Official sources told Business Recorder that provincial government has fixed a production target of 10 million bales of cotton to be sown over 6 million acres of land. The government is taking special measures to increase production of cotton which is the basic raw material for the textile industry and the main source of the country's foreign exchange earnings.
The other major cash crop, rice will be sown over 4.4 million acres of land to produce 3.5 million tons of good quality rice as the growers are not getting profitable price of their produced crop, the government had to provide special incentives for increasing production of this exportable commodity. Sugarcane, the most water intensive crop has been sown over 1.8 million acres of land to cater the needs of over 45 sugar mills set up in the province. Similarly fodder for the livestock is being sown over 2.2 million acres and other minor Kharif crops and season vegetables over one million acres in 34 districts of the province.
The Irrigation Consultant Punjab and canal regulator M H Siddiqui told this scribe that water inflow in the four live rivers has decreased due to low temperature in regions. He said the position of water inflow in the rivers on Friday was as under:
Rivers: Indus at Tarbela: Inflows 46900 cusecs and Outflows 60000 cusecs, Kabul at Naushera: Inflows 27900 cusecs and Outflows 27900 cusecs, Jhelum at Mangla: Inflows 51300 cusecs and Outflows 70000 cusecs, Chenab at Marala: Inflows 23000 cusecs and Outflows 4500 cusecs.
Barrages: Jinnah: Inflows 92600 cusecs and Outflows 85600 cusecs, Chashma: Inflows 90800 cusecs and Outflows 80000 cusecs, Taunsa: Inflows 75900 cusecs and Outflows 69300 cusecs, Panjnad: Inflows 20800 cusecs and Outflows11800 cusecs, Guddu: Inflows 55100 cusecs and Outflows 55100 cusecs, Sukkur: Inflows 46200 cusecs and Outflows 13600 cusecs, Kotri: Inflows 8600 cusecs and Outflows Nil.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2017