The Indus River System Authority released 10,000 cusecs more water from the Mangla Dam on River Jhelum to meet irrigation water shortages in the central and southern Punjab after substantial decrease in water flow of River Chenab since Tuesday.
Punjab Irrigation canal regulator Engineer M.H. Siddiqui told Business Recorder here on Thursday that IRSA has increased daily water discharge down stream the Mangla Dam from 15,000 to 25,000 cusecs as the water inflow in River Chenab has plopped from 63,000 cusecs to 50,000 cusecs which has caused canal irrigation water shortage in the command area of River Sutlej in Bahawalnagar district.
Siddiqui admitted that IRSA has put at risk filling of the Mangla Dam on River Jhelum by releasing extra quantities of water from the dam when prime time for filling the second biggest reservoir of the country has already passed. "Mangla is still 100 ft below its maximum level of 1,242 ft and 5 million acre ft water is yet to be stored in the reservoir which seems impossible this year, he added.
Siddiqui said IRSA is providing about 41,000 cusecs water from the River Indus to south Punjab, 31,000 cusecs downstream the Chashma barrage and 10,000 cusecs from the Taunsa barrage through the Taunsa-Panjnad link canal. Meanwhile, Punjab Water Council has welcomed Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa's support to Punjab in the IRSA meeting to open Chashma-Jhelum Link canal with a supply of 21,000 cusecs water to supplement water availability in the Chenab command area of south Punjab as River Indus is nearly at low flood stage between Kalabagh and Chashma barrages.
Meanwhile, the Flood Forecasting Centre (FFC) has reported that River Kabul at Nowshera and River Indus at Kalabagh are in Low Flood Level. The water inflow in River Indus at Tarbela Dam has dropped to 171,000 cusecs due to decrease in temperature in the catchment area of the mighty river. The water inflow at Chashma is 263,000, at Taunsa 182,000 cusecs, Guddu 182,000 cusecs, Sukkur 120,000 cusecs and at Kotri barrage 44,400 cusecs. River Kabul is contributing 61,000 cusecs, Chenab 62,000 cusecs and Jhelum 38,300 cusecs to the crucial water resources of the country.
MET OFFICE WEATHER REPORT Seasonal low lies over north Balochistan. Monsoon currents are penetrating into upper parts of the country.
FORECAST FOR TODAY Scattered thundershowers are expected over Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Northeast Balochistan, North and Northeast Punjab, Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir. Isolated thunderstorm/ rain is also expected over South Punjab Rain/thundershower is expected at isolated places of upper Punjab (Gujranwala, Sargodha, Lahore, Faisalabad divisions), Zhob, Kallat, D.G.Khan, Multan divisions and Kashmir/Gilgit-Baltistan
FURTHER OUTLOOK FOR NEXT TWO DAYS Scattered Thunderstorm/rain is expected over Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Northeast Balochistan, North and Upper Punjab, Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir.
WEATHER ON THURSDAY Weather remained hot and humid in most parts of the country. However, rain/thundershower occurred at isolated places of upper Punjab, GB and Kashmir
RAINFALL (MM) RECORDED DURING LAST 24 HOURS Kallar=40, Sargodha (Airport =21, City=10), Shadiwal=17, Joharabad=16, Sialkot (Airport =15, Cantt.=05), Dratian=15, Alexandra Bridge=14, Chakri= 13, Kotli=11, Mianwali, Dhokpathan and Mangla=10 (each), Islamabad (Bokra=10, Zeropoint=09, Golra=06, Shamsabad, Dhamial, Saidpur and Airport=04(each), Palandri =08, Kund, Dara-e-Tang, Jhelum and Lower Dir=06(each), Daulatnagar=05, Sehrkakota=03, Besham, Palku and Rawala-kot=02(each),Tarbela, Zafarwal and Mandibahauddin=01(each), Faisalabad, Khuzdar, Chakwal, Gilgit, Kamra, Karachi (Airport), Murree Shorkot and Skardu=Trace (each)
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