Irsa expects Kharif season to start with carryover stocks
By Khaleeq Kiani
ISLAMABAD, March 25: The Indus River System Authority (Irsa) is expecting to start Kharif season with major carryover stocks of up to 4.5 million acre feet (MAF) of water following completion of Rabi season on a positive note.
“We are expecting sufficient carryover and there would be no shortage at least in early Kharif,” an Irsa member told Dawn on Sunday, adding the authority would finalise its forecast for the entire Kharif season next week on the basis of past pattern and expected rainfalls. Last year, Kharif season had taken off with a major shortfall.
Irsa sources said that major reservoirs had water storage of about 3.4 million acre feet by now and the discharges had been reduced drastically in the last few days. Most of the river flows from now on would keep on adding to the storage and close somewhere between four and 4.5 MAF by Kharif, starting April 1, 2007.
A meeting of the Irsa’s technical committee has been convened on Tuesday to take stock of the expected water availability and consider provincial watering schedules for cotton and rice crops among others. This will be followed by another meeting in the first week of April of the advisory committee to finalise water distribution plan for the next season.
The sources said the sufficient water supplies, including timely rains in the Rabi, had a very good impact particularly on wheat crop that is likely to end up with a production exceeding 22.5 million tons. They, however, said recent rains have somehow affected the crop in Hafizabad and adjoining areas. Any rain from now on would cause damage to the crop in other parts because it was well into the harvest.
The sources said Tarbela and Mangla dams and Chashma barrage currently had storage of about 1.2 MAF, 1.8 MAF and 0.3 MAF, respectively, and it would increase significantly in the remaining few days of the current season.
Irsa has reduced withdrawal from Tarbela Dam to 15,000 cusec on Saturday from about 38,000 cusec over the last week. Likewise, outflows from Mangla were also reduced to 18,000 cusec this weekend against inflows of about 64,300 cusec. This means that about 50,000 cusec water was being stored at present in two major reservoirs.
Similarly, the releases to the Chashma-Jhelum canal has also been maximised to 21,000 cusec to reduce pressure downstream Chashma where repair works are in advanced stage and could be damaged by heavy flows.
This is after many years that Kharif would start with a reasonable carryover and without shortage. Usually, the entire storage is utilised in the Rabi season because of last crop watering. This year, however, this requirement was met through timely rains across the country.
Last year both the major crops of Kharif – cotton and rice – were delayed due to water shortage in excess of 24 per cent.
