Sindh demands due water share to address shortage

Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon has appealed to the federal government to give Sindh its due share of water.

In a statement issued on Thursday, he urged the federal government to take cognisance of the issue of acute water shortage being faced by the province. At present, Sindh lacked water both for the purposes of irrigation and human consumption, he maintained as he mentioned that the province had an important role in the agricultural economy of the country.

He said the national economy had already been facing multiple challenges and the situation of water shortage could further worsen the situation of the economy. The Sindh information minister said that crop and fruit production in Sindh was getting affected due to water shortage. He added that the concerned farmland owners and growers in Sindh had been upset as they could not meet the rising expenses being incurred on crop cultivation.

Memon asked the federal government that Sindh should be given its due water share as per the Water Apportionment Accord of 1991. He said that given the situation of depletion in the water resources, the shortage of water should fairly be adjusted among the provinces as per the formula under the 1991 accord.

Meanwhile, Sindh Environment Minister Mohammad Ismail Rahoo has appealed to the people to minimise the practice of extracting subsoil water. In a statement, he said the people should resort to the option of extracting subsoil water only out of an exigency.

He also noted that the cost of using the method of extracting the subsoil water had also phenomenally increased due to inflation. He expressed apprehension that the constant drawing of underground water would render unusable the natural source of water in some areas of Sindh. He said that such a practice, if continued unabated, could massively harm the farming practices, flora and fauna, and livelihood opportunities in the affected areas. Resultantly, the people would be left with no option but to migrate from such areas, he added.

Meanwhile, Sindh Irrigation Minister Jam Khan Shoro in a statement said that the province, as per the 1991 accord, was supposed to receive 2.408 million acre feet (MAF) of water during the Kharif season of farming but actually, it received only 1.388 MAF. He said the province at present should receive 1.542 MAF after adjusting for water shortage but the Indus River System Authority (Irsa) was supplying it with 1.388 MAF.

He said that the water crisis had been evolving in Sindh owing to the unfair distribution on part of Irsa. He said Sindh’s sense of deprivation should be addressed by supplying the province with its due water share.