The World Bank has offered support to Indus River System Authority for its capacity building and cut water lines losses from Tarbela dam downward to far off Kotri barrage in Sindh to conserve maximum fresh water for drinking and crop Irrigation purposes. Punjab Irrigation department sources told Business Recorder that a World Bank delegation held a meeting with IRSA on Tuesday which was attended by senior water expert of the four provinces to deliberate upon the current and future water outlook of Pakistan's water resources.
It may be recalled that the World Bank had facilitated the most enduring Indus Water Treaty for apportionment of rivers water between the two estranged neighbours Pakistan and India in 1962. Currently there are divergences of views among the provinces over the desirability of constructing water reservoirs. Since the river Indus and its tributaries are the life line of the four the provinces, the dwindling flows in the rivers has given rise to the provincial tensions, over the sharing of this precious re source which was once considered infinite.
Veteran water expert and consultant to Punjab government Eng. M.H. Siddiqi who represented Punjab in the meeting told this scribe that there are widen difference between the estimates of water line losses of Punjab and Sindh. Punjab estimates that 15 percent water is lost in transmission; Sindh says it is about 40 percent; this has disturbed the distribution of water among four provinces according to 1991 water accord.
1. The World Bank has advised IRSA to install dependable Telemetry System at the barrages over the Indus river; a tool for water management. This will help monitor transparent and real time water transactions between Tarbela dam and Kotri barrage for correct estimates of water losses and resolution of this dangerous issue between the two provinces. He said that IRSA would also take some other measures for better management and economical use of this life line resource.
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