ISLAMABAD, April 13: For the second time in 10 days, Wapda has asked for more water discharges but again it has been rejected by the provinces on the grounds that it will amount to a sheer wastage of what is fundamentally precious irrigation water.
The Indus River System Authority (Irsa) convened within 10 days the second meeting of its advisory committee on Friday to discuss Wapda’s energy crisis and request for extra water supply for power generation.
Wapda has requested that water discharges from Tarbela dam should be increased to 45,000 cusec immediately and further to 55,000 cusec by April 21.
On April 4, Irsa had declined a Wapda request for an increase in releases from 15,000 to 30,000 cusec from Mangla dam and from 28,000 to 35,000 cusec from Tarbela dam. Later, Irsa succumbed to the government’s pressure and increased releases from Mangla and Tarbela to 40,000 and 37,000 cusec, respectively.
Sources told Dawn that the provinces demanded that flows in the Indus system had in fact necessitated a reduction in discharges because of a continued rise in flows, particularly in the Kabul river.
Sindh demanded that discharges from Tarbela dam should be stopped altogether or reduced to 37,000 cusec instead of the current 40,000 cusec because the Kabul flows had risen to 59,000 cusec and was enough to meet the requirements in Sindh and Balochistan.
This prompted Punjab to reiterate its position for the development of more storages on the Indus river on urgent basis as it would increase the power generation and overcome energy crisis by controlling Kabul, Swat, Haro and Kurram rivers, from where more than three million acre feet (MAF) water was received in March and April 2007.
Punjab’s representatives demanded that discharges should not be increased from the reservoirs because this would affect the ongoing repair works at the Taunsa barrage. They said the Chashma barrage had reached its maximum storage level and Chashma-Jhelum canal was also flowing at full capacity.
This coupled with higher flows in Kabul would damage the Taunsa barrage structure, they added.
The meeting was informed that Wapda had not been able to utilise more than 35,900 cusec because of failure of its units at Mangla, although Irsa had allowed 37,000 cusec under special circumstances.
Sindh objected to excess releases from the Tarbela reservoir and requested Irsa to adjust these as per provincial indents. It said water over and above the provincial demands should be conserved so that the provinces could be supplied water on sustainable basis and without any cut even during a possible tumbling period of May and June.
The committee noted with satisfaction the prevailing water situation and said that water should be conserved in the reservoirs in the best national interest.
It was decided to maintain a status quo until April 20 and a position review on April 21 keeping in view the prevailing water situation and Sindh’s objection. The meeting was presided over by Irsa chairman Mohammad Khan Memon.
