Pakistan irrigation System updates

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Bolan Pass

Bibi Nani mountain Ridge.
The area offers one of the most enticing water spots in Balochistan.
In rainy season, these water channels are unstoppable.
The water can easily be dammed here..

Toba Kakar Range.

Facing north.. Panorama

 

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Over a Millenium old Living Heritage Tradition, Dying fast..

It's a gravity fed, underground water channel, the holes at regular intervals provide access for maintenance. The water can be transported over long distances without significant evaporation in an otherwise dry and arid region.
Perhaps, few can be saved as Museums..

(Near Mastung, around 40km South of Quetta City)

 

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Nari River (near Sibi, Balochistan)

" With the exception of eastern side of the Marri-Bugti country, the drainage of the whole this area is carried off by the Nari, which in traversing the Marri country is known as the Beji. On the South it is joined by three considerable hill ********, the Chakar or Talli, the Lahri, and the Chhatr. All of these streams are subject to high floods, especially in July and August. when the fertile lands of Kachhi are irrigated from them." (Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 22, p. 337, 1908 CE)

Nari River Basin

1. The Nari Basin covers ~20 percent of Balochistan and is the largest river basin in the province.

2. Its stratigraphy is complex with lateral variations in contemporaneous sedimentation across five geological zones and parent geology characterized by zones of convergence and slip faulting.

3. Alluvial deposits in the central and lower parts of the valleys consist of layers of clay, gravel, silt, sand or an admixture of these materials. Mean annual rainfall across the basin varies from 150 to 350 mm.

4. The river terminates in Hamal Lake with periodic overflows into Manchar Lake.

5. There are two important protected areas in the basin: the Ziarat Juniper Biosphere Reserve and Wam Games Reserve.

(Balochistan Integrated Water Resources Management and Development Project, 2016)

 

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Keenjhar Lake , Canal and Indus River
Thatta, Sindh

 

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Wali Tangi Dam

Around 25 km east of Quetta Balochistan
Constructed in 1960s, elevation around (8,350 ft)

 

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Built in 1946, Jinnah Barrage (Kalabagh Headworks) on River Indus was last of the major irrigation structures built by the British in India.

It was also called Glancy Barrage, named after the then Governor of Punjab. The gate mechanism was manufactured in Amritsar workshop.

 

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Taunsa Barrage , Dera Ghazi khan

 

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Kundal Dam is located in District Swabi.
The dam is supplying water for irrigation to fertile the barren land and control the floods as well as to fulfill water scarcity in the area.
The dam is 48m high dam, having length 320m.

 

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"Sailaba" (Hill Torrent Spate Irrigation System).

"Spate irrigation system of Sailaba agriculture provides livelihood for a large number of resource-poor farmers in fragile arid environments of the Balochistan province. In Pakistan there are over 1.45 million hectares under Sailaba system (Khan1987, cited by van Steenbergen 1997), whereas recent estimates indicate that the potentialcommand area is around 2.0 million hectares (PARC 1995)"
Between Quetta and Kalat

 

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A beautiful view of the Warsak Dam, built on River Kabul.
Date: 08 Feb.1961
Photo contributed by: Mr.Azmat Ullah

Warsak Dam was completed under the Colombo Plan in two phases and financed by the Canadian Government. The first phase was completed in 1960 and consisted of the construction of the dam. Irrigation tunnels and installation of four power generating units, each of 40 MW capacity with 132 kV transmission system, were also completed in 1960.

Two additional generating units of 41.48 MW capacity each were added in 1980-81 in the second phase.

 

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Farmers need to opt for latest irrigation technology

Growers body suggests Sindh should install telemetry system on all canals


Usman Hanif
May 11, 2021

PHOTO: REUTERS

KARACHI: In order to develop an efficient irrigation system, the government should help farmers in Sindh to opt for latest technology.

“When the environment changes, the first area to get affected is the agriculture sector, which in Pakistan uses 90% of water,” said Aamer Hayat Bhandara, Co-Founder of Agriculture Republic - a small farmer support network for finding innovative policy and practical solutions to national food security and climate change challenges.

Out of that 90% water, 80% was used by five major crops in Pakistan which included wheat, rice, cotton, maize and sugarcane, he said.

Bhandara highlighted that Pakistan’s productivity in terms of irrigation was one of the lowest in the world as a majority of the farmers used the ancient flood irrigation system. “The country’s watercourse system needs a complete overhaul,” he emphasised. The government of Sindh, with support of the federal government, should install a telemetry system on all the 14 offtake canals linked with barrages, suggested the Sindh Abadgar Board (SAB).

Real-time information of the flow of canals would improve governance, enhance transparency and efficiency, it said.

SAB Senior Vice President Mehmood Nawaz Shah stated that it was now believed that freshwater flow was the only water that was recharged in aquifers, wells, etc. “Therefore, focus should be on farm water efficiency.”

Moreover, in addition to the World Bank’s ongoing programme for drip and sprinkler irrigation, the lining of watercourses should be increased and at least 75% of 57,500 watercourses should be targeted, Shah stated.

