SIALKOT, Dec 7: Crops on more than 2.5 million acres have been badly affected in Punjab because of the water shortage resulting from the closure of Chenab River by India, says an irrigation official.

The prevailing situation has caused Pakistan Rs40 billion loss and pushed farmers into a severe financial crisis, Punjab Irrigation Department Director HM Siddiqui told journalists who visited Head Marala and other villages located along Chenab to know about the problems being faced by farmers.

He said Chenab had almost dried up and Marala-Ravi-Link Canal emanating from the river was closed three months ago. He said the water level in Bambaanwala-Ravi-Bedian Canal and Upper Chenab Canal had also dropped to a great extent. He said early release of water in Chenab by India was the only solution to the problems facing the farmers.

Other irrigation officials at Head Marala told the visiting journalists that more than 10 million acre arable land was affected in Punjab because of the Chenab closure.

The water shortage issue came to the fore when India closed Chenab and started filling Baglihar Dam for power generation and irrigation.

Agriculture experts say Chenab water stoppage will cause Rs37 billion loss to the Pakistani economy.

Chenab is the lifeline for agriculture in Head Marala downstream areas and its flow fell to the lowest level in September-October, peak time for the rice crop. Water availability also remained a concern during wheat sowing or Rabi season.

Farmers living along Chenab say agricultural lands will go barren if the prevailing water shortage persists. They say the target set for wheat produce cannot be met in these circumstances.

More than two dozen fish farms along Chenab have also dried up because of the river closure. Fish farmers Bashir Ahmad, Allah Rakha, Khalid Mehmood, Roshan Din and Muhammad Aslam said they were suffering financial losses and it was becoming difficult to continue fish farming.