BAJAUR: Water channels being built to irrigate hundreds of acres of land from the Raghagan Dam were damaged before becoming operational due to alleged poor planning by the authorities in Bajaur district, sources said.
The sources told Dawn that at least two major water channels were constructed by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Irrigation Department about six years ago, shortly after the completion of the Raghagan Dam, a mega water project in Bajaur designed to irrigate around 3,500 acres of land, with a total water storage capacity of 1,252 acre-feet.
The water channels, stretching up to seven kilometres, were constructed months after the completion of the Raghagan Dam in June 2021 to irrigate hundreds of acres of land across dozens of areas in Khar and Utmankhel tehsils at a huge cost, the sources added.
However, they pointed out that the water channels, which later branched into several smaller channels were, badly damaged despite never becoming operational.
The sources said that alleged favouritism in awarding contracts for these large and costly projects, deficiencies in construction, the absence of checks and balances, and a lack of proper monitoring by the local irrigation department collectively contributed to the poor and substandard construction of the water channels.
“It was clearly mentioned in the project policy that officials of the local irrigation department would regularly visit the water channels to closely monitor the quality of work and construction and for this purpose the department had assigned special teams comprising senior officials,” the sources recalled.
The sources alleged that the destruction and damage to the costly water channels indicated that no official had properly visited the sites and that the projects had effectively been left unattended.
When this scribe visited the water channels designed to carry water from the Raghagan Dam located about 13 kilometres east of Khar, the headquarters of Bajaur district, to assess their condition, it was observed that two main channels in Khar and Utmankhel tehsils, part of a seven-channel network, were in a dilapidated condition, with most sections lying in ruins.
After witnessing the destruction of large portions of the several-kilometre-long cemented water channels in Khar, this correspondent spoke to farmers from different areas to seek their views.
Aziz Khan, a farmer from the Marosa area of Khar tehsil, told Dawn that the several-kilometre-long channel originating from the Raghagan Dam through Banda area and connecting a number of localities had been established around seven years ago by the irrigation department to irrigate scores of agricultural land situated along the route.
However, he complained that the project, on which millions of rupees had been spent, had failed to benefit farmers as the structure was damaged before becoming operational.
Gul Naseeb Khan, a farmer from Jar Dag who owns around 80 acres of agricultural land, told this correspondent that the scheme, which extended to several areas including Jar, Raghagan, Raghagan Dag, Amankot, Mula Kali and Chota samarbagh had largely fallen into disrepair since its establishment.
Farmers from various areas of Khar tehsil also alleged while speaking to this scribe that, besides the pipeline, a solar-powered system meant to pump water from the Raghagan Dam to their localities had also fallen into disrepair, resulting in the wastage of around 100 solar panels and a control room.
Blaming the irrigation department for the destruction of the facility, the farmers urged the provincial government and district administration to take notice of the matter and make the scheme functional for their benefit.
During a visit to the channels in different parts of Utmankhel, this correspondent also found them in a poor condition, with most sections of the approximately seven-kilometre-long and 22-foot-deep channels significantly damaged.
A group of farmers, while speaking to Dawn, expressed serious concern over the deteriorating state of the facility.
“A team from the irrigation department, led by its executive engineer, visited the area when the project was initiated around six years ago and told us that the channel would boost agriculture by supplying water from the Raghagan Dam to our lands,” said Akbar Khan, a farmer from Ghandab area.
They pointed out that the non-functional condition of the channel had prompted some residents to break parts of it, causing water from the dam to flow into rain streams instead of reaching agricultural fields.
“We had high hopes that this costly facility would boost our crops, especially vegetables, as the area is highly suitable for vegetable farming, but unfortunately the channel has remained non-functional,” they lamented.
The farmers also alleged that the absence of safety measures around the 22-foot-deep channel posed a threat to children, as according to them at least seven children had lost their lives after falling into the channel.
They said they had repeatedly raised the issue with senior irrigation department officials and the district administration, urging them to repair the badly damaged channels, but to no avail.
When contacted, irrigation department executive engineer Eng Umar Hanif told Dawn that two main water channels had been constructed from the Raghagan Dam to irrigate hundreds of acres of land in Khar and Utmankhel.
However, he admitted that both channels had unfortunately remained non-functional due to multiple reasons.
“Like the Tali small dam, the Raghagan small dam also has two channels to irrigate agricultural land in dozens of areas of Khar and Utman Khail tehsils, but unfortunately these channels have not functioned properly since their establishment,” he said.
Explaining the reasons behind the failure of the channels, the irrigation official said one of the channels could not function properly because the small dam had been constructed at a lower level. Regarding the second channel, he said there were certain technical deficiencies in its structure.
He, however, claimed that both channels would soon be made functional, as a tender for their rehabilitation was in the pipeline.
Deputy Commissioner Shahid Ali Khan told Dawn that he had directed irrigation department officials to restore the channels at the earliest so farmers could benefit from them without further delay.
Published in Dawn, May 30th, 2026