Irrigation Ministry Reaffirms Commitment to Water Supply and Network Maintenance
Acting Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources, Daw Al-Bait Abdelrahman, reaffirmed the ministry’s commitment to providing irrigation water in the main canal of the Gezira Scheme and to maintaining the minor irrigation networks after planting.
During a field tour on Thursday that covered several irrigation sectors in northern Gezira—including Abu Ashar, Qurashi, Al-Turabi, Al-Maileq, and Tabet—as well as visits to the Abu Ashar machinery workshop and the Nile Branch 18 siphon in the Sarhan sector of Eastern Managil, the minister urged farmers to return to their fields and begin preparations for the summer cropping season.
The minister inspected the progress of summer maintenance operations, which included reinforcing embankments, repairing breaches, and clearing weeds and silt from upper canals. He explained that the visit aimed to assess the actual needs in the irrigation areas, especially in terms of embankment maintenance and equipment availability, focusing on the main canal stretching from Sennar to the edges of the Gezira Project.
Meanwhile, Eng. Mufaddal Al-Tayeb, Director General of Irrigation Operations, acknowledged the extensive damage to the Gezira irrigation system caused by attacks from the rebel militia. He revealed the ministry’s efforts to repair over 1,000 canal breaches, strengthen embankments, clear blockages, and remove silt and weeds, announcing that water will be released at the appropriate time.
In the same context, Eng. Kamal Hamza, Director of the Mechanical and Electrical Department, disclosed that the Abu Ashar irrigation machinery workshop had been completely destroyed. He noted his department’s arrangements to deploy a mobile workshop in the northern Gezira fields and confirmed the ministry’s commitment to maintaining gates and regulators within the irrigation system.
