Fishermen row their boats as they catch fish on the river Indus at Sukkur Barrage in Sukkur, Pakistan, March 19, 2017. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro - RC1B6596FAB0
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Lahore [Pakistan], April 15 (ANI): The Punjab government has written to Indus River System Authority (IRSA) requesting it ensure fair water distribution among the provinces. Punjab government blamed Sindh province for drawing excess water, terming it a blatant violation of the agreed share, The News International reported.
In a letter written to IRSA dated April 9, the Punjab government said that IRSA declared a 43 per cent water shortage for early Kharif 2025, allocating only 6.702 million acre-feet (MAF) to Punjab. This substantial reduction sparked concerns regarding the province’s agricultural productivity and water security.
According to the Punjab Irrigation Department, the operational criteria for the JC Zone during early Kharif 2025 had been examined, and the releases from Mangla Dam would be restricted to 8,000 cusecs to ensure 60pc filling of the dam before June 30, 2025. However, Punjab has been facing several challenges in accessing its allocated share of water.
Despite the declared shortage, Sindh province had been drawing excess water of its entitled share, further increasing the water scarcity in Punjab. Furthermore, reports of underreporting at Sindh barrages sparked concerns regarding the accuracy of water distribution.
The Irrigation Department requested IRSA to ensure correct and transparent reporting from all Sindh barrages and to monitor water shares strictly during early Kharif, The News International reported.
Punjab has urged ISRA to start operating the CJ, and the TP-link canals to access its rightful share from the Indus River. According to the letter, the water crisis in Punjab has reached a critical point, causing unrest and economic hardship.
The Punjab government noted that the situation demands immediate intervention to re-analyse shares, ensure transport reporting and stop unwarranted downstream Kotri releases.
In the letter, the Punjab government urged IRSA to ensure fair and transparent distribution of water among provinces. In addition, the Punjab government said that the allocated share of water should be provided without any reduction or delay. The CJ and TP link canals should function as per Punjab’s indents.
Punjab government requested IRSA to investigate and address the underreporting of water discharge at Sindh barrages. The Irrigation Department emphasised that the situation requires urgent attention from the authorities to prevent further escalation of the water crisis in Punjab, The News International reported.
In its Advisory Committee Meeting for Rabi 2024-25, the IRSA announced short fall of 16 per cent for Punjab and Sindh. However, Sindh province, by the end of the Rabi 2024-25 season, was provided canal water supply with a 19 per cent shortage, while Punjab was given canal water supply with a 22 per cent shortage.
Furthermore, IRSA did not make any provision for supplying water downstream Kotri barrage during the whole Rabi 2024-25 season, while the Sindh Irrigation Department escaped 0.470 MAF of water below Kotri barrage despite, shortage of canal water supply in Punjab.
Moreover, the IRSA representative carried out an inspection of the Sindh Barrage on February 15 and found that the Rice Canal was running at 936 cusecs, while the Sindh Irrigation Department had reported that canal as ‘closed’ on February 15, The News International reported.
In addition, the Dadu canal was running at 1,226 cusecs against the reported discharge of 950 cusecs. Punjab government stressed that all above mentioned facts clearly indicated that Sindh was using surplus water and underreporting at its barrages, which directly impacted the water share of other provinces, particularly Punjab. (ANI)
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