ISLAMABAD, Feb 21: The Indus River System Authority said all the four provinces utilised less water than their share from 22.1 per cent to 9.4 per cent between Oct 1, 2003 and Feb 20, 2004.

Data released by Irsa on Saturday showed the position of water utilized by the provinces during the current Rabi season remained lower than their share.

Punjab utilised 13.033 million acre-foot during the same period by comparison with to 15.472 MAF, which was 15.8 per cent less than its share, Sindh used 10.943 MAF against 12.068 MAF, recording 9.4 per cent lower consumption than its share, the NWFP utilised only 0.432 MAF in contrast to 0.491 MAF, 12.1 per cent less than the province's share while Balochistan utilised 0.673 MAF against 0.864 MAF, constituting 22.1 per cent lower than its share.

All four provinces utilised 25.072 MAF during the same period by comparison with a combined share of 28.895 MAF, 13.2 per cent less than their share.-APP