Mr. Imran Khan states that another Chashma right bank canal would be built for KP. There is one existing Chashma bank canal on the map which irrigates 3.8 lac acres of land in KP albeit by lift irrigation by as much as 64 ft. height by subsidising 6000 to 10000 Rs. per acre. The only right bank canal that could be built is from the right bank of KBD which can irrigate 8 lac acres of land in D.I. Khan by gravity system. One must not forget that Chashma is a barrage and not a dam like KBD which would have a total capacity of 6.1 MAF of water. The Chashma barrage’s total capacity is 0.8 MAF of water. How could another right bank canal be made from Chashma barrage? Federal CDWP is against this unfeasible project. Imran Khan must clarify, from where would the water for this second Chashma right bank canal be availed, and who would finance it? Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman often speaks of irrigating vast tracts of land in D.I. Khan without specifying the source of water. This point ought to be explained to make the case crystal clear as what do we mean by a second Chashma right bank canal when we speak of it.
Dr. Muhammad Yaqoob Bhatti
Lahore