“In addition to this, irrigation infrastructure, including gates, structures, etc is not in optimum condition, therefore new systems such as mechanically operated gates should be installed and damaged structures should be repaired,” he suggested.

Sindh Chamber of Agriculture President Miran Muhammad Shah urged the Sindh government to invest in solar systems for the agriculture sector. A vast area of Sindh agricultural land was irrigated by tube wells which did not get electricity regularly from the grid due to load-shedding, he said.

Sindh being the southernmost province is affected by the polluted water coming from Balochistan and Punjab and therefore, it has affected the Indus River, which is now considered as one of the most polluted rivers in the world.

Along with the Indus River, the system linked with it like the aquifers, wells and lakes is also affected, according to SAB. The board suggested that one-window operation - where immediate approvals were given for electricity, drainage, loan and other facilities - should be initiated for the industry for storage in controlled atmosphere, fruit and vegetable processing, etc.


Published in The Express Tribune, May 11th, 2021.

 

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Chinese irrigation solutions energizing Pakistan’s agriculture sector

May 11, 2021

brecoder.com.pk





Li Huijuan, senior engineer at National Water-saving Irrigation Engineering and Technology Research Centre (Xinjiang) has said that the irrigation solutions promoted by a Chinese company have proved a success in demonstration zones in Pakistan.


BEIJING: The irrigation solutions promoted by a Chinese company have proved a success in demonstration zones in Pakistan. But a lack of investments has made it hard to popularise the efficient irrigation solutions, said Li Huijuan, senior engineer at National Water-saving Irrigation Engineering and Technology Research Centre (Xinjiang) and manager of the International Water-saving Department at Xinjiang Tianye Group.

This view is echoed by Dr Gong Shihong, Deputy-Director of Department of Irrigation and Drainage, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research (IWHR).

A single company is too fragile to transform the entire sector. The Pakistani government should incentivise more companies to invest in the popularisation of efficient irrigation solutions, said Dr Gong, who led a delegation to hold training sessions on high efficient irrigation in Pakistan.

A second factor lies in the limited range of efficient irrigation solutions available in Pakistan, Ms Li told CEN.
Although the government of Punjab has worked with World Bank to subsidise small-scale farmers to install sprinklers and drip irrigation systems, enormous farmers still refrain from adopting such efficient irrigation systems because of the high maintenance costs ensued.

Ms Li explained, Pakistani farmers tend to use irrigation accessories such as drip tapes and drippers from European countries, which is six times the cost of Chinese solutions and is beyond the price range of the farmers.
Pipes need to be removed for ploughing and land preparing prior to each crop and this puts a heavy burden on the farmers who already struggle financially to install the irrigation system, Dr Gong further elaborated. In essence, there has been a lack of communication between Chinese and Pakistani enterprises in this regard. To motivate more farmers to use efficient irrigation solutions and further popularise the “more crop per drop” efficient irrigation campaign in Pakistan, more affordable and desirable high efficient irrigation solutions should be introduced to the Pakistani market.

The key lies in boosting the communication between Chinese and Pakistani irrigation companies, said Dr Gong.

“Chinese high efficient irrigation solutions hold great potential to help popularise the drip irrigation in Pakistan. Chinese irrigation tapes will greatly bring down the maintenance costs of the drip system which requires regular maintenance. Unlike European machines, our irrigation systems are relatively easier to operate because we adapt the machines to the needs and requirements of the farmers wherever possible.”

Cooperation between Chinese and Pakistani irrigation companies in this regard will familiarise more farmers with affordable, desirable Chinese irrigation solutions and motivate more farmers to adopt efficient irrigation.

Realising the importance of B2B communication, Xinjiang Tianye signed a strategic memorandum of understanding with the Fatima Group in October, 2019, Ms Li revealed.

With the support of the Fatima Group, Tianye’s irrigation technologies have been introduced to Bela, Balochistan and are likely to find their way in more farmlands in the future, said Ms Li. Dr Gong said, an International Cooperation Office has been recently established by a Chinese water-saving association to facilitate and promote more such cooperation.

The office will serve as a bridge between Chinese and Pakistani irrigation enterprises by exploring the needs of Pakistani people and companies and communicating them to Chinese companies so that they can provide customised irrigation solutions for Pakistan, commented Dr Gong.

Government-level promotion will also be part of the answer to an efficient irrigation-oriented future. “In China’s case, the government promotes the efficient irrigation technology and encourages the investments from companies which in return introduce irrigation technologies to farmers.

This cycle is further strengthened at later stages when the farmers relish in the advantages of the efficient irrigations and motivate companies to innovate themselves. This will hold true for Pakistan.” stated Dr Gong.

 

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Under construction one of the dams in Quetta city. Along with few more water dams and rest steps, we are doing best to cater to the future and current needs of Quetta.

 

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Panjnad Headworks, Bahawalpur Under Construction in 1930's.