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People of Al Hamra raise RO239,000, build their own dam

20 Apr 2021 By MOHAMMED TAHA

For want of water to drink and irrigate farms, the people of the wilayat of Al Hamra in Dakhliyah have built one of the biggest recharge dams in the country through an initiative entirely implemented with public support. 

A drought that hit Al Hamra in 2017 and 2018 prompted the people of the wilayat to pool in resources and build the recharge dam that meets their drinking water and irrigation needs. 

The people of the wilayat raised close to RO239,000 to construct the dam of 230,000m3 capacity. 

Speaking to Muscat Daily, Abdullah al Abri, one of the supervisors involved in building the dam, said, “The residents of Al Hamra came together as a family to build Dofia Dam. We started work on it in March 2019 under the supervision of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources.” 

The people formed a committee and a technical team to plan, raise funds and coordinate with the ministry. A contractor was hired at a later stage to build the dam under the supervision and follow-up of the people of wilayat. 

“We have also laid an access road to reach the dam site in order to transport construction material,” Abri said, adding that after this stage of work was over, cement mix was used to build the 12 layers of the dam.

Transporting construction material and raising funds were challenges which were overcome by the coordinated efforts of the people and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources, Abri informed. 

The dam was completed in March 2021.

The dam, including its spillway, is 76m long, 18m wide and 14.5m in height. 

“We are planning to build another dam in Al Hamra in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources to help farmers irrigate their land and provide a permanent source of water,” Abri said, thanking the ministry for deputing engineers to oversee the construction work.

Following the success they have achieved in their efforts to build their own recharge dam, Abri called on people in other wilayats to do the same to store rainwater.

 

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