The technical committee of Indus River System Authority (Irsa) comprising senior provincial technical representatives and meteorological experts has assessed there would be no shortage of water for sowing and maturing the Kharif crops 2015 across the country.
Sources in Punjab Irrigation department told Business Recorder here on Friday that the Irsa's Technical committee held an important meeting in Islamabad on Thursday to estimate water supply during the coming Kharif season, starting from April 1.
Taking into account the Met Office weather forecasts and snowfall over the mountains during 2014-15 winter season, the Committee estimated 109 MAF water inflow in the four live rivers, Indus, Kabul, Jhelum and Chanab from April 1 to September 30.
Of this inflow, 13 MAF would be thrown into the Indus Delta below the Kotri barrage and remaining 96 MAF water would be distributed among the four provinces.
Punjab is likely to get 34 MAF water during next six months for sowing and maturing its strategic summer crops including cotton, rice, sugarcane, vegetables, fodder for livestock and fruit orchards.
The Technical committee was sure that Mangla and Tarbela would be filled to their capacity of 13.1 MAF after meeting water indents of the four provinces through Indus and Mangla zone canal networks.
Meanwhile, Irsa's advisory committee comprising senior agriculture and irrigation officials of the provinces would meet in Islamabad on April 1 to draw up an irrigation plan and allocate water to the provinces according to their share under the 1991 Water Apportionment Accord.
Water experts told this scribe that due to more than normal rains in March and 2MAF water availability in the Tarbela and Mangla reservoirs, there would be no usual 15 to 25 percent shortage of water for sowing early Kharif crops this year across the country.
Sindh province is already receiving more water than its needs and after running all its irrigation canals to their capacity it is throwing huge quantities of water to the tune of 50,900 cusecs downstream the Kotri barrage in the Indus Delta wasteland.
According to March 27 river flows and reservoirs level report of Water and Power Development Authority, 132,700 cusecs water is flowing in the four live rivers at their rim stations, River Jhelum 52,700 cusecs at Mangla, River Chanab 29,400 cusecs at Head Marala, River Kabul 26,500 cusecs at Nowshera and river Indus 20,000 cusecs at Tarbela.
The report said Irsa had already started filling the Mangla and Terbala reservoirs since past three days. Out of 52,700 cusecs in River Jhelum, 40,000 cusecs water is being retained in the Mangla Dam.
MET OFFICE FORECASTS MORE RAINS
As the winter crops including staple food, wheat, oil seeds, grams are at their critical stage of maturity and need dry and hot weather, the Met office has predicted more rain-thundershowers in the country on Saturday and Sunday, such unusual rains may continue with intervals over upper parts of the country during next week.
It said rain-thundershowers accompanied by strong gusty winds with isolated heavy falls are expected in Malakand, Hazara, Peshawar, Mardan, Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan during Saturday (night)/Sunday.
Hailstorm is also expected at isolated places in Rawalpindi, Hazara, Peshawar, Kohat, Sargodha and Gujranwala divisions during the period.
WEATHER FORECAST FOR TODAY
Partly cloudy to cloudy weather conditions with rain-thunderstorm (associated with gusty winds) are expected at scattered places in upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (Malakand, Hazara, Peshawar, Mardan and Kohat divisions), Fata, north Balochistan (Quetta, Zhob, Kalat divisions), Gilgit-Baltistan, While, at isolated places in Bannu, D I Khan, Rawalpindi, Sargodha divisions and Kashmir. Hot & Dry weather is expected in other parts of the country.
WEATHER OUTLOOK NEXT 48 HOURS
Rain-thundershower associated with gusty winds is expect at scattered places in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Fata, north Balochistan (Quetta, Zhob, Kalat divisions), Islamabad, upper Punjab (Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Lahore, Sargodha, Faisalabad, Sahiwal divisions), Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, while at isolated places in South Punjab (Multan, D G Khan, Bahawalpur divisions). Dry weather is expected elsewhere in the country.
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