Completion of maintenance and rehabilitation of 65 falaj in South Al Sharqiyah
Sur – Omania
The General Directorate of Agricultural Wealth, Fisheries and Water Resources in South Al Sharqiyah Governorate has completed the maintenance and rehabilitation of 65 falaj in a number of villages and wilayats in South Al Sharqiyah Governorate at a total cost of approximately 596 thousand Omani riyals; with the aim of preserving these important water resources and ensuring their continued flow due to their importance in irrigation as a historical legacy that Omanis depend on to irrigate crops.
Eng. Salah bin Salem Al-Muhajri, Head of the Dams, Aflaj and Protective Walls Department, said that the maintenance and rehabilitation projects for aflaj in South Al Sharqiyah Governorate came after the water channels were exposed to the effects of climate conditions and the erosion of valleys during the past periods, stressing that the General Directorate of Agricultural, Fisheries and Water Resources pays great attention to aflaj because they are a historical legacy and a basic water resource that is relied upon to irrigate agricultural lands, as interest in these aflaj is embodied through follow-up and supervision and setting continuous plans for maintenance and rehabilitation and providing the necessary protection for them with the aim of enhancing efficiency and ensuring the continuity of water provision.
He added that the rehabilitation and improvement of the aflaj in South Al Sharqiyah Governorate, with all its types (Al Adi, Al Aini and Al Ghaili), will be done by creating new channels for them, whether surface or underground, reaching depths ranging from 3 to 25 metres, with specific technical specifications that guarantee their durability and endurance in all conditions, whose paths were constructed in the past in a way that guarantees the ease, smoothness and flow of water from the mother of the falaj (the source or spring) to the distribution area or the irrigated area.
Al-Muhajri stated that the number of aflaj that were maintained in the South Al Sharqiyah Governorate reached 65 aflaj distributed in the Wilayat of Sur with 48 aflaj, the most famous of which are Al-Badawi and Al-Maqsoum. In the Wilayat of Jalan Bani Bu Ali, the number reached 6 aflaj, including Al-Dhaher Falaj, Al-Zuwaid Falaj, Al-Zubaidi Falaj, and in the Wilayat of Jalan Bani Bu Hassan, the number reached 6 aflaj, including: Al-Suqiyah Falaj, Ain Wa Sheela Falaj, and Al-Faghri Falaj. In the Wilayat of Al-Kamil Wa Al-Wafi, the number reached 5 aflaj, the most famous of which are: Sabt Falaj, Al-Batin Falaj, and Al-Kabir Falaj.
