Tarbela Dam has lost its live storage capacity by about one-third, from 9.5 million acre feet (MAF) to nearly 6 MAF, and water availability during March and April further squeezes. Consultant of Irrigation Department MH Siddiqi told farmers and media men here on Thursday.

He said that he had raised the issue with quarters concerned for enhancing water storage capacity on River Indus. "Mangla Dam is filled with water from early-melting of glaciers of lower and mid-levels. As we started to store water to Mangla for subsequent use in Rabi for wheat sowing, Sindh starts raising objections on storage mechanism and demands water for use from March April," he said.

"Water level of Mangla needs to be raised to 1180ft till May 20 by storing water into lakes. We want to ensure its filling to full capacity in later months when its flows dwindles fast unlike River Indus," he said.Sharing his experience of water sector with the participants, he explained the Indus Water Treaty with special focus on Indian mindset. He also shared views about water apportionment accord and role of IRSA in smooth sharing of water among provinces. He said development of additional water reservoirs on urgent basis assumes an utmost importance for ending early Kharif water shortages of Sindh and Balochistan provinces.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2017