In a sigh of relief for the residents of Rawalpindi, the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) has restarted construction work on Daducha Dam after more than two years.
FWO resumed work on the project after the Punjab Planning and Development Department green-lit the revised cost of the dam.
The total cost of the project has gone up by almost 100 percent from Rs. 6.4 billion to Rs. 12.7 billion due to the increase in prices of construction materials and land costs. Commissioner Liaquat Ali Chatha told a national daily that the dam will be completed in two years. It will supply 35 million gallons of daily (MGD) water to Rawalpindi, he added.
The dam is being built on upstream of the Soan River to collect rainwater from Murree and Kahuta hills. The water will then be stored in a lake at Daducha village near Sihala on Kahuta Road.
Work on the project was initiated in 2018 but just before completing the earthwork and excavation for the spillway structure, the Lahore High Court (LHC) issued a stay order.
However, the irrigation department took the matter to the Supreme Court and the apex court ruled in favor of the department after reserving its verdict in February 2022.
Sharing details about the project, the Commissioner said that 16,194 kanal and 14 marla land were acquired in Rawalpindi and Kallar Syedan for the dam. He added that the dam is “123 feet high and 737 feet long and has a catchment area of 129 square miles.”
The shortage of water supply to Rawalpindi is expected to be resolved once the construction of the dam is completed.
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