Protection walls, irrigation channels built under GLOF-II project

Gul Hamad Farooqui

CHITRAL: Work on construction of protection walls and irrigation channels has been completed in different valleys against Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOF) under the GLOF II project.

Funded by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), protection walls, community centers and irrigation canals have been constructed in various parts of Lower and Upper Chitral and parts of Dir Upper and Swat. The project is aimed at protecting vulnerable areas against floods and other natural disasters.

Due to the bursting of glaciers as a result of extreme heat, some time even without any rainfall, catastrophic floods have caused massive loss of life and property in these mountainous areas in the northern areas of Pakistan.
Under the project, in areas where GLOF events take place, safety walls have been constructed in storm water drains. Under GLOF-2 project, protection walls, community centers and irrigation channels were also being constructed in Madaglasht, Arkari, Reshun in Chitral, Mittaltan in Swat, Mohalla Qila, Kamar Khora, Osho and Tal in Kumrat in Upper Dir districts.

These new channels will irrigate thousands acres of land. Due to GLOF events, a glacier bursting without any rainfall or weather conditions causes flash floods, leaving little chance for people to save their property and lives, and these unexpected floods lead to widespread destruction.

Early Warning System (EWS) missionaries will also be installed in these areas in collaboration with the Pakistan Meteorological Department to provide early warning to the people living in the valleys under the glacier. There will be connectivity through satellite phones and in case of flood the local people will be informed in advance through a signal which will alert them to move some safe places.
Rashid Khan of UNDP said community halls and shelter homes have also been constructed in these affected areas under the GLOF II project, which the local people will be able to use for holding different functions, and children and women can also take shelter there during floods.

Talking to ChitralToday correspondent, the local people thanked the management of the GLOF-II Project for constructing protection walls in the flood-affected areas. However, they said there are still some areas which are prone to flooding even if protection walls were constructed there. The locals people and their livestock besides gardens, cultivated land and forest needed protection.

These people also demanded that the GLOF-II Project, which was launched in 2017 and will continue till 2024, should be extension so that rehabilitation, safety measures and development work can be done in more affected areas.

Construction of irrigation canals and watercourses in flood-affected areas will provide considerable relief to the landowning people and irrigate thousands of acres of land. It is hoped that the completion of these protection walls and other rehabilitation projects at a cost of 36 million dollars under the GLOF-II project will save these people from much harm in the coming times and will not be forced to migrate.

A historic mosque in the Kumrat valley area was also saved from the expected flood under the GLOF-II project. This mosque is 400 years old and was under severe threat from the river passing near it. By constructing protection walls in this river, this centuries-old national asset has now been protected from destruction by floods.