increasing due to which the level of groundwater was also falling.

“The solution is in building dams with the help of which the production of energy in the country can also be increased,” he said.

Published in Dawn, April 17th, 2021