Sindh finds accurate discharge during raid on Punjnad Barrage

LAHORE: In an early morning raid on the Panjnad Barrage in the Bahawalpur District, Southern Punjab, officials from the Sindh Irrigation Department found correct measuring of water flows downstream as per reported gauges.

According to an official of the Punjab Irrigation Department, a team from the Sindh Irrigation Department headed by Nazeer Ahmad, XEN Design, Guddu Barrage, made a surprise visit on Saturday to the Panjnad Barrage to ascertain the quantum of flows as per discharges data. He said as per joint recording of water flow measurement by both the visiting team and the local staff, Sindh officials found discharge flows in complete accordance with the data reported by the Punjab Irrigation Department to the Indus River System Authority (IRSA).

The official said Punjab always committed to accuracy and transparency when it comes to the river flow measurement. During the surprise visit, according to a jointly-signed document by both the teams, the outflows from the Punjnad Barrage were recorded at 4,985 cusecs against 5,000 cusecs reported discharges. The similar was the case with the diversion of flows into the Panjnad canal, Abbasia canal and Abbasia link canal that originate from the barrage and irrigate a large swath of land in Southern Punjab. It was observed during the joint measurement exercise that the Punjnad canals were flowing with less water to the tune to 30 to 40 per cent. The measurement exercises were conducted at 6am on Saturday.

It may be noted that the Panjnad Barrage was constructed in 1929 with the aim of water diversion to desert area for cultivation and drinking purposes. The barrage was re-commissioned in 1932 after experiencing high flood soon after construction. The Panjnad, which means five rivers, is located in Uch, Bahawalpur. The Punjnad Barrage was initially constructed to regulate waters of Jhelum River, Chenab River, River Ravi, Satluj River and Beas River. The barrage diverts irrigation water to approximately 655,614 hectares land in Bahawalpur and Rahim Yar Khan Districts through three canals namely Panjnad Canal, Abbasia Canal and Abbasia Link Canal.