CHITRAL: The residents of Kessu village in Lower Chitral district have complained about the shortage of water both for drinking and irrigation purposes and called for the solar power-based irrigation system.

During a Chitral Press Club programme here on Friday, the villagers said the area consisted of more than 800 households and had 4,000 acres of land for agriculture but farming was carried out on only 10 per cent of it.

They said there was no orchard in the village.

Noted among them were Sartaj Ahmed Khan, Shamsher Dastgir, Nisar Dastgir, Haji Muhtaram Shah, Abdul Salam, Shereen Khan, Izharullah Majaz and Ahmeduddin.

The residents said the village’s topography was such that either it could be irrigated through solar irrigation system pumping water from the river or gravity flow using the siphon irrigation scheme connecting it to Sheshi valley’s stream situated at a distance of 20km.

Residents demand water supply for drinking, irrigation purposes

They said due to the huge amount of money required in both cases, no government in the past tried to come up with drinking or irrigation schemes.

The villagers complained that the only spring, the only source of drinking and irrigation water of the village, has started fading away after the excavation of tunnel for Lawi hydropower project started last year in its vicinity increasing the severity of water shortage.

BANK BRANCH OPENED: MNA from Chitral Maulana Abdul Akbar Chitrali and MPA Maulana Hidayatur Rehman jointly inaugurated a branch of the privately-owned Meezan Bank here.

Meezan Bank’s senior managers Ariful Islam, Mohammad Saleem Khan, Arif Aslam Khan and Mian Fawad Shah were also present on the occasion.

Maulana Chitrali appreciated the introduction of interest-free banking in Chitral and said the locals were largely opposed to interest-based banking.

IRRIGATION PROJECT: The residents of Zhitur village in Garam Chashma area have criticised the people of Yurjogh and Sanik villages for opposing a Rs20 million irrigation project.

Local elders Rais Abdul Jaleel, Rais Abdul Ghafar and others told reporters that the irrigation department’s project was opposed by the workers of the opposition PPP, JUI-F and PML-N, who didn’t want the start and completion of a project by the ruling PTI.

They said the Zhitur village faced acute water shortage and the project would address it.

Published in Dawn, July 31st, 2021