HYDERABAD: The chairman of the Sindh Irrigation and Drainage Authority (Sida) has demanded immediate removal of the Indus River System Authority (Irsa) chief, accusing the body of deliberate mismanagement that has plunged the province into a 45 per cent water crisis.

In a statement on Thursday, Kabool Mohammad Khatian said Irsa’s “flawed strategy” of holding back water in national reservoirs during the crucial Kharif sowing season was driving Sindh’s agricultural economy toward collapse and risking up to $4.5bn in vital exports.

Mr Khatian revealed that despite dams holding four million acre-feet (MAF) of water at the start of the season, supplies were withheld from Sindh, leaving farmers unable to even prepare paddy nurseries.

He alleged that the current water crisis was engineered at a time when the regulatory body lacked proper representation. Decisions are currently being made by a flawed majority vote while Balochistan’s seat sits vacant and Sindh’s representative is hospitalised.

According to Sida, Irsa is hoarding water in the Mangla Dam on the assumption that it may not otherwise fill, while depleting the Tarbela Dam to supply the eastern rivers.

Consequently, Sindh has faced up to a 48 per cent reduction in its rightful water share. Meanwhile, the Chashma-Jhelum and Taunsa-Panjnad flood canals continue to operate, diverting water toward the Jhelum-Chenab region.

“The purpose of dams is to store surplus water and release it when needed, but Irsa is acting entirely contrary to this principle,” Mr Khatian said.

The shortage has hit during the absolute peak of the agricultural calendar. Rice transplantation in the Kotri Barrage command area takes place strictly between June 1 and June 15.

On the right bank of the Sukkur Barrage, water takes an additional 10 days to reach the fields, meaning any further delays will decimate the crop.

Mr Khatian also dismissed Irsa’s reliance on long-term weather forecasts to justify withholding water, noting that accurate meteorological predictions cannot reliably be made beyond ten days. He further accused the authority of accounting for April’s unindented rainwater as part of Sindh’s official allocation under the 1991 Water Accord.

The Sida chief called for the dismissal of the Irsa chairman and senior officials, demanding they be replaced by impartial officers capable of saving the agricultural sector.

Published in Dawn, June 12th, 2026