LAHORE: Provincial Minister for Irrigation Hashim Dogar has said that work on the Jalalpur canal project is in full swing and efforts are being made to partially make it operational by July this year.

“The Jalalpur canal will become operational within six months, and the project will prove to be a game changer for the farmers of the canal command area as it will not only provide irrigation water but also create more job opportunities,” he said in a statement here on Wednesday. In view of its importance, the Jalalpur canal project was being monitored daily, as it would usher in an era of development in the Jhelum and Khushab districts, he added.

He said that the main canal emanating from the Rasul branch of the Jhelum River would be 116 km, while the total length of its distributaries would be approximately 210 km to irrigate over 175,000 acres. At least 485 watercourses would be constructed to supply irrigation water, as the population of 80 villages of Jhelum and Khushab districts would benefit from it.

Meanwhile, Dr Amjad Magsi, a farmer from Bhakkar, has drawn the minister’s attention to the Punjab government’s pledge to complete the Greater Thal Canal (GTC) project with its own resources, as the federal government has declined to play a role in funding the irrigation scheme that was first planned over a century ago due to pressure from Sindh.

He says that the people were happy when the first phase of the Munkera branch canal of the GTC was inaugurated 20 years ago, thinking the destiny of Bhakkar and Layyah would also change when the second phase of the Chaubara branch canal project would be accomplished.

The GTC project, once completed, would have enabled farmers in the so-far arid area to harvest crops in all four seasons of the year, he said, adding that it could have eliminated rural poverty in the region because crops in the arid lands had suffered massive damage due to climatic changes for the previous five years.

He says the canal would also have changed the environment of the Thal desert through a green revolution.

Calling for removing reservations of Sindh about the project, he says the quarters concerned should also take into view the interest of the region as well as of the country.

A staunch supporter of water conservation projects, Rehmat Khan Wardag asserts that the people of Sindh may be convinced of the utility of GTC and other irrigation projects if the province provides funds for building at least three dams and lining all canals there to end water shortages.

He urges the federal government to take initiative in this regard and activate the saner souls in Sindh for the benefit of the agriculture sector and subsequently the country.

Published in Dawn, January 5th, 2023