HYDERABAD, Oct 21: The secretary, Irrigation and Power (Sindh), Mohammad Hashim Leghari, has directed the engineers of the irrigation department to immediately start the desilting of link canals taking off from the KB Feeder, especially the canal which supplies water to Karachi, for which the government has already sanctioned Rs5 million.

He said this during his visit to the KB Feeder, Kotri Barrage, on Monday.

The secretary took serious notice of the erosion in the KB Feeder and the accumulation of silt in the canal which was affecting the flow of water and the capacity of the canal.

He said the situation must be rectified without any further delay.

He directed the engineers to prepare PC-I for the replacing and repairing of the regulators and gates of RD-158 near the Keenjhar Lake and PQ Fall without any further delay to enable him to seek the approval of the government and start the development work.

Mr Leghari visited the Keenjhar Lake and Haleji Lake, inspected the regulators and distributaries, and checked the gauge book.

He said that right from Hyderabad to Thatta and Badin, the water supply to the tail-enders must be ensured.

He said that he would not accept any excuse in this regard and added that the irrigation staff must maintain a close liaison with the growers and inform them about the water schedule.

The project director, RBOD, Basheer Ahmed Daher, the chief engineer, Kotri Barrage, Izhar Ahmed Khan, and the superintendent engineer, Rafique Ahmed Memon, were also present on the occasion.

UPLIFT SCHEMES: As many as 360 on-going development schemes under the Khushhal Pakistan Programme (KPP) and Annual Development Programme (ADP) 2002-2003 of Hyderabad district were reviewed in a meeting held at the Shahbaz Hall on Monday.

The meeting was presided over by the district coordination officer (DCO), Hyderabad, Mir Hussain Ali.

The DCO informed the meeting that a total of 293 development schemes had been approved and tendered at a cost of Rs262.546 million under the KPP phase III.

He said that work started on 189 development schemes, out of which 153 schemes had been completed so far.

He said that work orders of 89 schemes which were tendered later are under preparation while the tenders of the remaining 15 development schemes of KPP phase III are to be recalled.

About the development schemes of ADP 2002-2003, the DCO, Hyderabad, Mir Hussain Ali, informed that as many as 67 development schemes of the district had been approved in the ADP 2002-2003.

He said that out of 67 development schemes, 48 schemes were being executed by the district government, while the remaining 19 schemes were to be implemented by provincial government departments.

He said that the annual allocation of Rs26.150 million has been released and work has been started on 48 development schemes by the district government while efforts are being made to get annual allocation of Rs35.076 million released from the provincial government to start the work on the remaining 19 development schemes of provincial government.

The DCO, Hyderabad, directed the officers to expedite the pace of development work to complete on-going development schemes of the KPP phase III so that phase IV could be started.

He said that the KPP was not only aimed to provide basic amenities but also aimed to eradicate poverty from society by providing job opportunities to the people at their doorsteps to benefit a population of 2.455 million.

He said that the KPP phase III has provided job opportunities to 7,293 persons in the district.