Punjab Irrigation Department has started reopening irrigation canals after month long annual closure for desilting and repairing in December-January. Punjab canal regulator and consultant M.H. Siddiqui told Business Recorder here on Monday that the department had reopened the Upper Chenab Canal (UCC) with the discharge of 7,000 cusecs water to irrigation crops in Central Punjab through its branches.
Lower Jhelum Canal (LJC) has also been reopened with running water of 15,000 cusecs from Mangla dam to augment water supplies at Trimmu headworks that irrigates western parts of the province.
Siddiqui said Punjab had given an indent of 12,000 cusecs water to Indus River System Authority (IRSA) for drawing 12,000 cusecs water from the Indus zone to flow 7,000 cusecs water into the Chashma Jhelum Link canal and 5,000 cusecs water down stream the Chashma Barrage for Taunsa Barrage.
He said that all the canals in the province will be reopened from February 5 to draw 60,000 cusecs water from Mangla and Indus zones to give second watering to the Rabbi crops including wheat, grams, lentils, oil seeds, fodder, vegetables etc.
He said IRSA has allocated 17.4 MAF water against its normal usages of 19.75 MAF for the winter crops which means that there would be 12 percent water shortage for the 2010-2011 Rabbi crops.
According to 24th January rivers flows and reservoirs level report of Water and Power Development Authority, about 45,000 cusecs water is flowing at rim stations of the four live rivers of the country, Indus at Tarbela 16,400 cusecs, Kabul at Nowshera 14,500 cusecs, Jhelum at Mangla 7,000 cusecs and Chenab at Marla 6,800 cusecs. IRSA is presently releasing 52,000 cusecs water into the world's biggest irrigation system.
The inflow at Jinnah Barrage on river Indus is 40,100, outflow 40,100 cusecs, at Chashma barrage inflow is 39,800 cusecs and outflow 17,800 cusecs, at Taunsa inflow is 19,200 cusecs and outflow 19,200 cusecs, Panjnad inflow is 23,100 cusecs and outflow 23,100 cusecs.
Sindh province is receiving 37,600 cusecs at Guddu barrage and the Irrigation department is discharging 28,700 cusecs water downstream towards Sukkur Barrage, which received 24,100 cusecs water on Monday. After discharging 10,000 cusecs water into the irrigation canal, the department released 14,800 cusecs water into Kotri barrage.
The Sindh government has already stopped any further water discharge into the Indus delta and the Arabian sea and retaining inflow of 15,310 cusecs water into the Kotri barrage for drinking and crops irrigation purposes.
Meanwhile, a spokesman of Pakistan Electric Power Company (Pepco) said that after increased water releases from the dams, hydel power generation has increased by almost 1,000 MW in a week. Hydel power houses at Tarbela, Mangla, Ghazi Barotha, Chashma and others generated nearly 3200 MW on Monday.
Weather report of the meteorological department indicates that the country is passing through an extended dry spell and the day temperature has markedly risen in a week.
Karachi was the hottest place in Pakistan on Monday where maximum temperature 29.2 degreee Celsius was recorded. Lowest minimum temperature -13.4 Celsius was recorded at Kalam, Parachinar -11 C, Skardu -9.6 C, and - 9.0 C in Hunza. Met office said weather would remain mainly cold and dry weather on Tuesday.
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