Telemetry system TO be installed FOR Transparent water distribution: Farrukh

SINDH REJECTS PUNJAB’S OFFER TO VISIT BARRAGES

mINISTER of State for Information and Broadcasting Farrukh Habib has said that telemetry system will soon be installed on dams and canals to ensure transparency in water distribution amongst the provinces.

Addressing a press conference along with Punjab Irrigation Minister and Opposition Leader in Sindh Assembly Haleem Adil Sheikh on Monday, Habib said that Prime Minister Imran Khan has given clear directions in this regard in order to properly monitor water flow.

He regretted that the Pakistan People’s Party is doing politics on the issue of water to create disparity amongst the provinces. He, however, said the opposition party cannot hoodwink the masses. He said the federal government is ready to take along all the provinces on the water issue.

The minister of state regretted that no attention was paid to the construction of dams in the past. “Our water storage capacity decreased from 15.74 million acres of feet to 13 million acres of feet,” he added.

Habib said, “We have started construction work on 10 dams which will significantly increase the water capacity.” He said that the construction of dams will also help generate clean and cheap electricity besides providing clean water to the people.

Punjab Irrigation Minister Mohsin Leghari said that Punjab is facing a water shortage of 22 percent and Sindh 17 percent. He said, “We have proposed deployment of independent observers to clear misunderstandings amongst the provinces over the water issue.”

In his remarks, Opposition Leader in the Sindh Assembly Haleem Adil Sheikh said that both Punjab and Sindh provinces are facing water shortage due to less rains this year. He, however, was confident that the water situation will improve in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, the Sindh government on Monday rejected Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar’s offer to organise a visit of lawmakers to the province’s barrages amid the issue of water shortage.

CM Buzdar had invited Sindh lawmakers to visit Punjab barrages in a step to resolve the issue raised by Sindh regarding the designated water allocation.

Sindh Irrigation Minister Sohail Anwar Siyal said in a statement that the provincial lawmakers will not visit barrages in Punjab. He said that the provincial government has complained and protested against the Indus River System Authority, hence there is no need to visit Punjab.

Siyal said that the Punjab chief minister should give a reply over releasing water in Chashma-jhelum Link Canal and Taunsapanjnad Link Canal. The minister was of the view that the link canals were illegally opened in Punjab, causing a huge financial loss to Sindh up to $3 billion. He added that Sindh province must be given 33 million acre-feet of water this season under the designated allocation.

Siyal complained about getting a reduced share of water up to 30 MAF of water. On the other hand, the provincial irrigation minister offered experts from Punjab to visit Sindh to ascertain the facts.

earlier on May 28, the Indus River System Authority had cut down the water share of Sindh and Punjab due to an “excessive” shortage of water in the country.

According to a statement released by IRSA, after the reduction in water share, Punjab is getting 83,000 cusecs of water, while Sindh is being provided 74,000 cusecs of water.

Due to prevailing limited storage available in reservoirs and tumbling river inflows, it was inevitable to apply cut on provincial shares, the water body had said in a statement. The Irsa spokesperson had expressed hope that the water situation in rivers would improve in the next 48 to 72 hours.