The Indus River System Authority (Irsa) has rejected Sindh's demand for water distribution as per para-2 of Water Apportionment Accord 1991. The Irsa's advisory committee, which met here on Tuesday under the chairmanship of Aman Gul Khattak, however, stamped 17 percent water shortages during the Rabi season, which started from October 1 and would end by March 31.
On September 28, the technical committee of Irsa had anticipated 17 percent water shortage in Rabi. An official who attended the meeting told Business Recorder that the advisory committee did not accept the demand of Sindh seeking water distribution under para-2 of Water Accord. Rather, the committee decided to distribute water among the four federating units on 1977-1982 historical average system, which is the existing distribution mechanism.
The official said that the water regulatory body's viewpoint in the meeting was that since there was water shortage across the country, under the Accord it was not possible to invoke para-2, as it can only be invoked when there is no shortage of water.
He said that in case of water distribution under Para 2, Sindh would have 5 million acre-feet (MAF) more water than its share allocated under the existing historical average water distribution system. The official said that Sindh had also demanded that water shortages should be passed on to NWFP and Balochistan, but the advisory committee also rejected this demand, saying that water shortages can only be shared by big federating units Punjab and Sindh.
The official said that Punjab demanded closure of Taunsa barrage for 10-week period for repairing purpose, but the committee showed reservation on it, saying that repair work of Sukkar barrage was initiated actively during off peak season, but the repair work was completed timely to ensure water supply to Sindh as Sukkar barrage is the lifeline of Sindh.