FAISALABAD – Indus River System Authority (IRSA) Chairman Rao Arshad Ali has warned that the capacity of the country’s reservoirs has shrunk from 15.79 million acres feet (MAF) to 11.57 million acres feet due to accumulation of mud and silt under the surface of the storage facilities and if the trend continues unabated, Pakistan will have to face drought due to water shortage.
He was speaking as the chief guest at a seminar titled “Water Resources and Post-Floods Era in Pakistan” held at the University of Agriculture Faisalabad. The seminar was orgainsed by Society of Agriculture Engineers. He also apprehended that if the proper utilisation of available water resources was not ensured, the country would descend into a serious water crisis in next 50 years.
The late Punjab Governor Salman Taseer was scheduled to be the chief guest on the occasion in his capacity as the Chancellor of the University of Agriculture Faisalabad but his untimely assassination in Islamabad compelled the organisers to invite the IRSA chairman in his stead.
The IRSA chairman revealed that the Sindh province was the biggest consumer of national water resources that received the 42 per cent of the total water whereas Punjab was only taking 12 per cent. “Sindh would have been the biggest beneficiary of Kalabagh Dam had the controversial project been constructed,” said Rao Arshad Ali.
Speaking on the occasion, Agriculture University Faisalabad Vice Chancellor Dr Iqrar Ahmed said that the matter must be taken up on war-footing basis to improve the water irrigation system. “If we do not meet the challenge, our rapidly deteriorating land would not be able to fulfill the food requirements of our population,” he added.
Dr Zakir said that Pakistan was wasting 65 per cent of available water. Giving the break-up of the wastage, he said that 7 per cent was being wasted in canals while 25 per cent in Rajbahs and water courses. Pointing to a serious administrative anomaly, Zakir said, “January is the month when wheat crops are in desperate need of irrigation but the authorities have closed all the canals under the pretext of Bhal Safai (desalting). “We must realise that our crops require little or no water in April and we must schedule the Bhal Safai programme in April,” he suggested.
Agriculture Engineering College Dean Dr Rai Niaz Ahmed and Pakistan Society of Engineers President Mushtaq Ahymed Gill also spoke at the occasion.
Agriculture experts say that Pakistan has 140 million acres feet river water available for irrigation but the authrities are able to utilize only 30 million acres feet and the rest of the water is wasted unutilised. It is a historical fact that Indus Basin Water Treaty between India and Pakistan was a sweet poison for the agricultural economy of Pakistan. It deprived Pakistan of three main rivers whereas India by constructing dams on the remaining two rivers has planned to turn Pakistan into a barren territory.
Under the present circumstances, it is highly advisable that Pakistan must officially draw out a ‘water budget’ on yearly basis and for this purpose it is imperative to set up an independent water body as ground water regulation authority.
