ISLAMABAD, Sept 25: The country may face 14 per cent water shortage during the Rabi season starting on Oct 1 because of decline in storage capacity and river flows, the Indus River System Authority (Irsa) forecast on Monday.

Irsa Chairman Shafqat Masood, who presided over a meeting of the authority’s technical committee here on Monday, told reporters that about 10 per cent shortage was expected due to silting of dams and resultant decline in storage capacity and another four per cent were statistical shortages.

He said that about 20 million acre feet (MAF) of uncontrolled water would go downstream Kotri during the current Kharif season, which could not be stored but this reduced irrigation requirements in Sindh.

He said river flows had declined during the past in the recent few days and utilisation of water from reservoirs had begun.

By Sept 30, the provinces would utilise about 200,000-300,000 acre feet of water for irrigation.