DERA GHAZI KHAN, Oct 4: President Pervez Musharraf said on Friday that poverty alleviation and economic uplift by utilizing untapped water resources were the top-most priorities of the government.

The president made these remarks while speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony of the Kachhi Canal Project at Taunsa Barrage, about 125km from Multan.

The president said ours was an agricultural country and the farm sector was the backbone of our national economy. This sector could not progress without overcoming the ever-aggravating water scarcity, he added.

He said Balochistan, area-wise the biggest province, had been specially selected in order to enhance its cropping intensity from a dismal two per cent to as high as 46 per cent in the first phase.

This province has the cultivable land base of 17.42 million acres but due to the shortage of irrigation water only 5.21 million acre area is being cultivated at the moment.

President Musharraf disclosed that Rs13 trillion was allocated to tap water resources but no worthwhile project was undertaken by the previous regimes and resultantly the problem continued to deteriorate.

He said: “As against that very huge allocation with little output, our government has initiated numerous water-tapping projects with an expenditure of just Rs150 billion. These include Thal Canal in Punjab, Reni Canal in Sindh, Kachhi Canal for Balochistan, Bhasha Dam in NWFP, Mirani Dam in Balochistan and raising of Mangla Dam.”

He said these projects would revolutionise not only the lives of the people but also usher the country into an era of prosperity, food autarky and self-reliance.

He said Kachhi Canal would be 500km long — 300km in Punjab and 200km in Balochistan — with 2,000km long distributaries and minors. A sum of Rs28 billion would be spent on this project, which would be completed in five years.

Gen Pervez Musharraf said the selection of Balochistan for mega water projects had been made because, compared to other provinces, it was a backward region and the people deserved special treatment. The Kachhi Canal project would help end their sense of deprivation.

He expressed the hope the coming government would continue the present government’s projects and complete them.

He said once the Mangla Dam height was raised by 30ft, another three million acres would be brought under cultivation. Akhori Dam at Dhok Pathan would also be built in Punjab.

President Musharraf said Kalabagh Dam must also be constructed and the differences between the provinces must come to an end for the common good of the nation.

President Musharraf said Pakistan had one of the largest coal reserves in Sindh but this source of natural energy was never tapped. If power was generated by utilizing water, coal and gas, our import bill worth Rs60 billion on account of furnace oil purchases per annum could be saved.—APP