LAHORE, April 27: The Mangla dam may not be filled this year as normal flow in Jhelum is taking a dip against all projections made by the Indus River System Authority. The country is facing almost 50 per cent water shortage and the filling of the Mangla dam has not started yet.

On April 21 (end of last 10 daily), the dam level stood at 1,058 feet. The lake level was at 1,127 feet last year and 1,122 feet in the year 2002 on the corresponding day. It was 1,059 feet in the year 2001 and 1,059 feet in the year 2000; the dam was not filled in both years.

Experts on Tuesday expressed pessimism that this might be another year of the dam keeping below the filling line. With the current shortage, cotton sowing may suffer or get delayed to the end of May. Should that happen farmers would not only be consuming all water pouring in during May but the crop would also be exposed to the danger of pest attack.

"At present, all water flowing into the dam is being released for meeting the cotton sowing demands in perennial canals' command areas," said an official of the Punjab Water Council. The water to be released in May would hopefully be consumed by the cotton crop. By the end of May, sowing of paddy would begin. The government has advised farmers to sow paddy nurseries by May 30 and then transfer them to fields by June 20.

It means that June and July water will go to paddy sowing. Both these major Kharif crops would hardly leave any water for storage, he said. According to a farmer from northern Punjab, the country lost 21 million acre feet water downstream Kotri last year and now the country is faced with 50pc water shortage. Both cash crops - cotton and paddy - are facing disaster because of the water crisis.

The 21maf water could have filled six dams of Mangla size. The government must take action against those responsible for this national loss of billions, he demanded.