The Ministry of Science and Technology has excavated seven ponds for storing harvested rainwater from 150 hectare developed catchment area to meet the growing water requirements in the Cholistan desert.
These properly designed ponds have been made to catch maximum rainwater within shortest possible time and to avoid maximum water losses, said a higher official at the Ministry of Science and Technology. Talking to APP here on Tuesday, the official said rainwater from these ponds can be utilised efficiently for drinking and irrigation purposes.
He said each pond has been connected with the main catchment area through the main channel and a network of ditches connecting all lowest points in the catchment area via small ponds to de-load rainwater from soil materials before reaching the big pond.
The rainwater stored in these ponds is utilised by the local Dingarh and surrounding people (more than 1,500 in number) for drinking. The water is taken by the women of the village and nomads clustered around the ponds during shortage of water.
More than 5,000 gallons of water is drawn daily from the ponds for drinking, he said. He added that the water of these ponds is also used for irrigation of nurseries and tree plantation under economical irrigation system at the Field Research Station of Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR).
The official said that the daily 3,000 to 5,000 gallon water is drawn through the water tanker operated by the tractor, for this purpose. During the shortage of water, livestock herds I e sheep, goats, cattle and camels come on ponds during the daytime for drinking water. Wildlife from the surrounding areas also comes for drinking water.
Meanwhile, the government has launched another project with estimated cost of Rs 35.53 million which aimed at conducting research on water resources development and management in Thar desert for enhancing agricultural productivity as well socio-economic conditions in the area.
The project is of national importance attending a large population of desert areas, and is directly related to water sector. Desert areas expand over 11 million hectares in Pakistan. Thar Desert, one of the largest, is located in Sindh province bordering on one side with India and the other side with Run of Katchh. It is arid and extremely dry. Practically, the whole region is sandy expanding over 22,000 sq km with a population of 1.2 million people.
The agriculture entirely depends on rainfall. This research project has been formulated to develop and test rainwater harvesting, saline agriculture and desertification control techniques in the Thar desert for multiplication on the large scale to protect fertile land resources and to gain potential production for the social up-gradation of poor population of desert areas.
Talking about the impact of project, the official said all these activities like rainwater harvesting, groundwater utilisation and land management methods will help in the development of arid dry lands in the country which is a key for economic development.
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