REDACTION.
The president of the Rural Development Agency (ADR), Diego Bautistawas this Thursday at the Ranchería river dam, in the south of La Guajira, and toured the facilities where this project works.
Bautista, who took possession of this entity attached to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, analyzed the state of the first phase of the work that was completed more than a decade ago.
Lea: Ranchería Dam: exclusive on progress of irrigation districts and aqueducts
THE DAM
Son 640 hectares humid with capacity to store 198 million cubic meters in a barrier of at least 110 meters highaccording to official information.
It was designed to meet three major purposes: irrigate crops through irrigation districts, supply water to nine municipalities in the department, and generate electricity; but today it only regulates this tributary that rises in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and supplies the liquid to the drinking water company of the Fonseca municipality.
THE FARMERS’ REQUEST
After the tour, the president of the ADR spoke with farmers’ associations, who asked that the project is completed. “Since 2010 we have been waiting for the construction of the irrigation district,” said one of the peasants.
The national government official assured that this is one of the priority issues of the entity, and that will be in the discussion within the National Development Plan.
EXPENSIVE PROJECT
However, the industrial engineer stated that the maintenance of irrigation districts is expensive for the nation. “50 billion annually”, express.
That is why he assured that the construction of said works must take into account the precedents in other parts of the country. “What we are going to do here must collect the lessons learned”, pointed out.
“IT IS A PRIORITY”: SILVA
The governor in charge of La Guajira, Jose Jaime Vega, among other officials like Carlos Cesar Silva, director of the Territorial Technical Unit No. 1 of the ADR, which in addition to the Wayuu territory includes the Caesar and Madeleine.
In a recent interview with THE PYLONSilva assured that this mega-work is “priority” for the Agency, and that is “Under Scrutiny” of the president.
Lea: “The Ranchería river dam is a priority for the ADR”: Silva