KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister (CM) Murad Ali Shah on Monday directed the Irrigation Department to evolve a strategy to provide drinking water to people on priority as 10 to 60 percent water shortage is expected in upcoming kharif season.
He expressed these views while presiding over a meeting on expected water shortages during the upcoming Kharif season in Karachi at the CM House.
Irrigation Secretary Jamal Shah told the meeting that the water availability situation has worsened with the new spell of snowfall in the Northern areas and reduction in the temperature.
The run-off from the catchments has reduced which resulted in alarming depletion of Tarbella and Mangla Reservoirs, he added.
The irrigation secretary said that the water indent of the province at the Chashama Barrage in March 2010 daily was 40,000 Cubic Feet per Second (CFS) against which 22,798 CFS was the total flow of the downstream Chashma. This included the Punjab requirement of the canals off-taking from Taunsa Barrage.
The secretary further said that the expected shortage would start from March 18, initiating from 10 percent to 60 percent in the first 10 days of April and added that the situation has a similar trend as of the year 2012 but the snowfall in 2017 was more as compared to in 2012. The complication would be the abrupt fall in Skardu temperature.
“Indus River System Authority (IRSA) has informed if melting of snow and rainfalls are delayed, the situation may further aggravate and can extend to the end of April 2017,” he said.
The chief minister said that he had directed him to hold a meeting with chief engineers of all three barrages and discuss the way forward to face the ultimate situation at maximum shortage that the province would face.
The irrigation secretary said that almost all the canals would have to bear 50 percent shortage in the supply of water, however; the plan for dealing with such a situation has already formulated and would be dealt accordingly.
He said that the operation of Kinjhar Lake would be optimised to cater for a maximum period of time, the supply of water, to Karachi city.
The chief minister directed the Irrigation Department to issue advice to the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board KWSB to use water keeping in view the possible shortage.