March 29, 2002	Friday	Muharram 14, 1423

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ISLAMABAD, March 28: Accusing the government of taking a series of anti-Punjab decisions, the Punjab Water Council (PWC) on Thursday demanded abolition of 1991 water apportionment accord.

Speaking at a news conference Hamid Malhi, Coordinator PWC, listed a number of measures taken by the present government during the last three years that the council claimed were Sindh-centric.

“PWC completely rejects the (water) accord and vows to work in harmony with other partners to evolve a mutually acceptable equitable distribution of existing and future water resources. Until then water should be distributed on the principles of historic use (1977-82),” said Hamid Malhi.

He also criticized Wapda’s Vision-2025 water sector programme and termed it “a glaring example of denial of rights of Punjab. In its first phase of seven billion dollars, Punjab gets a mere 18 per cent which is a joke,” he said.

The PWC coordinator said the chief executive’s directive of March 2002 caused a forced closure of all Punjab canals on March 15 and farmers were left without crucial canal water for their orchards, wheat, sugarcane, fodder and other crops. Even drinking water for humans and animals was stopped for 30 days in areas where canals were already closed under a rotation plan during the first half of March 2002. A similar directive in March 2001 gifted 5,000 cusecs for one month to Sindh causing major losses to the Punjab farmers.

Pleading that the practice of gifts and sacrifices should be discontinued, the PWC official also criticized President Musharraf for shifting the headquarters of Irsa from Lahore to Islamabad and appointment of a Sindh nominee as a federal member.

Another directive of October 23, 2000, annulled the inter-ministerial agreement of 1994. “These one-sided directives are a clear interference against the spirit of the accord of 1991.”

Mr Malhi said that the closure of Chashma-Jhelum and Taunsa-Panjnad link canals had badly affected the farmers of southern Punjab.

He said that unless new dams were built it was not possible to distribute extra water.

The storage capacity of existing dams has been reduced by 25 per cent due to siltation and the government has miserably failed to construct new dams as provided in para 6 of the accord.