Pakistan: Sindh faces acute water shortage, canal level deficient for irrigation, drinking

Amid the acute water shortage in Pakistan’s lower riparian province of Sindh, the government on Friday, 27 August 2021, reduced the water flow in the canals causing a dearth of water for both drinking and irrigation for the residents. As the upstream flow was cut back, at least three barrages of Sindh province witnessed critical water deficiency with curbed upstream flows, as a result of which, Sindh’s irrigation authorities scrambled to activate the rotation programme to allocate the limited water among all beneficiaries in equal measure, Pakistan’s The dawn reported, as cited by news agency ANI. 

Authorities in Pak’s Balochistan province, another region facing water shortage, resort to the water remaining in the Sukkur Barrage's four left bank canals to transfer to the right bank canals for sufficient provision. In at least two main canals of Rohri and Nara, authorities scaled back the water flow. Guddu and Sukkur barrages have recorded an estimated 19 per cent and 14 per cent shortage, according to the statistics listed by Pakistan’s news agencies.

As per the ten-daily water allocations under the Water Apportionment Accord 1991, Pakistan province of Balochistan now records approximately 9 per cent acute water shortage; while Sukkur 35 per cent. “Kotri Barrage witnessed a few thousand' flows downstream out of the reduced flows. The barrage had 9,000 cusecs on August 18, which dropped to 397 cusecs on August 25,” ANI reported, citing Islamabad’s The Dawn newspaper. 

Sindh asks authorities 'not to transfer water from Indus River to Jhelum-Chenab'

According to the data maintained by the irrigation department, Kotri Barrage received the maximum discharge of 250,345 cusecs on Aug. 7 just for up to 48 hours that has proven to be insufficient to meet the maximum water capacity requirements. Pakistan’s major provinces are witnessing drought-like situations during the annual flood season ( in the month of August) that otherwise swell the river flow. Sindh government on Saturday asked the Indus River System Authority “not to transfer water from Indus River to Jhelum-Chenab system through Chashma-Jhelum and Taunsa-Panjnad link canals,” amid the deadly shortage hitting the farmlands in the Sindh province that could hamper crop production.

There has been controversy about the canal operation that Sindh has consistently objected to. ANI reports, citing The Dawn that in the first week of May, “canals were allowed to draw water without meeting indented supplies of Sindh's barrages during Kharif season.”