The water regulatory body has reduced water outflow from the Tarbela reservoir from 70,000 cusecs to 55,000 cusecs and off Mangla dam from 75,000 cusecs to 50,000 cusecs as there has been a marked increase in the running water in the other two lives rivers Kabul and Chanab to maintain the level of water availability to the provinces for sowing the Kharif crops mainly rice, cotton, sugarcane, fodder for livestock, summer vegetables and fruit orchards.
According to May 10 water report of WAPDA, about position of the river inflows and outflows at Tarbela, Mangla and Chashma along with the reservoirs levels and the barrages: the water inflow in river Kabul has gone up from 31,000 to 50,300 cusecs at Nowshera and in river Chanab from 29.000 to 41,700 cusecs at Marala. The water inflow in the river Indus at Tarbela was 70,300 cusecs and in river Jhelum at Mangla was 64900 cusecs.
The present water level in the Tarbela dam is 1394 ft against its maximum height of 1550 ft with the storage capacity of 6 million acre feet. The water level in the up-graded Mangla dam is 1126 ft against its maximum height of 1242 ft having storage capacity of 7.4 MAF water Punjab Irrigation consultant Eng. M.H. Siddiqui told Business Recorder on Wednesday that Punjab was presently drawing about 80,000 cusecs water from the Indus and Mangla zones. It is utilizing all the running water of the river Chanab and drawing 17,000 cusecs water from the Indus zone through Thal canal, CJ link canal D.G. Khan and Muzaffar Gargh canals. From the Mangla dam it was drawing 18,000 cusecs water through Rasul - Qadirabad link canal and providing 22,000 cusecs water through Qadirabad - Balloki link canal to the command areas of the river Ravi and Sutlej in south Punjab.
He said Punjab is supplying 22500 cusecs water to Sindh province downstream the PUNJNAD headworks. The water inflow at Guddu barrage was 70900 cusecs and Outflows 69400 cusecs, Sukkur: Inflows 60200 cusecs and Outflows 25100 cusecs, Kotri: Inflows 8900 cusecs and Outflows Nil.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2017