The river system of Indus and its tributaries provides Pakistan some of the most fertile land in the Indian subcontinent.
Under the Indus Water Basin Treaty of 1960 three eastern rivers namely: Sutlej, Beas and Ravi were allocated to India for its exclusive use. The Treaty gives Pakistan control over the western rivers namely: the Indus, Jhelum and Chenab. India has also been allowed to develop 13,43,477 acres of irrigated cropped area on the western rivers without any restriction on the quantum of water to be utilised.
India has already developed 7,85,789, acres for which 6.75 MAF has been used. Thus, for the remaining area of 5,75,678 acres, 4.79 MAF would be required on pro rata basis.
The water availability in our rivers is highly erratic and unreliable. The highest annual water availability in the recorded history 1922 todate was 186.79 MAF (million acre feet) in the year 1959-60 as against the minimum of 95.99 MAF in the year 2001-2002.
This includes the Kabul River contribution. The Kabul River contributes a maximum of 34.24 MAF and a minimum of 12.32 MAF with an annual average of about 20.42 MAF to Indus main.
Although Pakistan's catastrophic floods have claimed at least 1,600 lives and made millions homeless, the problem is not that it is inundated with water. Pakistan, in reality, is a water-short nation, and its southern and western provinces are especially water-deficient. However, Pakistan gets plenty of rain during the monsoon months, but does next to nothing to store that water and make it available for domestic, agricultural, industrial, and commercial uses.
While the Punjab is well served by three large rivers—the Indus, Jhelum, and Chenub—the entire western part of Pakistan, including Balochistan, depends on snowmelt and rainfall. Sindh gets very little water, since the bulk of the Indus water is used, or evaporated, by the time it arrives in Sindh.
While Pakistan has dozens of projects in the planning stage, very little money has been allocated for water management. Moreover, the lack of political will has left these projects sitting on the drawing board. In addition, the British-inflicted ethnic rivalry, which dominates socioeconomic discussions in Pakistan, and prevents integrated nationwide projects from taking shape, is also a major impediment. For instance, the Kalabagh Dam, designed in 1984, never saw the light of theis still not built. day. The dam, to be located at the junction of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab on the Indus, would store water inside Punjab. The Sindhis did not allow this project to go through because they claim Sindh will be further starved of water, while the Punjabi agriculturists will benefit from the use of additional stored water.
According to some Pakistani engineers, the Kalabagh Dam, even it had been constructed, would have done little to hold these all-immersing floodwaters, and probably would have caused more misery by flooding the main Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa city, Peshawar, and beyond.
It is in this context that we need to review the existing water storage capacity alongside the efficiency of national drainage system; and create enhancements in storage capacity as well as optimize drainage efficiency to avoid recurrences of this nature.
There is a need to ascertain the existing water storage capacity and quantum of surplus water that has flown into the sea during current flooding; identify the shortfall and determine the requirement for enhancements through up-gradations of existing reservoirs and construction of new ones.
Moreover, we also need to focus on capacity shortfall of existing drainage system and undertake appropriate enhancement measures. Furthermore, there is a need to formulate a composite strategy of enmeshing drainage and storage through interlinking the two for achieving an efficient storage/drainage combine through water regulation.
If water storage capacity is enhanced, the surplus water could be stored for usage during remaining period of the year. Keeping in view the sensitivities of the provinces with regard to water management issues, it is proposed that in addition to national level strategic storages, the provinces be encouraged to develop their own water storage infrastructures. Provinces should have exclusive rights of usage over their stored water.
Writer belong to Thatta Shoaibhmemon@yahoo.com Cell.0314 2090252
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