Farmers in Sindh likely to face water shortage of around 40 to 50 per cent in April

Farmers in Sindh likely to face water shortage of around 40 to 50 per cent in April

Friday, March 16, 2012: As per commendable sources, Water levels in Mangla and Tarbela reservoirs have reached an alarming level. If the problem persists, the farmers in Sindh will face a water shortage of around 40 to 50 per cent
in early Kharif season that starts in April.

Pakistan is facing water shortage and it is all because of the changing weather patterns with a prolonged cold wave lasting halfway through March. Glaciers usually melt around this time of the year and provide enough water supplies
for the upcoming crop season; however, the recent cold wave has prevented this natural phenomenon from happening.

A meeting of River System Authority’s (Irsa) technical committee will give a final word on exactly how much shortage of water the country is facing for the Kharif season. The situation will get much worse if the cold wave does
not end by March 20, sources said adding that water shortage could also affect the standing wheat crop in the province.

Khalid Idrees Rana, Irsa spokesperson said, “It is a cyclical trend that both water reservoirs fall to dead level in March every year but the current cold wave may create problems in it filling up again.”

He maintained that Punjab had received its share of water for the ongoing Rabi season. The Irsa officials claim they had released enough water to meet Sindh’s requirements for 8 to 10 days.

Another official said that in April, the first month of Kharif crop season, the country may face water shortage, but it is hoped that with the increase in temperature, the inflows in rivers will increase significantly and the situation
will stabilise

Some government officials alleged that WAPDA had released more water for producing electricity in a bid to overcome the energy crisis, causing a loss of 1.5 MAF of water and disturbing regulation of water releases by Irsa.

Irsa has asked Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) to investigate the loss of water at Tarbela and Chashma reservoirs that has taken Tarbela dam to alarming levels.

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=16103

Posted by Wajahat Javed on Mar 17 2012. Filed under Business, Pakistan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry