Reservoirs would be filled by the mid of August and the provinces are getting supplies as per their indents, said Indus River System Authority (Irsa) Chairman Muhammad Khan Memon on Thursday. Speaking at a meeting chaired by the minister for water and power Liaquat Ali Jatoi, Memon said that around 9 percent water had been released to provinces as compared to last year.
Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) has been supplied about 6 MAF of water for power generation, which is unprecedented, said an official statement issued here after the meeting. The minister showed his displeasure on the failure of the Irsa for not operationalising the telemetry system.
The minister said that an exclusive meeting would be held next week to review operationalisation of the system in the light of recommendations of the international expert appointed by the World Bank. Jatoi, showing his satisfaction on the water availability, said that more monitoring of the reservoirs would be required after attaining maximum conservation levels.
He also told the meeting that the Prime Minister has doubled the funds for the flood protection schemes and special attention would be paid to affected areas of Sindh & Balochistan. Director General Met Office said that during August, above normal rainfalls are expected in the catchment areas and by 8th of August, Sindh would get another spell of monsoon rainfall. However, the spell might not affect Balochistan.