The Indus River System Authority (Irsa) has decided that release of 8000 cusecs additional water for electricity generation would continue despite anticipation that the country could face a 28 percent water shortage in Rabi season, instead of earlier estimated 22 percent.
The decision was taken at a meeting of Irsa advisory committee here on Monday, with Sindh Member and Irsa Chairman Bashir Ahmad Dahar in the chair. The Irsa decision came in the backdrop of various complaints by provinces that Wapda had released more water for power generation which, according to the provinces, could deprive them of water for irrigation later in February and March when the wheat crop would need more water. Keeping this in view, the provinces had opposed the release of additional water from the reservoirs, said Irsa Chairman.
This was the second meeting of the advisory committee in the current Rabi season, which discussed the current power crisis, as Wapda had sought more water releases for generating the much-needed electricity to overcome the shortage, at least to some extent.
Talking to reporters after the meeting, Bashir said that Wapda would generate 1200 MW electricity with the additional water release from Tarbela and Mangla dams from December 25. "The country needs not more than 10,000 cusecs water for irrigation and drinking purposes. We release 18,000 cusecs in order to help Wapda generate power," he said.
He said that Irsa's first priority is to ensure water for irrigation, and not power generation. "We have informed Wapda that not enough water is available in Tarbela and Mangla dams. The provinces are of the view that additional water should not be released from storages, while Wapda is facing an acute power shortage," he said. So far, in the Rabi season, Punjab and Sindh have shared 16 percent and 15 percent water shortage, respectively, he added.
He said that Irsa had ensured water availability for wheat sowing both in Punjab and Sindh. The two provinces informed the meeting that they had completed wheat sowing. The wheat crop, generally, does not need water at this time, he added.
Dahar said that rains spell started late this year. Tarbela had 0.88 MAF water this year compared to 2.45 MAF last year. He said that it would be Irsa's priority that at least one MAF water should be available in Tarbela by January 28.
For this purpose, around 7000 cusecs water is being stored in Tarbela as the total intake of the dam is 17,000 cusecs. Around 8,000 cusecs water is being released from Mangla, he added. The water level in Mangla is 1106.10 ft and the dam dead level is 1040 feet, he added.
The advisory committee also decided that Irsa would review the situation on daily basis. The additional water release could be stopped if thermal power generation situation improved in the coming days, he said.
Comments
Comments are closed.