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Irrigation water shortage may cause economic crisis

AMER SIAL

ISLAMABAD: A grave economic crisis is in the making due to the non-availability of water for irrigation purposes for the main forex earning Kharif crops of the country.

Official sources said that this grave situation may lead the Ministry of Agriculture to issue SOS signal to the government about its inability to achieve the targets for Kharif crops due to the shortage of water for irrigation purposes in the early maturing period of the crops.

They said the report submitted by the Ministry of Water and Power for the 72nd meeting of the federal committee on agriculture to be held next week to set Kharif targets, presents a gloomy picture about the water storage in the dams.

The report says that the water levels of the three reservoirs are already at the dead level, meaning that no carry-over storage is available as compared to the previous years and the storage could be foreseen in the crucial early Kharif period.

The report gives the total availability of water in the reservoirs on March 29, 2000, at 0.006 million acre-feet (Maf), whereas on the same date in 1999 the water availability was recorded at 0.590 Maf and 3.594 Maf in 1998.

The water level in Tarbela reservoirs recorded on March 29,2000 is given as 1,343.10 Maf whereas on the same date in 1999 it was at 1,392.01 Maf and in 1998 it was at 1,443.67 Maf.

The Mangla Dam is most affected by the drought as its level has fallen to 1,040 Maf on March 29, 2000 as compared to 1,057.45 Maf on the same date in 1999 and 1,115.15 Maf in 1998.

The water level in Chashma on March 29 was 635 Maf as compared to 637 Maf on the same date in 1999 and 649 Maf in 1998.

The main Kharif crops of the country are Cotton, Rice and sugarcane. Export of cotton and its allied products help earn up to 70 percent of our foreign exchange needs annually, while rice export is the second largest sector of the economy which is worth $ 500 million annually.

A good sugarcane crop saves valuable foreign exchange as the domestic sugar requirements could be met by the local imports.

However, in the present scenario rice and sugarcane crop are feared to be lost significantly as these require huge quantity of water in the early period after sowing, while cotton needs less water as compared to these but it also requires constant supply of water.

Wapda has estimated that the water level would begin to rise in the Tarbela Dam after May 15, when the temperature begins to rise in the Northern Areas. However, the water situation in Mangla is only going to improve if normal rains occur in the monsoon season.