Staff reporter Islamabad
The Indus River System Authority (Irsa) has revealed that India is interfering with the water flow of Chenab at the point of Baglihar that has reduced the water inflow from the neighbouring country, sources said on Saturday.
The Water and Power Development Authority has said that outflow of water from major water reservoirs has been less than inflow.
A spokesperson of the WAPDA, amid reports of water shortage, said that inflow at Tarbela water reservoir has been recorded at 63,300 cusecs, while the outflow from the dam remained 60,000 cusecs.
He said the inflow of water at Mangla Dam was recorded at 50,700 cusecs, while the outflow from the reservoir remained 50,000 cusecs.
The inflow of water at Chashma Lake recorded 92,600 cusecs, while the outflow from the reservoir remained 90,000 cusecs, according to the spokesperson.
Moreover, the water inflow in Chenab River at Marala headworks was recorded 24,600 cusecs, while the outflow remained 5,000 cusecs, the spokesperson stated.
The water reservoir at Tarbela recorded 71,000 acres of feet and 4,75,000 acres of feet at Mangla Dam, according to the spokesperson.
The water at Chashma Lake reservoir has been recorded at 128,000 acres of feet. Overall water at Tarbela, Mangla and Chashma reservoirs has been 674,000 acres of feet, the spokesperson added.
The Indus River System Authority has stated that the water shortages for Sindh and Punjab went up to 32 percent on Friday as river flows continued to drop and reservoirs at both Mangla and Tarbela dams neared dead level.
The IRSA said it reviewed the overall water situation and decided to apply 32 percent shortages to the two larger provinces instead of 23 percent shortage at present.
According to the Ministry of Water Resources, Pakistan’s stored water has plummeted to 1 million acre-feet, though it stood at 7 million acre-feet during the corresponding period last year.
The prevailing water situation in the country could delay rice sowing, as cotton sowing in Punjab was already in process and completed in Sindh. However, there is no imminent threat to drinking water supplies in the provinces.
