Khartoum — Takru Dam in South Darfur State, Balil Locality which was established in 1987 to provide drinking water for the local inhabitants in the area, now, with the efforts being exerted by the people of the area, became a Fish Farming Project and an important economic tourism site.
To speak about this great dam, we interviewed the Lecturer of Constitutional Law, Dr. Mohammed Al-Ajeb Ismail, The Chieftain of Um-Kardous Area, one if the founders of the Project who said" the Takru Dam Project is considered a great charity wok initiated by the son of the area, Dr. Hamid Omar who established the dam in his village from his self-resources and the support of the Sudanese community in Kuwait When he was working there as a professor in the university's teaching staff, a water engineer and a specialist in water harvesting, Dr. Hamed and Dr. Al-Tayeb Ibrahim Issa were considered among the first graduates from the people of the region, considering myself (Dr. Muhammad Al-Ajeb) from the second generation of graduates from the village of Takru, who graduated from the Faculty of Law, University Ain Shams in 1985, Dr. Al-Ajeb said , as soon as he returned home, he drew his attention to the children village's abandoning studies in the neighbouring villages because there is no school in the village, so their main concern is to bring water to their families from far away, and from here the idea arose for Dr. Hamid and after efforts and agreement between the sons of The area should establish a school in the village and work on a water source project in order to stabilize the area so that the children can devote themselves to study like their peers in other villages, instead of being mere labourers to fetch water from long distances, said Dr. Al-Ajeb, so we sought with the Department of Education to open a school in the village of Takru, and the only obstacle was the lack of water, as it is not possible for a school to rise in a dry area, as the village of Takru, which is located east of Nyala locality, was a thirsty area, especially in the summer, and there is no source of water, it is close to it, and for several years it has witnessed a great deal of thirst and drought, hence the idea of Dr. Hamid that it is necessary to dig a well and from his own resources to provide water for the school and the village, but the nature of the rocky area prevented the idea from succeeding, although Dr. Hamid, as a geologist knows that, but It was estimated that chance could make drilling a well a source of water, but he was not able due to the nature of the rocky ground, and drilling continued for more than 50 feet without reaching water. The water harvest project was the best option to these areas by building dams, where DR. Hamid raised funds, besides his self-reliance resources. He made all the preparations, including a comprehensive survey of the area and determining the appropriate place to build the dam. The choice was made for the Takru area, which is characterized by the presence of a watercourse that passes between two plateaus of sand dunes, which forms a stifling presence between the two plateaus that helps to bring the distance to the work of the backfills that enable the reservation of water behind the plateau. By carrying out this study, the construction of the dam was designed and implemented very quickly, which came as a surprise to the citizens in the first year of the large amount of water in the first phase, where it was used until March. In the second year, after the work of ramps and increasing the storage capacity, the benefit was until April, and with the continuation of the ramping operations the flow of stored surface water was of great use in digging wells that cover the rest of the months (May/June) until the beginning of next fall and the rainfall. Dr. Aajeb said the heightening and cleaning up operations from inside, and after five years the dams had important positive economic return where different types and large quantities of fish began to appear, which represented another surprise for the inhabitants of the dry region, that did not know the water bodies and did not know its inhabitants sea fishing, and they had no experience or knowledge in this new field, which drew their attention and contributed to the reconstruction of the region and created an atmosphere of stability and development with the success of the project the school for which it was established, the children enrolled in the study classes, while the citizens became involved in the new craft that they mastered with all professionalism and determination, and everyone flocked to it from the neighbouring villages. It achieved a high productivity of fish, which fed the markets of Nyala daily, and created a great economic and tourist activity through daily fishing trips to the dam and enjoying eating fish meals, it was (fish saj), which provides its services in an area similar to the Jabal Al-Awliya area in Khartoum state. One of the fishermen outlined that the project has become a source of livelihood for many people, a matter that led to the stability of the area and fishing created job opportunities for many young people, besides the increase of income and the productivity. Last year, 2021, the weight of the fish was between 3-4 kilos, and with the beginning of 2022, the weight of the fish became more than 20 kilos, which means that the region is promising a major economic investment project that will benefit the residents of the region and the neighbouring regions. The fisherman appealed to the authorities concerned to pay attention to this vital facility for How to take advantage of small dams and creeks in fish farming as an investment and increase the income of the family, at least. Dr. Al-Hajeb went on to tell Sudan Now, on the benefits of the dam to the region and its economic return, which increased the stability and development of the region, as the receding water helped to nourish and fertilize the land, and it became cultivation areas for horticultural winter crops by planting vegetables of all kinds and watermelons after the fall season, which achieved Self-sufficiency and the introduction of vegetable cultivation, which was not known to the people of the area, which gained them new experiences and an increase in income and made a great shift that helped in the stability and development of the region, so the children devote themselves to study and collection, while the citizens devote themselves to agriculture and grazing, so the retained water became nourished in a wider range, so the (Rail) area adjacent to the dam was dry and does not have a water resource, but after the dam nourished the land, obtaining water from close depths became easy for the residents of the river, so the dam became an important resource for livestock owners.
Dr. Al-Ajeb pointed out that after the government realized the importance of the dam which is considered the second of its kind in the area In terms of storage capacity after (Um-Dafuk) Dam in South Darfur, there were attempts by the Water Supply Corporation and the Water Harvesting Program to carry out maintenance operations and rehabilitate the dam, but it did not take place in the desired manner despite the given by Prof. El-Dakhiri, Secretary-General of the Arab Authority for Agricultural Development, through a visit paid by a delegation from the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development to the dam, during which the delegation emphasized the importance of fish farming and also ensured the establishment of an association for fishermen, with the provision of safe fishing aids such as nets and small boats.
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The organization's delegation also recommended the need to rehabilitate the dam by conducting periodic maintenance operations and increasing its storage capacity by introducing a system for separating drinking water between humans and animals, using solar energy, digging wells behind the dam, and the importance of establishing a veterinary clinic on the site along with an agricultural guide and providing Improved seeds for vegetables, summer crops, and training of farmers using modern agricultural technologies and sound fishing methods.
At the conclusion of his interview with Sudanow, Dr. Al-Aajeb recommended the formation of an administrative body by a government decision in which the local government and the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Forests are represented, in addition to the civil administration in the region, in order to effectively manage and make the maximum benefit for which the Takru Dam.
