ISLAMABAD: The trust deficit and poor coordination among the water sector stakeholders has led to a crisis-like situation, resulting in more than 50 percent of water shortage in Sindh and Balochistan despite full discharges from reservoirs according to provincial demands.
An official of the ministry of water and power said that the Indus River System Authority (Irsa) had been meeting full indents of Sindh and Balochistan for almost a month now and the Chashma barrage had touched its dead level and yet Sindh was complaining of 50 percent shortage and not receiving its full share.
He said that discharges from dams and barrages were normally so synchronised that Chashma seldom reached its dead level even in drought-like conditions.
“There has been an institutional mishap,” he said. The official pointed out that the entire operational hierarchy of Wapda, Irsa and provincial representatives appeared to be holding back real information, instead of sharing it with others. They are unable to explain why Sindh and Balochistan were not getting their full share of water when it was being discharged from dams. INTERNEWS
