Govt asked to order start of work on water project

CHITRAL, Sept 10: The residents of Mulkhow tehsil of upper Chitral have demanded of chief minister and irrigation minister to order hiring the services of a consultant for carrying out feasibility study of Terich Aan to Atahk water channel as working season is running out fast in the site due to its high altitude. Addressing a press conference here on Monday, the elites of the area including Mir Ayub Khan, Mohammad Nadir Khan, Qari Azizullah, Rahmatullah, and Mohammad Younus, said that 70 million rupees had been allocated in the current annual development plan by the government which included feasibility study of the project. They regretted that no step had so far been taken by the irrigation department while it was a fact that no activity was possible at the altitude of 14 thousand in which  the site situated. A further delay in launching the feasibility study means the wastage of one year as the new working season will commence from the month of June next, they said. Regarding the importance of the project, they said that it covered the population of more than forty thousand population of three union councils all of which faced acute shortage of irrigation water and thousands of acres of barren land will be rendered cultivable in the area. The elites said that 160 millions of rupees had already been spent on the site but it was abandoned for its realignment to a lower altitude to make it perennial for the flow of water. On this occasion, the president of Jamaat-e-Islami Maulana Sher Aziz and president of PML-N Saeed Ahmed Khan were also present on the occasion and supported the demand of the people.–Zahiruddin]]>