LAHORE: The Punjab Irrigation Department has devised a water distribution plan for its canals to manage the looming water shortage for Rabi crop in the province.
This was stated by the Punjab Irrigation Minister Amanat Ullah Khan today here while presiding over a departmental meeting. The minister said that the Irrigation Department would do its best by managing both its perennial and non-perennial channels to ensure that the Rabi crop is not affected by the unusual drop in the water availability in the system.
Amanat Ullah Khan told that all perennial channels in the system would be closed from October 20 to October 31 and will operate on full capacity from November 1 onwards. This schedule has been developed keeping in view the irrigation requirements of the farmers of the province and has also been shared with the Agriculture Department, told the minister. He said that in order to meet the water shortage challenge, the Punjab Irrigation Department has devised a canal operation schedule in consultation with Punjab Agriculture Department, according to which non-perennial channels will also be operated for 15 days in November, depending upon the irrigation requirements in their command area. It may be mentioned that non-perennial channels in the Punjab irrigation system are normally operated from April to October.
According to the Indus River System Authority (IRSA), Punjab would receive 20% less water than its entitled share for the wheat crop due to lower than normal river flows. The minister informed the meeting that a drop in the monsoon rainfall this year and an earlier than normal onset of winter in the Himalayas were the two of the main reasons for the unusual water shortage in the system. IRSA has already issued a warning to the provinces that the water availability situation might worsen and its advisory committee is going to hold a meeting in the first week of November to reassess river flows.
