ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is facing an acute water shortage of 38% for irrigationpurposes amid the Kharif season which commenced on April 1 with the sowingof major crops, including cotton, sugarcane, rice and maize.
The Indus River System Authority (IRSA), regulating and monitoring thedistribution of water sources of the Indus River among all the fourfederating units, gave a presentation to the National Assembly’s StandingCommittee on Water Resources on Thursday.
The authority said that the water shortage has now turned worse than theearlier projected shortage of 22%. Presently, there is a water shortage of38%, hitting hard the two major crop-producing provinces — Punjab and Sindh— and affecting the current crops sowing pattern.
Nawab Yousaf Talpur chaired the meeting and Federal Minister for WaterResources Khursheed Shah, Sindh’s Minister for Irrigation Jam Khan Shoroand other officials attended the meeting. The committee constituted a panelcomprising representatives of the federal government, Punjab and Sindh toaddress the concerns of the provinces and give recommendations regardingthe fair distribution of water among the federating units.
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The committee will gauge water inflow and outflow positions at the Gudduand Sukkur Barrages and their subsidiary canals on Friday. At the sametime, it is also tasked with giving recommendations regarding the fairdistribution of water among the federating units.
