QUETTA: Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan Alyani on Friday directed the authorities concerned to allocate 50 to 100 acres of land along the newly-built dams in Balochistan to develop forests in order to fight the impact of climate change.

The chief minister also directed leasing government lands of the command area of dams for agriculture and forest purposes.

He also ordered early completion of Mangi Dam and proposed project of Babar Kach Dam besides seeking proposals for construction of dams in other suitable places and preparation of feasibility studies for the purpose in the province.

The chief minister issued these instructions while presiding over a meeting to review progress of dam projects in the province on Friday.

Mr Alyani said that construction of dams would lead to development of agriculture, livestock besides meeting drinking water needs of not only the provincial capital but other parts of the province.

He said more production of livestock and agriculture would create job opportunities for the youth.

He directed expediting development work in the command area of dams.

The chief minister said that people associated with agriculture and livestock sectors depended on rains for their livelihood and there was need to build more dams to store more water for agriculture, livestock and drinking purposes of the people.

He said that most of the rainwater was wasted in the province because of dearth of dams and construction of more dams would ensure rainwater storage which would be used for agriculture and drinking purposes, adding that more dams would raise the underground water level and make more land cultivable.

The secretary of irrigation informed the meeting about the progress of work on under-construction dams. He said that 78 per cent work on Basol Dam had been completed from where water supply to Ormara Town and Jinnah Naval Base had started through a pipeline and construction of water courses for development of command area was also in progress.

He further informed the meeting about the progress of dams being constructed under the Hundred Dams project near Quetta and other areas of the province.

Pemra chief meets CM

Meanwhile, Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) chairman Muhammad Saleem on Friday called on Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan Alyani and discussed affairs of electronic media and FM Radio access in Balochistan.

“The development work in Balochistan is in full swing and needs to be highlighted in the national media, but unfortunately Balochistan coverage in the mainstream media was extremely low,” Mr Alyani complained to Pemra chairman.

The chief minister requested the Pemra chief to ensure more time for coverage of provincial issues by national electronic and print media.

He said peace had been restored in the province and there were ample investment opportunities for private companies and we need mainstream media support in highlighting and promoting tourism sector of the province.

Pemra chairman Muhammad Saleem pledged to ensure adequate time to be given for Balochistan issues’ coverage in the national media, adding that FM radios would also be set up at the level of divisional headquarters in the province.

Published in Dawn, August 8th, 2020