Rawalpindi: Shahbaz to open work on Cherah Dam shortly

[Naveed Yaseen]

* Officials say project to be completed in five years
* Dam will supply another 15 MGD drinking water to Rawalpindi, Islamabad

By Aamir Yasin

RAWALPINDI: Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif is likely to inaugurate work on the Rs 5.3 billion Cherah Dam to be built on the River Soan during an imminent visit.

It’s learnt that the visit lasting three to four days will begin tomorrow (Saturday). Officials have said the dam approved by the Executive Committee of National Economic Council (ECNEC) on March this year would supply 15 million gallons per day (MGD) additional drinking water to Rawalpindi and Islamabad inhabited by around five million people. They said the Punjab government and the Capital Development Authority (CDA) would jointly execute the project whose site was around 25km east of the Rawalpindi-Lehtrar Road in the federal capital city’s jurisdiction. The officials said the need to build a new dam was felt in view of the declining storage capacity of Rawal Dam, the main source of water supply to Rawalpindi, due to sedimentation and high demand for water. They said there were only two solutions to the problem – either the Rawal Dam be de-silted or an alternate dam be built, adding the government opted for the second.

According to the officials, the dam will be built in five years. The Punjab government has allocated Rs 100 million for it under the annual development programme (ADP). The Punjab’s Small Dams Organisation and the Irrigation and Power Department (IPD) will monitor the project, while the CDA and the WASA will ensure its smooth operations and maintenance. They said the dam whose annual recurring expenditures were estimated to Rs 43.55 million would provide 5475 million gallons water per annum to the two cities. They further said a total Rs 1129.996 million would be spent for land acquisition and resettlement purposes and Rs 1499.447 million on the dam’s construction.

The officials also disclosed that during the visit, the chief minister would also review progress on ongoing development projects in the division. They said the bosses of the provincial and district departments would brief the CM on their respective projects.

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