April 15, 2008	Tuesday	Rabi-us-Sani 8, 1429

LAHORE, April 14: With the recent countrywide rain spell decreasing the intensity of demand, Pakistan has come out of water shortages and can easily meet its factual requirements for the rest of the Rabi season, according to an official of the Indus River System Authority (Irsa).

The authority has started filling dams because of additional water supply after rains. Tabela and Mangal dams now have a live storage of 464,000 cusecs, which were empty till last week.

On Monday, Tarbela Dam rose to a level of 1,381 feet against the dead level of 1,369 feet. Similarly, the Mangla Lake also stood at 1,081 feet - some 41 feet above the dead level. River flows are also steady, enabling the water managers to store additional water. On Monday, the Indus river had an inflow of 26,200 cusecs at Tarbela and the Jhelum river 44,336 cusecs at Mangla.

Tarbela Dam stood at 1,436 feet last year on the corresponding day, and had 55 per cent more water than the current storage, and Mangla Dam stood at 1,167 feet on the same day last year, with 85 per cent more storage. But river flows have now started increasing to start filling the dams.

Healthy flows in Chenab and Kabul rivers, 24,497 cusecs and 36,300 cusecs have provided a big relief to the country, the Irsa official said.

The total inflow of water on Monday stood at a healthy 131,333 cusecs, of which Sindh and Punjab were getting 40,000 cusecs and 58,000 cusecs respectively, to meet their irrigation requirements, he said.

The current cropping pattern has also contributed to water saving, the official said.

Presently, the Irsa official said, over two million acres were under wheat cultivation, which did not need any water now. The southern part of Punjab will require some water for cotton sowing after wheat harvest, which will take another two weeks. Upper and central parts of the province will need water after May 15 for rice plantation.

Over 70 per cent of wheat was sown late in Punjab and the current rains have met the third watering need of the crop and also helped save water in dams. Currently, the country does not need much water for crops and all additional water was being stored.