KARACHI: The Sindh agriculture minister Muhammad Ismail Rahoo said Friday that the lower than designated water allocation to the province by Indus River System Authority (IRSA) is likely to cause damages to rice and cotton harvests.
The government of Sindh fears if it doesn’t get its share of water it will not bode well for its cash crops: sugarcane, rice and cotton which will be at the receiving end of water shortage, the provincial minister said.
Rahu added in his statement, over the acute situation ISRA faces as water levels deplete below expected in Tarbela Dam, Sindh faces up to 40 per cent water shortage and Kotri Barrage alone experiences 60 pc scarcity in water levels.
At least three major Kharif crops in the commanding swathes of Guddu, Sukkur and Kotri barrages dread losses if shortage of water in the region is not addressed, Rahu noted.
The sugarcane crop is already desiccating due to a shortage of water than the level it required, he said, adding that after rice, sugarcane is the second crop to need most water for growing, followed by cotton. We already planted less cotton crop than the target and that too is at risk of incurring losses, Rahu dreaded.
Earlier yesterday, IRSA said it has 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 the water allocation authority, after the reduction in water share, Punjab is getting 83,000 cusecs of water, while Sindh is being provided 74,000 cusecs of water.
The decision was taken in a meeting chaired by the IRSA chairman to review water distribution among provinces. Due to prevailing limited storage available in reservoirs and tumbling river inflows it was inevitable to apply cut on provincial shares, the water body said in a statement.
