Indus River System Authority (Irsa) has been suffering due to lack of skilled manpower to successfully regulate and monitor the state-of-the-art telemetry system installed at a cost of Rs 250 million to collect actual data regarding water releases from the reservoirs and barrages, Business Recorder learnt on Friday. In this connection, the water body has sought recruitment of about 46 trained and professional staff from the ministry of water & power to run the system, sources said.
Credible sources in the ministry revealed that establishment division through a notification has earlier barred the Irsa from appointing the required skilled staff for the purpose.
In addition, Irsa's Chairman Aman Gul Khattak on Thursday held a detailed meeting with the higher authorities and handed over a list of about 46 staff, which was trained by the Siemens Company that installed the entire telemetry system, sources pointed out.
Irsa had been demanding the skilled staff like helpers and fitters to calibrate system but the ministry is still undecided about such an important national issue.
At present, only nine officials of the Irsa including engineers, technicians and sub-engineers are looking after the telemetry system, which is not enough to collect the actual data of water release, sources added.
The ministry has however assured the chairman Irsa that their demand pertaining to recruitment would be met soon after reviewing the financial and administrative aspects, it was learnt.
The telemetry system was installed at about 23 strategically important locations of the country, out of which about nine points were closed on Wednesday due to shortage of the staff.
Sources also informed this correspondent that Irsa might appoint those manpower, which was imparted training by the Siemens. These helpers and fitters have also worked with the company to run the system for about six months.
Senior official of the authority said that Irsa would prefer the list of 46 men for recruitment because training of new staff for regulating the telemetry system could take more than six months. He however said that the ministry has principally agreed to the Irsa request.
It may be recalled that the system, which was commissioned in March last year, has now been handed over to Irsa in September. The water authority through this system is now able to get reliable data but the untrained staff and financial constraints were creating operational hurdles, official remarked.
Sources informed that the company, which had installed the system, had given three months to Irsa to make its own arrangement for calibration of the telemetry system.
The telemetry system has been installed for central recording and monitoring of the water releases from Irsa headquarters in Islamabad to remove allegations of water theft that some provinces levelled from time to time against each others due to the confusion about releases being caused by manual recordings.