HARIPUR, Aug 3: Former chief minister of NWFP Raja Sikander Zaman has demanded cut in the water share of Capital Development Authority, Islamabad from Khanpur dam till the filling of the reservoir.
“The dam authorities should suspend water supply to the CDA till the dam is filled to its capacity,” he told Dawn on Thursday.
He said that despite torrential rains in upper Hazara and Azad Jammu and Kashmir which were the main catchment areas of the rain-fed Khanpur dam, the water table of reservoir was 50 to 60 feet below its crest level of 1982 feet. He accused the dam authorities for supplying water to CDA beyond its fixed share, adding that generosity towards Islamabad would cost heavily to the people of Panjkatha area as the continuous supply of water to Islamabad had left little room for reservoir to be filled to its capacity.
He said that if the dam was not filled to its capacity the farmers of Panjkatha area, whose fertile orchards and farmland of thousands of acre have already been damaged, would be ultimate sufferers.
He said that people of Khanpur and Punj Khatta areas had rendered sacrifices of their irrigated land for Khanpur dam but in return they were deprived of their due share of water and exposed to the worst water crisis. He said that at the time of building of Khanpur dam the than ECNEC had approved the right of 56 cusecs of water for Punj Khatta area but, he lamented, the farmers were not getting their promised share.
He said that since the Panjkatha area was not being supplied with their prescribed right of water, they had decided to move the High Court for legal right.
Meanwhile, according to official sources at Khanpur dam the water table recorded on Thursday morning was 1932.21 ft, which was approximately 50 ft short of its crest level of 1982 ft.
Sources said that the inflow of water in the reservoir was increasing with every passing day and Thursday’s inflow was 375.04 ft and its outflow stood at 59.58 cusecs.
Further distribution to the beneficiaries from the total outflow was: 46 cusecs for CDA Islamabad, five cusecs each for NWFP and Punjab’s irrigation, Fecto Cement was getting 1.18 cusecs, Heavy Industries Taxila two cusecs and Project Management Organisation was receiving 0.4 cusecs daily from the reservoir.
Source also confirmed that the seepage from the dam was still unchecked which caused a loss of 17 cusecs of water from the reservoir daily.