Jalalpur Canal! A Historic Achievement of Fawad Ch

Naeem Kandwal
Agriculture is playing a very vital role for economy of Pakistan and its development. Agriculture is considered the backbone of Pakistan’s economy. It accounts for 19% of the GDP and together with agro-based products fetches 80% of the country’s total export earnings. 48% of labour force is engaged directly with agriculture. About 70% of population is relates to agriculture directly or indirectly. So it is the main source of living or income of the major part of economy population. The present government is focused on developing this sector. The present government initiated a number of measures such as crop diversification, efficient use of water and promotion of high value crops including biotechnology, reducing mark-up rates, agriculture credit enhancement, subsidized fertilizer prices, cheap electricity for agritube wells and construction of new canals. The government of Pakistan has taken many revolutionary initiatives towards agriculture, Jalalpur Canal is one of them. This Canal is being built on the east bank of the Jhelum River.  Of course, this is a revolutionary initiative. All this credit goes to Federal Minister Fawad Ch. This project is the result of his extraordinary efforts. It is a historic achievement of Fawad Ch. Jhelum is one of the oldest districts of Punjab. Jhelum District has a total area of 858,767 acres (3,475.31 km2), out of which 316,815 acres (1,282.10 km2) are cultivated. Agriculture in the District Jhelum depends mainly on rainfall. Jhelum is known for providing many soldiers to the Pakistan armed forces due to which it is also known as city of soldiers or land of martyrs and warriors. It has historical significance but unfortunately it has been overlooked in the past. Jalalpur Canal is a canal being built on the east bank of the Jhelum River. It is a 2nd largest project of Punjab after the construction of Taunsa Barrage in 1965. The work on the project to build this canal started on 26 December 2019. This is considered to be the oldest shelved project of Pakistan as this project was first envisioned in 1898 during the period of British Raj. The canal will run from Pind Dadan Khan Tehsil in Jhelum District to Khushab District. This project is funded by Asian Development Bank (ADB). The project is projected to complete in 2024 with the cost of Rs.48 billion out of which Rs.32.7 billion will be provided by ADB. Project is being complete by Irrigation Department and 117 km long canal, 93 km long link canals, 72 irrigation structures and 18 flood structures will be developed under this project. Construction of Jalalpur Canal will not only provide abundant water for irrigation but also provide more than 40 cusec potable water. Jalalpur Canal is a project of historic and economic significance. This project will change the destiny of people of Pind Dadan Khan and Khusab. Fawad Ch. said ” The Jalalpur Canal project would bring green revolution in the Potohar region. The canal would not only irrigate large area of land but clean drinking water would also be provided from it to Jhelum, Pind Dadan Khan and Khushab. Work on this mega project would be completed in three phases in period of four years with support of Asian Development Bank. Due to rupee devaluation, the cost of this project has increased to 45 billion rupees”. Establishment of Jalalpur Canal is a great achievement of Fawad ch. He is the most popular politician in the history of Jhelum. He is well-liked by Prime Minister Imran Khan for his hard work and good performance. He was elected to the National Assembly as a candidate of PTI from Constituency NA-67 (Jhelum-II) in 2018 general election. In the same election, he was also elected to the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab as a candidate of PTI from Constituency PP-27 (Jhelum-III). On 18 August 2018, Imran Khan formally announced his federal cabinet structure and Chaudhry was named as Minister for Information and Broadcasting. On 20 August 2018, he was appointed as Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting in the federal cabinet of Prime Minister Imran Khan. In April 2019, he was appointed as Federal Minister for Science and Technology. In a cabinet shuffle on Thursday, He has been appointed minister for information and broadcasting for the second time. Establishment of Passport Office in PD Khan, esablishment of EOBI office in Khewra and Jalalpur Canal project are revolutionary initiatives of Fawad Ch. The Agriculture is the backbone of Pakistan’s economy. The Jalalpur Canal project will revolutionize the agricultural sector. This project will change  the destiny of people of Pind Dadan Khan and Khusab. 117 km long canal, 93 km long link canals, 72 irrigation structures and 18 flood structures will be developed under this project. Construction of Jalalpur Canal will not only provide abundant water for irrigation but also provide more than 40 cusec potable water. This will not only make the local population prosperous but also strengthen Pakistan’s economy.