ISLAMABAD, Aug 13: The inflows in the country’s rivers reached the level of 482,000 cusecs on Tuesday — highest in the last three years — with Mangla dam attaining the height of 1200 feet, only two feet below the maximum level.

A meeting of the Indus River System Authority held here on Tuesday noted with satisfaction that the rivers flow had significantly improved over the past few days. The authority gave a green signal to the Water and Power Development Authority to go ahead with its plan of filling Tarbela Dam.

“Wapda is filling the Tarbela reservoir by three feet a day,” Irsa Chairman Noor Mohammad Baloch told Dawn, expressing the hope that the dam would be filled by Aug 31.

With the current situation of rivers flows more water could be stored in the reservoir in a day, but in view of the safety of the dam it would have to be filled gradually and Wapda could not go beyond the limit of three feet a day.

The inflow upstream Tarbela on Tuesday was recorded at 328,000 cusecs and 240,000 cusecs was being released against the total requirement of 160,000 cusecs a day.

Provinces, which have been facing shortage of irrigation water, started receiving water as per their demands from Tuesday. Sindh would receive 160,000 cusecs and Punjab 50,000 cusecs from the Indus arm.

The meeting noted that due to the improved inflows and better rains, the shortages had come down to 10.6 per cent against the projection of 15 to 30 per cent in the ongoing Kharif season.

It also reviewed supply problems being faced by Balochistan and constituted a committee to resolve the same.

“Mangla Dam will be filled within next few days,” Member Irsa (Punjab) Mian Hafizullah said. The dam level was being raised by half a feet a day, he added.

A handout released after the meeting said Irsa recommended that the Sindh government would undertake remodelling of NW Canal and Kirthar Canal from the Rs10 billion development funds allocated by Gen Pervez Musharraf. However, a source said there had been no agreement on funding of the proposed remodelling of the two canals carrying water from Sukkur Barrage to Balochistan.

The issue of funding would be settled mutually by the two provincial governments, a source said. Mr Baloch disclosed that due to some operational problems at Sukkur Barrage, Balochistan had to suffer a shortage of 19 per cent.