Pakistan Facing Acute Water Crisis In Kharif Season, Two Key Dams Near 'Dead Levels'

Two key dams in Pakistan - Mangla on river Jhelum and Tarbela on Indus - have reached close to their respective 'dead levels' a month after India halted 1960 water-sharing treaty for the Pahalgam terror attack. With flow volume of western rivers from India at a new low, the neighbouring country is discharging more water than what it's receiving to sustain its drinking water and irrigation needs. The situation is expected to turn grim in the coming weeks as regular desilting and flushing of dams by India in Jammu & Kashmir to increase its own storage capacity will further lessen the water flow to the neighbouring country.

According to the Pakistan's Indus River System Authority (IRSA), the country on Wednesday discharged 11,180 cusecs more water than the inflow.

Its collective outflow, measured at different monitoring stations (Tarbela on Indus, Mangla on Jhelum, Marala on Chenab and Nowshera on Kabul river), stood at 2,52,791 cusecs compared to the inflow of 2,41,611 cusecs, according to The Times of India. This development has affected two key provinces - Punjab and Sindh - which depend on waters from the western rivers of the Indus system.

On Wednesday, Pakistan's Punjab province received 1,14,600 cusecs of water compared to 1,43,600 cusecs on the same day last year. The reduced water shortage - a decline of 20% - comes at a time when kharif farming has begun there.

"This means further decrease in water flow from the Indian side may leave Pakistan with few options to facilitate farming operations before the arrival of the monsoon," said an official, according to TOI.

Pakistan's IRSA advisory committee, at its meeting last month, acknowledged an overall shortage of 21% for the early kharif season (May 1-June 10), noting "sudden decrease" in Chenab's inflows at Marala "due to short supply by India". It expected shortages of 7% in the late kharif season (June 11-Sept 30).

The shortfall, experts said, will affect the sowing of Kharif crops.

India has kept the 1960 Indus Waters treaty in abeyance over the Pahalgam terror attack in April. New Delhi has manintained that it is not under any obligation to share the data with Pakistan in the present situation.