LAHORE, Aug 24: The country may suffer up to 60 per cent of water shortage if there are no flood-generating rains in the remaining monsoon season. According to the projections prepared by Punjab, the shortage may be anywhere between 50 to 60 per cent.

These calculations are based upon the current behaviour of rivers and may go wrong if there is any flood situation by mid-September, when the current monsoon season ends. The Indus River System Authority (Irsa) has convened a meeting of its Technical Committee on 31st to discuss water distribution during September and finalize projections for next Rabi.

Talking about the possibility of any flood during the next two weeks, an official of the Punjab Irrigation Department said that flood normally comes by early or mid-September.

The famous flood at Mangla in the early nineties also occurred on September 9. Rivers Ravi, Sutlej and Chenab may have floods in the next two weeks though there is no forecast for it as yet. The Meteorological Department has predicted normal rains during this monsoon but any cloud burst in India can also help improve these rivers, he said.

According to officials of the Punjab Irrigation Department, the department was running all canals in the province at their full capacity and would continue doing so till 31st. Distribution for the month of September would be finalised by Irsa.

Meanwhile, the Indus River has started falling because of low temperatures in Northern Areas. It came down to 145,000 cusecs on Tuesday from 158,000 cusecs a day earlier.

The Tarbela dam stood at 1487.7 feet, some 62.3 feet below the full conservation level, on Tuesday whereas it was full to its capacity on the same day last year. There is a possibility that Tarbela dam may not get filled this year, and it would be for the first time in the history of the dam if this happens.

Similarly, Mangla dam was also at 1204.5 on August 24 last year against full conservation of 1202 feet. This year, the dam is stuck at 1168 feet and is only inching upwards because of low inflows in River Jehlum. The only consolation point on Tuesday was flow of Chenab river that was 53,000 cusecs and helping the country meet its major irrigation requirements.