Members of Indus River System Authority (Irsa) visited Chashma Right Bank Canal (CRBC) on river Indus in Dera Ismail Khan district on Tuesday to ensure provision of irrigation water to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) according to its share under 1991 water distribution accord.
The Punjab Irrigation Department sources told Business Recorder that both KP and Punjab were not getting their share of water from the CRBC due to damage to the canal during last year's devastating floods. It may be added that in the Water Accord 1991, 8.78 MAF of the perennial flows for surface water was allocated for NWFP under para-2 of the accord, which is 7.5% of the total allocation under this para. Similarly, under flood water 14% share was allocated for NWFP. Presently, the withdrawal situation is far below the allocation averaging at 5.97 MAF against KP government had been agitating in the Irsa meetings.
Sources said that Water and Power Development Authority had been demanding of the KP and the Punjab province to share the cost of repairs of the canal, whereas the provinces insist that Wapda should carry out these repairs from its own funds. Sources said that CRBC emanating from right bank of river Indus at Chashma barrage has the capacity to flow with 5,000 cusecs water out of which 3500 cusecs is to be used by KP while 1800 cusecs water is to be used by Punjab at its tail end in Taunsa area of district DG Khan. Presently, the canal is running with only 3,500 cusecs water, they added.
Meanwhile Irsa has substantially increased water releases from Tarbela and Mangla reservoirs to augment hydel power generation to the level of 3800MW, a net increase of 1300MW in a couple of days. It is releasing 40,000 cusecs downstream the Tarbela dam against the inflow of 39,100 cusecs in the Indus river. It is discharging 50,000 cusecs downstream the Mangla dam on river Jhelum against the inflow of 63,700 cusecs water. 67,000 cusecs water is being flowed downstream the Chashma barrage in river Indus towards Taunsa and Guddu barrages. Due to hot weather in the upper regions, water inflow in river Kabul has gone up to 33,800 cusecs and 28,200 cusecs in river Chenab.