KOHAT: The Khyber Pakhtunkwa government has approved Rs323.440 million for the Sumari Payan small dam at the natural local stream in the most drought-hit and potable water starved area.

MPA Daud Afridi advocate at a briefing by the irrigation department was told that it would irrigate 500 acres of land with a storage capacity of 15,000 acre feet of water. It would rid the residents from fetching water from the dirty rain-fed pond, sharing it with the animals for decades.

He said it would also raise underground water level in Sumari and adjoining areas, adding that approximately 23 acres of land would be submerged.

Similarly, the work on the Zameer Gul Dam in the most backward area of Sheikh Allah Dad union council was in final stages after the release of required funds, which were pending for eight years.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa minister for law and parliamentary affairs, Aftab Alam, said that Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur had approved funds for the under construction dam.

Published in Dawn, October 4th, 2025