THE Mirani Dam has been constructed at a cost of Rs5.861 billion on the River Dasht, 43 km south-west of Turbat city in Makran, for irrigation purposes. The 127-ft-high, 3,350-ft-long, earth-filled dam has created a reservoir extending to about 10 miles upstream. It has a designed capacity of 377 cusecs, and can provide irrigation water on both sides of the River Dasht, which mostly depends on rains, averaging 4.2 inches annually, in the upper catchments area.
The River Dasht is a non-perennial stream and its flow depends entirely on rainfall in the catchments area which extends over 7,964 square miles of barren hilly terrain.The average annual runoff from the catchments has been estimated at 226,000 acre feet.
“At present, hardly 500 acres out of 33,200 acres are under cultivation in the command area. Benefits of the project will gradually reach the local people and in five to 10 years they will be able to start farming and developing irrigated agriculture in the area,” so is being said by local experts. “The command area will not see the development of irrigated agriculture so long the big land owners of the area do not come forward and utilise their lands for farming”, it is further added by the experts on the subject.
The project command area can attain an average annual cropping intensity of 85 per cent, as the Mirani Dam can sustain perennial supply to 33,200 acres benefiting about 32,000 people of more than 4,400 families in the area. There are widespread news reports that government land was being allotted to foreigners, particularly the UAE nationals, for developing agriculture farms in the area.
At present, agriculture in the project command area is below sustenance level. The average cropping intensity is about five per cent. The crops grown in the area are sorghum, pulses, fodder and wheat but the yield is very poor. The project can help raise annual agriculture production by 85 per cent - i.e. 36 per cent Kharif and 49 per cent Rabi crops. Under ultimate development conditions, the proposed cropping pattern includes fruit orchards, vegetables, fodders and wheat etc.
The construction of Mirani Dam has not been without its social and environmental costs. The local people however hold technical flaws in the Mirani Dam design responsible for devastation of the area by flashfloods and rains.
“The dam at present is intact with a storage capacity of 377 cusecs.The irrigation outlet conduit has a length of 1,490 feet with pressure conduit diameter of six feet. The low level outlet conduit has a storage capacity of 120 cusecs with a length of 855.27 feet and a diametre of three feet. Water from the dam is released as per requirements of irrigation”.
The local farmers should be patronised and provided with incentives to develop agriculture in the area. The project area is underdeveloped and lacks basic amenities. There is also a need to improve infrastructure such as farm-to-market roads and potable water, basic health and education facilities, electricity and communications in the area.
Experts suggest that economic feasibility of generating hydroelectric power at this project should also be examined. According to one estimate, the dam can produce about 500 KW of electricity for the nearby villages.
Some experts put the question mark on the viability of the Mirani Dam on a non-perennial stream. They doubt about the availability of water during the periods of drought, which at times persist for more than five years.
Enhanced sedimentation in Balochistan has already caused failure of reservoirs. It is likely to shorten the life span of Mirani reservoir, which has been worked out as 30 years. They suggest a review of the hydrological parameters of the feasibility, as many dams having barren catchments areas producing silt-laden runoff, ended in failures.
The River Dasht is a non-perennial stream and its flow depends entirely on rainfall in the catchments area which extends over 7,964 square miles of barren hilly terrain.The average annual runoff from the catchments has been estimated at 226,000 acre feet.
“At present, hardly 500 acres out of 33,200 acres are under cultivation in the command area. Benefits of the project will gradually reach the local people and in five to 10 years they will be able to start farming and developing irrigated agriculture in the area,” so is being said by local experts. “The command area will not see the development of irrigated agriculture so long the big land owners of the area do not come forward and utilise their lands for farming”, it is further added by the experts on the subject.
The project command area can attain an average annual cropping intensity of 85 per cent, as the Mirani Dam can sustain perennial supply to 33,200 acres benefiting about 32,000 people of more than 4,400 families in the area. There are widespread news reports that government land was being allotted to foreigners, particularly the UAE nationals, for developing agriculture farms in the area.
At present, agriculture in the project command area is below sustenance level. The average cropping intensity is about five per cent. The crops grown in the area are sorghum, pulses, fodder and wheat but the yield is very poor. The project can help raise annual agriculture production by 85 per cent - i.e. 36 per cent Kharif and 49 per cent Rabi crops. Under ultimate development conditions, the proposed cropping pattern includes fruit orchards, vegetables, fodders and wheat etc.
The construction of Mirani Dam has not been without its social and environmental costs. The local people however hold technical flaws in the Mirani Dam design responsible for devastation of the area by flashfloods and rains.
“The dam at present is intact with a storage capacity of 377 cusecs.The irrigation outlet conduit has a length of 1,490 feet with pressure conduit diameter of six feet. The low level outlet conduit has a storage capacity of 120 cusecs with a length of 855.27 feet and a diametre of three feet. Water from the dam is released as per requirements of irrigation”.
The local farmers should be patronised and provided with incentives to develop agriculture in the area. The project area is underdeveloped and lacks basic amenities. There is also a need to improve infrastructure such as farm-to-market roads and potable water, basic health and education facilities, electricity and communications in the area.
Experts suggest that economic feasibility of generating hydroelectric power at this project should also be examined. According to one estimate, the dam can produce about 500 KW of electricity for the nearby villages.
Some experts put the question mark on the viability of the Mirani Dam on a non-perennial stream. They doubt about the availability of water during the periods of drought, which at times persist for more than five years.
Enhanced sedimentation in Balochistan has already caused failure of reservoirs. It is likely to shorten the life span of Mirani reservoir, which has been worked out as 30 years. They suggest a review of the hydrological parameters of the feasibility, as many dams having barren catchments areas producing silt-laden runoff, ended in failures.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment