KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has said that the people of Thar are with Pakistan Peoples Party right from the period of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, but their votes were stolen through engineered election and now the entire Thar has stood up with the PPP by rejecting `seasonal politician.
This he said while addressing an inauguration ceremony of Kalidas Small Dam here at Nagarparkar on Wednesday. The ceremony was attended by MPAs of the area, provincial ministers and officers concerned. The chief minister said that in 2008, though the people of Thar gave intensive votes to PPP but the party was not given even a single seat.
“I don’t want to take his name but a so-called leader of Thar was an expert in manipulating the elections,” he said and added finally the people of Thar with the power of their votes and commitment with the party rejected other parties, alliances and individuals and elected PPP to power.
Shah said that the PPP had delivered in Thar and served its people with heart and soul. “Look at the roads, bridges, small dams, coal and power projects, employment opportunities and RO plants, we have given almost every facility to the people of Thar,” he said and added as far as employment opportunities were concerned each and every house of Tharparkar district has on average one job.
The chief minister said that his government was also establishing well reputed educational institutions such as NED and Liaquat Universities campuses in the first phase and full-fledged universities in the second phase.
Criticizing the federal government, Shah said that they had snatched bread and butter from poor people by increasing the prices of essential commodities such as wheat, flour, sugar, ghee, cooking oil, vegetables and other items. “The sugar which was at Rs55 per kg has reached Rs110 per kg,” he said and added how poor people would be able to meet their both ends.
Talking about the small dam projects, Shah said: “The Karoonjhar Hills in Nagarparkar spread over 400 square kms and on average, they receive 13-inch rainfalls which generates 0.095 million acre feet of water.” He added that the water generated from this potential area needed to be stored. “Before construction of dams all water used to go waste to the Rann of Katch,” he said.
The chief minister said that the Small Dams Project in Nagarparkar area was launched with the construction of 42 small dams, of which 23 dams had been completed, while the construction of the remaining 11 dams was in progress and would be completed in July 2022.
Shah said that before construction of the Small Dams Project, there was acute shortage of water, therefore, people used to migrate along with the cattle from Nagarparkar to the Barrage areas in search of their livelihood. He added that during the migration process, people used to face great troubles, including deaths of their cattle.
The CM said that the drought period in Nagarparkar used to be dangerous in which people were losing their cattle, the main source of their livelihood. “Now, after completion of 23 small dams, the large quantity of rain water is being stored for the people, their animals, agriculture and the wild life for the whole year,” he said.
Shah said that the completion of 23 dams had started providing sufficient benefits to the people of the area. “The residents of over 45 to 50 villages are not only drinking water from the dams but extinguishing thirst of their animals and irrigating their around 45,000 barren lands,” he said and added “after completion, the whole Project of about 85000 acres of the agriculture Land would be cultivated and 87 villages would have the facility to use dam water.”
KALIDAS DAM: Murad Ali Shah said that Kalidas Dam has been constructed on Ghordharo Nai, located at a distance of one Kilometer in the west of Nagarparkar Town for Rs333 million.
“This dam has proved to be very beneficial for the people of the town, and the people living in the adjoining areas. “this dam is a storage facility and three months have passed to the last rainfall but still 13 feet of water is available at crest against 15 feet maximum depth,” he said and added the water would remain available in the dam for the whole year up to next monsoon season.
Shah said that the height of the dam was 15 feet and the width of its RCC Spillway had been kept at 90 feet and it was a RCC retention weir. He said the catchment of Kalidas Dam spread over eight square kilometers. Its maximum discharge would be 21,000 cusecs and its max reservoir capacity was 1012.30 acre feet.
The chief minister said that the catchment area of all the 42 small dams spread over 400 square kilometers which receive average 12 inch rainfall. He added that 21 Nais had been identified which would feed the dams and make 1,10,000 acres feet of water available for the dams. Its gross command area has been measured at 2,08,000 acres.
According to Shah, these dams would irrigate 85,000 acres of land and provide drinking water to 87 villages. “Overall a population of 73,000 would benefit from the entire project,” he concluded.
CM meets leaders: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah held separate meetings with the party office-bearers of Mirpurkhas division here at Soomro House of MPA Qasim Siraj Soomro. He listened to the complaints of party leaders and workers and ordered their solution.