Pak: Blame Game B/W Punjab, Sindh Continues Amid Water Crisis

Amid the rising water crisis in the provinces, the blame game between Punjab and Sindh continues as Sindh officials accuse their counterparts in Punjab of not agreeing to an independent evaluation by the Wapda’s International Sedimentation Research Institute (ISRIP).

However, the Punjab officials blamed Sindh for choosing an irregular site at Guddu for monitoring and for ‘mal-regulation’ at the barrage, Dawn reported.
The committee members of ISRIP visited Sukkur and Guddu barrages on May 14 and 15.

The measurement done by Wapda’s ISRIP actually substantiated Sindh’s claim about less water flows at Taunsa downstream. Despite a mathematical mistake seen in Guddu upstream flows, the upward recording of flows “supports Sindh’s claim of missing flows between Taunsa and Guddu”, an official said, adding that Sindh’s reported discharge at Guddu upstream (45,748 cusecs as reported on May 15 at Guddu by Sindh versus 36,567 cusecs of ISRIP)

The Sindh official said the sites for inspection in the province were chosen by Punjab’s representatives and in Punjab by Sindh under the committee’s decision, according to Dawn.

In another statement, a Punjab irrigation official said, the Badani site was suggested by Sindh officials when Punjab representatives pointed out that the 300-ft downstream Guddu site was not straight, talking to Dawn.

He further claimed that the Punjab representative was dismounted from the boat in a kutcha area when he demanded applying ‘moving bed correction’ on the ADCP and the incident was reported to the committee immediately.

There was no bar on giving any suggestion or raising any objection to the activity and this flexibility was evident when the task of monitoring river flow was shifted from Sukkur to Guddu after a two-hour mutual discussion, he added.

According to MNA Magsi, issues of trivial nature had cropped up during the measurement exercise, which had been discussed in the committee’s May 25 meeting as well. “If we keep sticking to those issues, then we will not be making a productive contribution to resolving water issues between two provinces,” he said in a statement discussing the issue.

Amid the ongoing water shortage in Pakistan and incessant rise in water theft, a high profile committee has been appointed during the proceedings of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Water Resources in Islamabad to deal with the alarming crisis.

The water situation in Sindh has worsened with little water flowing into its Indus-linked canals province from the upstream region of Punjab, sparking a small kerfuffle between the irrigation and water ministers of the two provinces.

The situation worsened this year with Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah pointing out a water shortage of nearly 40 per cent. Highlighting how dire the situation has been in the province, he asked rice farmers to avoid cultivating the water-intensive crop this year, the report said. (ANI)