IRSA Warned of 30% Water Shortage for Kharif Crops

The Indus River Authority (IRSA) has warned Pakistan may experience a 30% water shortage for crops during the Kharif season. Kharif is the crop-growing season from April to September in Pakistan.

The water crisis for growing crops is due to the Water and Power Development Authority’s (Wapda) inability to remove restrictions on Tarbela and Mangla Dams. It puts numerous cash crops at risk.

Water distribution under three-tier formula to continue despite Sindh's opposition as matter pending before CCI

Read more: https://t.co/cHgz4xSraC #GeoNews
— Geo English (@geonews_english) April 3, 2024

The IRSA Advisory Committee (IAC) expects the initial 30% water shortage during the early Kharif season will decrease to 7% over time. However, if Wapda doesn’t solve the output restrictions of Tarbela Dam, the situation can worsen in the early Kharif season. It might negatively impact rice and cotton seedlings in Sindh.

The output restrictions of Tarbela Dam refer to limitations on the amount of water that can be released from the Tarbela Dam. The development follows the IAC meeting chaired by IRSA Chairman Abdul Hameed Mengal who warned of a 30% water shortage for the Kharif season.

Five IRSA members, the secretaries of the irrigation departments of the four provinces, and other officials also attended the meeting. The purpose of the meeting was to approve the Water Availability Criteria for Kharif 2024. The schedule for this to occur in Islamabad from April to September 2024.

Click here to read updates on Children died in a house collapse during heavy rains in Kharan

An official from the Sindh Irrigation Department said no water would be available for below Kotri water releases. They are essential to stop the sea intrusion into Sindh’s agricultural land during the early Kharif season. It occurs from April 1 to June 10.

The official also said some 3.5 million acres of agricultural land in Sindh had been damaged since 1956 due to sea intrusion. This is because below-Kotri water supplies are unavailable. Sindh opposed the water distribution system based on the three-tier formula.

However, IRSA insisted that the three-tier formula is still in effect. Because the matter was still pending with the Council of Common Interests (CCI). CCI is a constitutional body in Pakistan that resolves power-sharing disputes between the federation and its provinces.

The three-tier formula for water use in Pakistan is a system to distribute water from the Indus River System to the provinces of Pakistan. It allocates water resources among the provinces of Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan.

Sindh and Punjab have both said that the other is to blame for the highest water losses in their areas. Sindh said losses were around 40%, while Punjab said they were only 20%.