By Ahmad Fraz Khan
The IRSA has rejected Punjab’s demand for running the Chashma-Jhelum link canal to its capacity.—File Photo
LAHORE: The Indus River System Authority (Irsa) has rejected Punjab’s demand for running the Chashma-Jhelum link canal to its capacity. Water was released into the canal on Wednesday after a one-month break.
The Punjab government made the demand on Thursday, citing risks to three million acres in the cotton-growing region.
However, Irsa kept the canal discharge at 5,000 cusecs against Punjab’s demand of 18,000 cusecs and told the province to draw additional water from Mangla Dam as it had done in the second half of June.
Punjab accused Irsa of ‘rigging canal operations’. Irsa had earlier reduced water releases from Taunsa-Pajnad canal to 3,000 cusecs, against Punjab’s demand of 14,000 cusecs, after a meeting presided over by President Asif Ali Zardari in Karachi on June 25.
The Chashma-Jhelum link canal was closed on June 14 and opened on Wednesday with a discharge of 5,000 cusecs.
Writing to Irsa on Thursday, the government of Punjab expressed reluctance to draw additional water from Mangla for two reasons: it would compromise chances of filling the dam and cause heavy conveyance losses while feeding the far-flung southern part of the province over dry beds of river and canals.
Punjab claimed that heavy withdrawal from the dam in June had jeopardised chances of its filling and an additional water release now would only seal its fate for this season.
The Mangla reservoir level stood at 1,176.35 feet. But the level should be 1,193 feet if the lake had to be filled up to 1,210 feet as planned by the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) after raising the dam’s height.
Even if the level has to be kept at the usual 1,202 feet, the reservoir should have been at 1,183 feet on Thursday.
The June withdrawals have reduced the level by 14 feet and any further reduction would serve only to empty the reservoir, it claimed.
Taking water from Mangla to the canal command area (Jhang, Multan, Lodhran, Bahawalpur and Vehari) causes around 30 per cent transportation losses against 10 per cent in case of the link canal.
If the Mangla reservoir was not filled this season, all Rabi crops sown on 13 million acres would come under stress, the province said.
‘With water reduced to 5,000 cusecs, there will be a severe water shortage at Trimmu headworks which feeds the five districts and the cotton crop will be hit.
‘There is no denying that Irsa controls water operations in the country and Punjab has to follow its instructions, but we also want to fix the responsibility if the Mangla Dam is not filled and for continued shortage at Trimmu headworks hitting three million acres of cotton crop,’ says an official of the Punjab irrigation department.
DAWN: Friday, 17 Jul, 2009
Balochistan, Sindh urge Irsa to close link canal
SUKKUR: The irrigation ministers of Sindh and Balochistan on Wednesday urged the Indus River System Authority chairman to close Chashma-Jehlum link canal and reminded him that it canal was a flood canal, not perennial.
Balochistan Irrigation Minister Sardar Mir Aslam Bizenjo and Sindh Irrigation Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said at a press conference after attending a meeting on water-sharing between the two provinces that the irrigation department of Punjab had raised gates of the canal and 1,700 cusec water was flowed into it.
They said that it was a flood canal and its use for getting water was against the 1991 water accord.
They demanded that the Irsa chairman increase quantity of water downstream from Tarbella Dam, Chashma and Taunsa Barrage so that Sindh could receive more water and be able to give Balochistan its share easily.
They said that a committee consisting of the chief engineer of irrigation Balochistan and two chief engineers of Sukkur Barrage had been formed, which would meet twice a month.
Efforts would be made to overcome problem of shortage of irrigation water in Balochistan, they said.
Mr Shah said that contrary to Irsa’s claim that shortage of water would be between four to five per cent in the second week of current month but physically the shortage stood between 12 to 14 per cent at present. Despite that they would try their best to provide water to Balochistan, he said.
He said that Balochistan’s complaint about theft of water from Khirthar canal would be redressed.
Mr Bizenjo said that Balochistan needed 400 cusec of water at the moment and the Sindh minister had assured him that the shortage would be overcome within two to four days.
He denied the allegation people of Balochistan and employees of irrigation department stole water at gunpoint from Garang regulator.
Balochistan minister Rustam Khan Jamali said that if water was not provided to Balochistan according to the commitment then they would be free to record their protest.
The irrigation ministers of the two provinces met at the office of the executive engineer of barrage division to discuss the water problem. The meeting was attended among others by MNA Mir Changez Jamali and chief engineer irrigation Ibrahim Rind from Balichistan and chief engineer irrigation Sindh Zafarullah Mahar, chief engineer of right bank Sukkur Barrage Agha Aijaz Ahmed, chief engineer of Left Bank Haroon Memon.
Aurangzeb Khattak represented the Indus River System Authority.
DAWN:July 17, 2009
