HYDERABAD, Oct 28: The chairman of the Indus River System Authority (Irsa), Mohammad Khan Memon, said on Saturday that the authority had proposed a scheme to the federal government for determining water losses in the process of distribution of water between barrages on the River Indus.

He said that the telemetry system installed by Wapda, which was worth Rs340 million, was not measuring properly the water discharges and withdrawals and the fact had been admitted by the prime minister’s inspection team as well.

Since the system was releasing incorrect measurement it was leading to complaints and the same went true for the discharge observation cell in Lahore monitored by Sindh government officials. “There are too many discrepancies,” he remarked.

Speaking to journalists at the Sindh Abadgar Board’s office after meeting with agriculturists and a group of growers at the office of Sindh Chamber of Agriculture (SCA), he warned that 14 per cent water shortage was expected during Rabi season this year.

SAB Chief Abdul Majeed Nizamani and SCA head Qamaruzzaman Shah were also present at the meetings.

Mr Memon said that water apportionment accord of 1991 made no mention of distribution losses between different barrages of the river system. The authority therefore had proposed a PC-1 for a scheme for determining the quantum of such losses, he said.

“The scheme is to be approved by the central government,” the chairman, who is from Sindh, told a questioner. Such losses in a year were estimated at 70 per cent between two different barrages, he said.

He said that he would ensure that Water Accord 1991 was implemented in letter and spirit. The water distribution was currently being done in line with the accord and no decision of a ministerial committee on water management was in force, he said.

“I will try to do justice to my job and it will be a misfortune if I fail to live up to the expectations of people,” he said and admitted that Sindh had been treated unfairly as far as water the distribution of water was concerned.

He advised the growers to call for the formation of a think-tank in the province to assess water requirements before water releases and indent so that proper withdrawals could be made. Such a think-tank was already working in the Punjab, he said.

“The demand has to come from the growers of this province so that actual requirements can be assessed,” he said.

The Punjab was operating its own network for water distribution and the Sindh province should also consider a scheme in the wake of some intra-provincial water mismanagement complaints.

The Irsa chairman was non-committal on the construction of new water reservoirs and said that people’s opinion should be respected. “It’s a technical matter and water availability regarding a reservoir should be assessed,” he said in reply to a questioner.

He said that the sedimentation in the dams had also contributed to water shortage. Around 20maf of water had flowed downstream Kotri this year. “Since we do not have figures for losses we assume 15 per cent system losses which can be more than or less than 15 per cent,” he said.

He supported the idea of digging a channel from Kotri Barrage up to Kharo Chhan to carry 5,000 cusec of water downstream to meet the area’s water needs.

SAB Chairman Abdul Majeed Nizamani informed the Irsa chief about the affects of injudicious distribution of water. The total cultivated area of the province had shrunk to 3.15 million hectares from 4.2 million hectares whereas the Punjab’s had increased to 16 million from 13 million hectares, he said.