ISLAMABAD: Chairman Indus River System Authority dispelled the impression that some provinces are getting an unequal portion of water, insisting that the water distributary body allocates a due share of water to every province. Chairman IRSA Rao Irshad Ali Khan said in a statement on Monday that every province was given its due share of water.
IRSA does not allocate less or more water to any province, he said adding that Sindh’s claim regarding getting a small portion of water was untrue. He said IRSA kept the water apportionment record of all the provinces, adding that Sindh was given 71,000 cusec water as per its due share. While Punjab is being given 96,000 cusec water.
Irshad said the measurement of water shortage was equally divided and shared by Punjab and Sindh. The portion of water supply to every province alters after every 10 days, he added. PPP Vice President Sherry Rehman has said that IRSA always decreases the water share of Sindh after making an excuse of water shortage in the river.
In her tweet on Monday, the PPP vice president said that rivers do not face water shortage during the summer season. It’s not a matter of water shortage, rather it’s a matter of water apportionment, she tweeted. She said apart from Sindh, Balochistan too does have complaints against IRSA. She said the federal government wanted to create a new water issue.
She said IRSA had reduced Sindh’s water portion by 15% to 20% and added that it was a violation of the 1991 Water Accord. She said to deprive Sindh of its water share during the harvest season would have devastating effects on the Pakistan economy. She said Sindh agriculture produce contributes 23% to the country’s total agri produce. She said several times violations were made in the water accord. Despite protest from provinces, no agreement could be reached in the meeting of the Council of Common Interests. She said they were submitting an adjournment motion to the Senate on this issue. The federal government is not ready to accept its responsibility, she said adding the government should make sure judicious distribution of water apportionment.INP
