Dip in Jhelum water flow: Mangla Dam reaches dead level by Feb 24

ISLAMABAD: Owing to ever reducing water inflow in the River Jehlum, Mangla Dam is feared to reach dead level by February 24 exposing Punjab to 70-80 percent water shortage putting the food security in jeopardy.

Punjab, the food basket of the whole country, is all set to face water deficit up to 80 percent if flows are not improved and country receives no rains as the command canals of Mangla Dam currently need 25,000 cusecs of water but inflows in Mangla Dam stand at 2,100 cusecs and in Chenab 6600 cusecs so the standing wheat crop in central Punjab will not get matured as the crop needs at least two watering by March 15 which seems not possible.

This means that the wheat crop in central Punjab is in jeopardy. So much so, the standing wheat in southern Punjab has also entered red zone and it is also feared that standing crop in Multan, Mailsi, Khanewal and Bahawalpur will not get required watering till its maturity as Sindh in latest scenario has refused to provide the water to Punjab through C-J and T-P link canals from Indus, M H Siddiqui, adviser to Punjab Irrigation Department told The News.

“We are too much perturbed over the lowest ever water flow in the River Jhelum and have sensitised Pakistan Commissioner of Permanent Commission on Indus Water (PCIW) Syed Mehr Ali Shah about the mammoth dip in the River Jhelum and asked him to take up the issue with Indian counterpart organisation seeking details and the visit of the sites of the projects of rubber dam and Kishenganga project.” Mr Siddiqui said that there are reports that India is filling the rubber dam with 0.3 million acre feet (MAF) of water at Wullar Barrage and water shifting to Wullar Lake through tunnel from Kishanganga Dam.