Quetta - Phase 1 of the Kachhi Canal, which is 363 kilometres in length, is nearly in its final stages of completion. It will irrigate 103,000 acres of barren land in Dera Bugti and adjoining areas.
The 1,000 cusecs of water released into the Kachhi Canal from the Taunsa Barrage on November 15 has reached Balochistan.
In November this year, Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif officially inaugurated the release of water into the Kachhi Canal.
Federal Minister Ahsan Iqbal, Chief Minister of Balochistan Mir Sarfraz Bugti, and Provincial Minister for Irrigation Mir Sadiq Umrani have taken a keen interest in the project. The 500-kilometer-long Kachhi Canal, with a discharge capacity of 6,000 cusecs, takes off from the Taunsa Barrage on the Indus River in Muzaffargarh district of Punjab and enters Balochistan via Dera Bugti district.
The Kachhi Canal is a vital project aimed at alleviating poverty and enhancing employment opportunities in the remote and underdeveloped areas of Balochistan by developing irrigated agriculture and promoting an agro-based economy in the province, according to a handout issued here on Friday.
It is a positive development for the province that the land being cultivated in Sui and adjacent areas of Dera Bugti district through the existing Kachhi Canal has brought a significant change to the livelihoods of the locals.
Farmers in the Green Belt of Balochistan have expressed their gratitude to the Chief Minister of Balochistan and the Provincial Minister for Irrigation, Mir Sadiq Umrani, for this significant and revolutionary step.
The canal provides sustainable irrigation water to 72,000 acres of agricultural land in Balochistan and 30,000 acres in Punjab.
The cost of the project has now been revised to Rs80.5 billion. Upon completion, the Kachhi Canal project will significantly enhance irrigation infrastructure and boost agriculture in Balochistan.
The design for an additional 100 kilometres of extension is also underway, which is an encouraging development.