HYDERABAD: The Indus River System Authority (Irsa) on Thursday accepted Sindh’s request for release of water to the province over and above its share from April 6.

Irsa’s decision is the outcome of its Sindh member Mohammad Ehsanul Haq Leghari’s recent move to take up the issue of increasing values of TDS (total dissolved solids) in Indus water at Kotri Barrage.

The constantly rising TDS values had turned water in Hyderabad’s vital reservoirs unfit for human consumption, according to lab tests performed in the last week of March.

Irsa’s spokesman Khalid Idris Rana told Dawn on Thursday that Sindh had first placed an indent (demand for flows) as per its share i.e. 35,000 cusecs and then a fresh indent of 41,000 cusecs was submitted. “Irsa has agreed to release 41,000 cusecs, which is over and above Sindh’s share, for the current month from Saturday (April 6),” he said.

A few thousand cusecs of additional water supplies for Sindh would be released from Panjnad downstream within the next 48 hours, he said on Thursday, adding that when the 41,000 cusecs of flows would enter Sindh, the ‘second 10 daily’ of April would have started.

Irsa agrees to increase supply from 35,000 to 41,000 cusecs

Mr Leghari said he had submitted the request to Irsa so that drinking water needs of cities could be met.

He said the additional supplies would help meet irrigation requirement as well.

He said Irsa was told that if there would be over and above the allocation of indent, then it could be adjusted later. He told Dawn that this 6,000 cusecs of water would be adjusted later on; when there would be surplus water in monsoon season in Sindh.

Wasa resumes lifting water from Indus

With the release of flows downstream Kotri and Sukkur barrages, the Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) on Wednesday started lifting water from Indus to fill its lagoons, meant for drinking water supply to consumers in Hyderabad, according to the agency’s Managing Director Zishan Malik.

He said Indus discharges at Sukkur downstream had now increased and simultaneously a few hundred cusecs were released downstream Kotri Barrage — Wasa’s principal source of drinking water supply.

Sukkur Barrage downstream discharge was recorded at 6,200 cusecs on March 29 which dropped to below 6,000 on the next couple of days.

Wasa raised the issue at relevant forums with evidence of increasing TDS values in its reservoirs coupled with discharges of Manchhar lake’s toxic waters into Indus. Accordingly, the Sindh irrigation authorities increased discharges downstream Sukkur as Wasa had to stop lifting water from Indus a few days back due to its deteriorating quality.

Wasa had also informed the authorities concerned that it was left with a water storage sufficient only for two-three days.

On Wednesday (April 3), discharges from downstream Sukkur Barrage increased to 7,550 cusecs and on the following day the same volume of discharge was recorded. These flows would take about a week’s time to reach Kotri.

Life-threatening contamination

Wasa raises SOS whenever Indus water quality gets deteriorated due to abnormal values of TDS or other parameters in view of the May 2004 situation, which had caused close to 50 deaths in Hyderabad and its adjoining districts.

The casualties were attributed to consumption of Indus water having been mixed with toxic water discharges from Manchhar Lake.

In the wake of public outcry and Supreme Court intervention over the tragedy, a dilution formula —flows of Indus river and quantum of water to be released from the lake — before release of its discharges into Indus was enforced.

In the last week of March, the TDS values in Indus water, according to the laboratory reports of Wasa’s water filtration plant, had increased to 770mg/l and 875mgl, prompting the agency to stop lifting water from its sources.

Published in Dawn, April 5th, 2024