LAHORE: The Flood Forecasting Division (FFD) of Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has informed the Indus River System Authority (IRSA) that availability of water in Tarbela Dam is 5 percent below normal for the Kharif season, starting from 1st of April until 30th September, said sources.
The water level in Tarbela has dropped 48 million acre feet (MAF) from the normal level of 50.5MAF, they said, adding that the IRSA would finalize the apportionment of water between the provinces of Punjab and Sindh in its meeting of advisory committee on Thursday.
The water availability plan would cover the water needs for the upcoming Kharif season as well as the power generation needs of Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA).
The sources in the PMD said the water availability assessment is underway that would be finalized by 1st of April.
They said the initial forecast for the next six months suggest that the number of rains would be less than the last year while temperatures are likely stay high which would be helpful in snow melting to increase water inflows for Tarbela Dam.
They said the assessment is being carried out on the basis of available models, both indigenous and global, besides the water availability data of last 30 years. They said efforts are being made to minimize the difference of predicted and actual availability of water on the basis of available methods in order to produce an accurate figure for the IRSA.
It may be noted that 85 percent filling of Tarbela Dam takes place through snow melting at glaciers while Mangla Dam’s 60 percent filling depends on the quantity of rains during the season. They said the apportionment of available water would depend on the requirement of WAPDA for power generation during the upcoming summers. Also, the demand of provinces would be calculated on the basis of on ground situation, particularly in the province of Sindh, where the cultivable land has already been inundated by the monsoon floods.
The water need for the upcoming cotton crop in Sindh would be determined on the actual position of the cultivable land, which would be helpful in the apportionment of water between the two provinces, they added, as there would be more need of water of water if the floods water has been dried up.
The IRSA meeting will be presided over by chairman IRSA and will be attended by all IRSA members, chief, engineering advisor, representatives of members Water and Power of Wapda, representatives of agriculture and irrigation secretaries of the provinces.
However, the source said the shortage figure is not yet finalized owing to divergent views of Punjab and Sindh over the water losses during the upcoming season. The advisory committee will finalize shortages for the season, said the source.
The Water Accord 1991 empowered IRSA to determine water availability in the country and provincial share twice a year, once for Kharif season and the other for Rabi season.
Rabi season starts from October 1 and ends on March 31, while Kharif starts from April 1 and continues till September 30.
Since Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) were exempted from cuts in the share, the shortage of water would be distributed between Sindh and the Punjab.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
Comments
Comments are closed.