Indus River System Authority (Irsa) on Thursday warned about looming water crisis in the country and proposed Water Accords with Afghanistan, China and Iran on the pattern of India. "Pakistan should give top priority to water reservoirs as water crisis is deepening with each passing day." "We should sign agreements with immediate neighbours on the lines of Water Accord with India," said Chairman Irsa Sher Zaman Khan while addressing to Senate Forum for Policy Research (SFPR).
Presided over by former Chairman Senate Nayyer Hussain Bukhari, the meeting was attended by Senator Mohsin Leghari, Senator Jehanzeb Jamaldini, Senator Saud Majeed, former Senator Waseem Sajjad, former Senator Javed Jabbar, former Senator Afrasyab Khattak former Senator Engineer Rukhsana Zuberi, former Senator and Prime Minister's Special Assistant on Revenue, Haroon Akhtar Khan and former Senator Razina Alam Khan.
Former Senate Chairman said that Pakistan is facing severe water crisis and even Islamabad which is a planned city is hit by water shortage. He further argued that Water Accord between the provinces is 26 years old and needs to be reviewed in accordance with new realities. Raqib Khan Member Irsa KPK gave a detailed presentation on the water issues, availability of water and water losses.
He suggested that the country should give priority to new reservoirs after education and health. He said presently the country is facing 36 per cent water shortage.
He informed the forum that post Tarbela average (1976-77 to 2016-17) Western river inflows recorded 138.34MAF, eastern rivers 6.44MAF totalling 144.78MAF. Provincial utilization at canal head is 97.18 MAF, 18.58 MAF are system conveyance losses whereas 29.02 MAF water goes downstream Kotri.
Chairman Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) Muhammad Ashraf also gave a detailed presentation and cautioned the forum about water scarcity. He said the population is increasing at an alarming rate and is expected to touch 250 million by 2025. This will not only exert pressure on the already dwindling water resources but will also be a challenge for food security, he added.
He further said that one of the major reasons of water scarcity is inadequate storage. The per capita storage of Pakistan is far less compared to other countries. The present water storage capacity of three major reservoirs is only 9 per cent of the average annual inflow, against the world average of 40 per cent.
Due to sedimentation in the reservoirs, the capacity is being lost at a rate of 0.27 BCM per year M H Siddiqui who represented Punjab in the meeting said that 21MAF water goes into the sea each year which is equal to three Mangla dams, saying there is a need to build new reservoirs to store water in the minimum possible time to store water which is going in to the sea.
He said Wapda had prepared a 2025 Vision in which all projects are prioritized, top of which is Kalabagh dam which can be readied in five years. His remarks were not appreciated by most of the committee members including former Chairman Senate Nayyer Hussain Bukhari, who maintained that only those projects should be proposed which are non-controversial.
Senator Jehanzeb Jamaldini expressed annoyance at the mention of Kalabagh dam, saying "forget Kalabagh dam which has been opposed by three Provincial Assemblies", and added that it should not be discussed. He said 10MAF water of Balochistan also goes into the sea each year and proposed 20 small water reservoirs in Balochistan which, he added, can at least store 5MAF water but lamented that attention is not given to such projects.
Senator Saud Majeed said that Indus Water Treaty with India was not properly negotiated. He said, Southern Punjab is badly affected after water rights of three eastern rivers, especially Satluj were given to India. M H Siddique explained that Punjab's share in water from Tarbela and Mangla reservoirs is meant for South Punjab.
Haroon Akhtar Khan suggested that other departments concerned should be invited in the next meeting. He also enquired about the reasons of 36 per cent shortage in water availability. Former Senator Javed sought update on National Water Policy. Senator Mohsin Leghari proposed better management of water.
It was decided that Secretary Planning Division and Secretary Water Resources should be invited to the next meeting to get their viewpoint and that Senate Committee of the Whole should also sensitize the Senate towards this critical issue. Former Senator Engineer Rukhsana Zuberi said that the country should focus on non-controversial water reservoirs but the issue of Kalabagh dam should be left with technical experts instead of politicizing it.
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