PESHAWAR: Kamal Ahmad, a 26-year-old farmer of Nowshera district was living a happy and prosperous life until the devastated floods washed away his standing maize and rice crops on August 28.
Destroying his entire maize and rice crops at his village Mohib Banda inundated completely by floodwater from River Kabul, Kamal Ahmad who joined agricultural farming as profession after the death of his father told APP that the floods having six to eight feet water had encircled his house between August 27-28 night forcing his family to rush towards rooftop.
“The floods have tarnished my dreams. I was thinking to go for umra along with wife in winter after selling my rice and maize bumper crop but my fortune was overturned,” he said.
Besides these crops, he said the stored wheat in godown and precious households items were also destroyed by the floods.
“Had the Rescue 1122 official not arrived on time with a boat then we might not alive today.”
“I have lost Rs 5 lakh agricultural produces during floods and needs KP Government assistance,” Kamal said.
Like Kamal Ahmed, hundered of thousands of floods victims including farmers, gardeners, horticulturists and livestock owners were affected by the floods and were looking towards KP Govt help.
Dr Alamzaib Khan, Director General Livestock said that survey of livestock and agriculture damages was underway in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and compensation to the affected farmers and livestock owners would be given as per KP Government policy.
Talking to APP, he said that over two billion losses were so far estimated to livestock and poultry sectors in Khyber Pakthunkhwa.
The scale of losses to these sectors would be higher than estimations as many valleys in Kalam, Bahrain, Madyan, Kohistan, Kumrat, Dir Upper, and Dir Lower were still out of reach of officials of his department due to destruction of roads and bridges by the devastating floods, he added.
Dr Alamzaib said floods in River Sindh and Koh-e-Suleman starting from South and North Waziristan tribal districts and adjoining valleys have brought havoc to livestock and poultry sectors in DI Khan and Tank and time would be required for compilation of flood related losses.
Besides commercial and domestic poultry, he said that pastoral and nomads have bore the brunt of livestock and poultry in upper areas of Dasu, Kolas Palai, Dubair and others valleys in Kohistan.
The agriculture department official told APP that a multifaceted plan has been chalked out to construct about 5,000 water ponds and 330 small water reservoirs to control flash floods. The ponds would irrigate over 12,500 acres lands in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
Likewise, 3,000 check dams would be constructed for storage of floods and rains water in five years that would irrigate 7, 500 unproductive lands in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Similarly, 330 water reservoirs including small dams would also be constructed with a potential to irrigate 99,000 acres lands in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The construction of 2500 banks stabilization, 1000 gated field inlets and outlets would help irrigate 2500 acres lands.
Likewise, 925 acres lands would be under irrigation through construction of 370 water storage galleries.
To increase cultivation areas in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Agriculture Department would convert 230 sands mounds in agriculture lands through Directorate of Soil Conservation.
The National Water Policy (NWP) 2018 has revealed that Pakistan was heading towards a situation of water shortage due to lack of dams, which may lead to food insecurity in future.
“The per capita surface water availability had declined from 5,260 cubic meters per year in the country in 1951 to around 1,000 cubic meters in 2016. This quantity is likely to further drop to 860 cubic meters in next few years, marking Pakistan’s transition from a water stressed country to a water scarce country,” the policy revealed.
The groundwater situation is expected to further drop in the country mostly in Punjab and Sindh where over one million tube-wells and car washing pumps were currently pumping about 55 MAF of underground water which is 20pc more than that available from canals.
Terming findings of the water policy alarming, Tauheed Khan, former Conservator Forests KP told APP that it was a time to swiftly shift our approach from construction of big dams to small water reservoirs.
“The water resources were inextricably linked with climate and the impending climate change and global warming scenario has posed serious implications for Pakistan’s water and agriculture resources,” he added.
The changing and unpredictable precipitation patterns as witnessed during recent monsoon season might have serious consequences, including flash floods in north and increasingly prolonged droughts in the south due to global warming, he added.
“With glaciers retreat, more glacial lakes would form especially in Gilgit Baltistan and Chitral, which would increase the risk of Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOF) in future,” he warned and added that GOLF in Chitral and Attaabad lake in Gilgit Baltistan in recent years besides August 28 floods in Swat should be an eye opener.
He said that despite the fact that Pakistan had witnessed 22 high to very high floods during last 55 years, no attention was paid to small, medium and large dams since long, which could result in droughts and more flooding in future.
He said small dams were only remedy to store flood and rainy water mostly in arid areas like Karak, Bannu, Lakki Marwat, Kohat, DI Khan, DG Khan, Bhakkar, Bahawalpur, Multan, Tharparkar besides merged areas of KP to minimize impact of natural disasters.
Professor Dr Muhammad Naeem of Swabi University said that Pakistan receives around 142 MAF water annually through western rivers of which 104MAF used for irrigation purposes, adding approximately 40MAF water is being obtained from normal rainfall and 40pc through underground water per year.
He said Pakistan can increase its water storage capacity as it has the potential to construct 1000 dams. As many as 25 MAF can be obtained through early construction of Mohmand, Kurram Tangi and Bhasha dams and 15 MAF through construction of water courses, 15 MAF through land leveling, nine MAF through utilization of hills torrent flows and six MAF through better water management, he noted.
The spokesman of Small Dams Irrigation Department told APP that 24 small dams in different districts of KP with storage capacity of 75,008 acre feet (AF) having 49,523 acres cultivated command areas (CCA) were being constructed with the financial assistance of the federal government.
Pezu dam in Lakki Marwat, Khattak Bandhan dam in Kohat, and Makh Banda dam in Karak were completed by federal government. Similarly, Ichar and Manchura dams at Mansehra, Chashma Akora Khel dam in Karak, Sarozai dam in Hangu, Sanam dam in Lower Dir, Bada dam and Ulta dam in Swabi were constructed jointly by the federal and provincial governments.
Seven medium dams including Bara dam in Khyber, Tank Zam in Tank, Shiekh Haider Zam, Chaudwan Zam, Daraban, and Kora Nullah in DIKhan and Larzan small dam in Tank with water storage capacity of 520,884 AF covering 171,748 CCA besides 31.5 megawatt power generation capacity were in design stage.
He said designs of seven medium dams including Barwasa and Sher Dara Swabi, Sumri Payan Kohat, Surkhaway Mardan, Naki Nowshera, Shaheed Banda Charssadda and Tora Warae Hangu having the total accumulative water storage capacity of 13,014 AF with 14,935 acres CCA were completed.
The spokesman said that 37 small and medium dams were constructed in KP including 15 operated by KP government while 11 supervised by WAPDA and ten were constructed in merged districts having 0.1377 million acre CCA and 0.3414 AF water storage capacity.
“The visits of Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif to floods hit districts of Nowshera, Charsadda, Kohistan, Swat, Tank and twice in Dera Ismail Khan testified his deep commitment towards speedy rehabilitation of floods victims of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” said Ikhtiar Wali Khan, Member Provincial Assembly and Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz spokesman while talking to APP.
He said Federal Government has disbursed Rs20 billion under the Prime Minister relief package and remaining Rs8 billion would be distributed among floods victims in next few days.
