KARACHI: Provincial Irrigation Minister Jam Khan Shoro on Wednesday informed the Sindh Assembly that 116 small dams had been constructed in the province and work was going on to construct 64 other small dams.

Furnishing replies and statement to the lawmakers’ verbal and written queries during Question Hour, he said that remaining 64 small dams would be constructed by next year.

He said that Thado Dam in Gadap Town had a capacity to store up to 17,000-acre-foot of water. “During the monsoons, there is a problem of what to do with the excess water because each dam is built on a specific basis,” he added.

Replying to a verbal question asked by Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan’s Mangala Sharma, he said that no major damage was caused to the Thado dam during the recent monsoon rains.

Irrigation minister laments water is not being released downstream Kotri

In reply to a question asked by Grand Democratic Alliance’s Dr Muhammad Rafique Banbhan, the minister said that the water was not released in downstream Kotri from March to August since 2018.

To a verbal query, he said that every year 5,000 cusecs of water should be released to Kotri so that it could save delta. “This water is not available despite the constant raising of voices by the Sindh government, and about 32 lac hectares of land has been lost,” he added.

To a question by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s Saeed Ahmed Afridi, the minister said that the department on the recommendation of the Sindh Public Service Commission and with the approval of the competent authority appointed 40 candidates to the post of assistant executive engineer in 2018.

In reply to a query of Rana Ansar of the MQM-P, Mr Shoro said that the demand from the growers for Sukkur Barrage had not been received.

“However, survey study work has started for the substitute of the barrage,” he added.

The minister further informed the lawmakers that recently a project of the modernisation of the Sukkur Barrage was approved with the cooperation of the World Bank.

He said that the major scope of the work was replacement of all barrage and canal head regulator gates and repair and rehabilitation of civil work structures.

Published in Dawn, August 4th, 2022