Mohammad Azad, 57, a resident of Uthwal village, owns a small patch of agricultural land right on the bank of Lakhwal-Uthwal Dam, one of the major water reservoirs of Chakwal district. His land, however, remains unirrigated as faulty water channels are unable to carry water from the dam to his land.

The dam, built at a cost of Rs449.861 million in 2012, was supposed to irrigate the land of Lakhwal, Vairo, Uthwal, Balokassar, Jamalwal and Mehro villages, but after 14 years of its construction, the dam has never irrigated a single chunk of land. “If our land is irrigated by this dam, we could have bumper crops which could turn our fate,” says Azad.

“The dam engulfed as many as 600 acres of land belonging to the farmers of Lakhwal, Uthwal and Balokassar, but it never served the purpose it was built for,” Ghulam Ali, a farmer from Lakhwal village, tells Dawn.

Sadly, Lakhwal-Uthwal Dam is not the sole water reservoir that has remained non-functional since its construction. Rather, Dharabi Dam, the largest dam, and Minwal Dam also tell the same story, as both have never watered agricultural land, while some other dams that used to irrigate farmland are also no longer fully doing so as their channels are in need of repair.

Dharabi Dam, which is fast turning into a picnic spot with a grand tourist resort under construction at a cost of Rs380.735 million, was supposed to irrigate a vast chunk of 6,400 acres of land but has never served its basic purpose of irrigation. Its canals, built in 2012, have now disappeared due to dilapidation.

Minwal Dam, which was expected to change the agricultural output of Minwal and adjacent villages, remains useless for farmers. “The dam never benefited us as its channels are unable to carry water,” says Chaudhry Mohammad Khalik, a farmer and ex-nazim of Balokassar Union Council.

“There is no fault in the structure of these three dams and they are filled to their capacity. However, the only fault due to which these dams are unable to irrigate the land is their faulty channels,” an official in the Punjab Irrigation Department told Dawn.

The official explained that the channels of the three dams are cemented and, due to uneven land, they could not bear the pressure of the water. “The solution to fix the issue is HDPE (high-density polyethylene) pipes, which can bear the pressure of the water easily,” the official maintained, adding that a delegation of the Punjab Irrigation Department had witnessed the operation of HDPE in Turkiye.

Interestingly, two inquiries, one by the Chief Minister Inspection Team and another by the National Accountability Bureau, have been conducted into the failure of these dams, but the issue is yet to be fixed.

The first dam in Chakwal was constructed in 1971 near Dhoke Tahlian and was reconstructed in 2002. This dam is considered the most scenic dam in the Potohar region. After Dhoke Tahlian, Chakwal got Khokhar Zer Dam in 1979, Walana Dam in 1984, Surlah Dam in 1985, Nikka Dam in 1990, Qutab Din Dam and Kote Raja Dam, both in 1991, while during the Musharraf era, construction of the rest of the dams was started.

Dams built during the 1970s, 80s and 90s also have cemented channels, but since their construction, they have been functioning properly. However, dams built during the Musharraf and post-Musharraf eras turned out to be faulty.

On the other hand, owing to financial constraints and an acute shortage of employees, most rest houses and inspection huts built at these dams also offer a picture of neglect and despair, as many of them have crumbled while some remain deserted. For example, the rest houses at Dhoke Bun Ameer Khatoon Dam, Ghaziyal Dam, Minwal Dam, Arrar Mughlan Dam, Kote Raja Dam and Khokhar Zer Dam remain deserted, while the rest house at Walana Dam and its servant quarters have become dilapidated.

“Although some dams are unable to irrigate the land, it does not mean that they are lying useless, as all the dams are fish farms generating huge revenue for the government and they are also scenic spots,” Executive Engineer Small Dams Division Chakwal Naeem-ul-Hassan said while talking to Dawn.

He added that due to these dams, the water table in the area had also improved. “The water for Chakwal city is also coming from Khai Dam, while a mega project of fetching water from Dharabi Dam to Chakwal city is also being worked out,” he said. He added that HDPE for Khai Dam and Dhoke Jhang Dam was being laid at a cost of around Rs400 million.

Published in Dawn, September 21st, 2026