Punjab irrigation department has released 100,000 cusecs water in the perennial and non-perennial irrigation canals of the province for sowing the summer Kharif crops; rice, cotton, sugarcane, vegetables and fodder. Talking to Business Recorder here on Thursday, Punjab canal regulator and consultant M H Siddiqui said that Punjab was drawing about 50,000 cusecs water from Mangla zone and 50,000 cusecs from the Tarbela zone.
He said that rains had delayed harvest of Rabi crops particularly wheat for about two weeks in the province. However, harvesting in central and south Punjab had almost completed, he added. Siddiqui said: "We are running 2,000 cusecs water in the greater Thal canal and 8,000 cusecs water in the Thal canal to irrigate crops in the Bakkar and Layyah districts. Punjab is getting 1,063 cusecs water."
According to May 12 Wapda report, the Indus River System Authority has further increased the water releases from Tarbela dam downstream from 81,000 cusecs to 89,000 cusecs on Thursday. With the valuable contribution of 46,700 cusecs water by the river Kabul to the Indus zone, 115,700 cusecs water is now flowing downstream the Jinnah barrage on river Indus. Water inflow in river Indus at Guddu barrage has also been steadily increasing. The water inflow at Guddu and Sukkur barrages was 63,300 cusecs and 53,400 cusecs respectively on Thursday.