Punjab Irrigation Department has devised a water distribution plan for its canals to manage the looming water shortage for Rabi crop in the province. This was stated by the Punjab Irrigation Minister Amanat Ullah Khan Shadi Khel today here while presiding over a departmental meeting. The meeting was attended by senior officers of the department. The Minister said that the Irrigation Department would do its best by managing both its perennial and non-perennial channels to ensure that the Rabi crop is not affected by the unusual drop in the water availability in the system.
Amanat Ullah Khan Shadi Khel told that all perennial channels in the system would be closed from October 20th to October 31st and will operate on full capacity from November 1st onwards. This schedule has been developed keeping in view the irrigation requirements of the farmers of the province and has also been shared with the Agriculture Department, told the Minister Irrigation. He said that in order to meet the water shortage challenge, Punjab Irrigation Department has devised a canal operation schedule in consultation with Punjab Agriculture Department, according to which non-perennial channels will also be operated for 15 days in November depending upon the irrigation requirements in their command area. It may be mentioned that non-perennial channels in the Punjab irrigation system are normally operated from April to October.
According to the Indus River System Authority (IRSA) Punjab would receive 20% less water than its entitled share for the wheat crop due to lower than normal river flows. Minister Irrigation informed the meeting that a drop in the monsoon rainfall this year and an earlier than normal onset of winter in the Himalayas were the two of the main reasons for the unusual water shortage in the system. IRSA has already issued a warning to the provinces that the water availability situation might worsen and its advisory committee is going to hold a meeting in the first week of November to reassess river flows.
