Dear Friends,
54 million acre feet of water —went into the sea during the floods
More than 54 million acre feet of water — almost five times the country's total storage capacity — went into the sea during the floods but the water availability during the upcoming Rabi season is likely to remain short of requirement by 10-15 per cent.
The technical committee of the Indus River System Authority (Irsa) met here on Friday with participation from all the four provinces and forecast a total water availability of little over 34 million acre feet in Rabi, short of the allocated provincial shares by 11 per cent. The water losses for the season were estimated at 10 per cent.
the technical committee had estimated about 24 million acre feet of water availability through river flows and about 10MAF through three major storage facilities — the Mangla and Tarbela dams and the Chashma barrage.
They said representatives of the provinces expressed divergent views over water distribution. Therefore, the committee decided to refer three issues to the Irsa's advisory committee that would meet on Sept 30.The representatives of Sindh government demanded that water distribution be brought in line with the para-2 of the 1991 water apportionment accord that determined water share for each province. Under the accord, Rabi cropping season envisages water availability of about 37MAF, in addition to 1.20MAF of ungauged canal flows above rim stations.
The Sindh government said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan should not be exempt from any cut in their shares and shortage should be applied proportionately to all provinces. Under para-2 of the accord, the Punjab should get 18.87MAF during Rabi, followed by 14.82MAF for Sindh, 3.50MAF for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 1.02MAF for Balochistan.
The sources said the Punjab representatives opposed application of para-2 of the accord and instead demanded continuation of distribution according to para-14 of the accord that protects historical uses of 1977-82. This arrangement favours Punjab the most.
They said Punjab opposed a proposal made by the Irsa suggesting to save about 0.5MAF of carry forward for the next Kharif season, saying the provincial irrigation needs should be met first during Rabi and consider quantities for carry forward at the end of the season. Sindh supported the proposal but the technical committee decided to leave the matter to the advisory committee.
the technical committee did not reach consensus on Punjab's request for separate water distribution among the provinces from Tarbela and Mangla dams. The Punjab representatives were of the view that water distribution among provinces during Rabi should be made under a common pool, comprising both Tarbela and Mangla dams.
This was not acceptable to Sindh. The issue, therefore, was also left for the advisory committee, an official said.
He said authorities had provisionally estimated that over 54MAF of water had gone into the Arabian Sea during the recent floods which was about 4.6 times greater than the country's combined storage of about 12MAF.
The combined live storage at Mangla, Tarbela and Chashma stood at about 11.753MAF on Friday as all the storage facilities remained full.
The Rabi season begins in October-December and ends in April-May. Wheat is the largest crop in Rabi season. Gram, lentil, tobacco, rapeseed, barley and mustard are some of the other Rabi crops.
The technical committee of the Indus River System Authority (Irsa) met here on Friday with participation from all the four provinces and forecast a total water availability of little over 34 million acre feet in Rabi, short of the allocated provincial shares by 11 per cent. The water losses for the season were estimated at 10 per cent.
the technical committee had estimated about 24 million acre feet of water availability through river flows and about 10MAF through three major storage facilities — the Mangla and Tarbela dams and the Chashma barrage.
They said representatives of the provinces expressed divergent views over water distribution. Therefore, the committee decided to refer three issues to the Irsa's advisory committee that would meet on Sept 30.The representatives of Sindh government demanded that water distribution be brought in line with the para-2 of the 1991 water apportionment accord that determined water share for each province. Under the accord, Rabi cropping season envisages water availability of about 37MAF, in addition to 1.20MAF of ungauged canal flows above rim stations.
The Sindh government said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan should not be exempt from any cut in their shares and shortage should be applied proportionately to all provinces. Under para-2 of the accord, the Punjab should get 18.87MAF during Rabi, followed by 14.82MAF for Sindh, 3.50MAF for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 1.02MAF for Balochistan.
The sources said the Punjab representatives opposed application of para-2 of the accord and instead demanded continuation of distribution according to para-14 of the accord that protects historical uses of 1977-82. This arrangement favours Punjab the most.
They said Punjab opposed a proposal made by the Irsa suggesting to save about 0.5MAF of carry forward for the next Kharif season, saying the provincial irrigation needs should be met first during Rabi and consider quantities for carry forward at the end of the season. Sindh supported the proposal but the technical committee decided to leave the matter to the advisory committee.
the technical committee did not reach consensus on Punjab's request for separate water distribution among the provinces from Tarbela and Mangla dams. The Punjab representatives were of the view that water distribution among provinces during Rabi should be made under a common pool, comprising both Tarbela and Mangla dams.
This was not acceptable to Sindh. The issue, therefore, was also left for the advisory committee, an official said.
He said authorities had provisionally estimated that over 54MAF of water had gone into the Arabian Sea during the recent floods which was about 4.6 times greater than the country's combined storage of about 12MAF.
The combined live storage at Mangla, Tarbela and Chashma stood at about 11.753MAF on Friday as all the storage facilities remained full.
The Rabi season begins in October-December and ends in April-May. Wheat is the largest crop in Rabi season. Gram, lentil, tobacco, rapeseed, barley and mustard are some of the other Rabi crops.
Regards
Shoaib Habib Memon
Cell.0314 2090252
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