Pakistan nears ‘dead water' as Indian river inflows fall sharply
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Pakistan is grappling with a significant water crisis as the flow volume from Indian rivers, the Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab, continues to dwindle, TOI has reported. This alarming trend has forced Pakistan to discharge more water than it receives, raising concerns about the sustainability of its drinking water and irrigation needs.While fluctuations in water flow are typical during the pre-monsoon season, experts warn that the situation may worsen in the coming weeks. India's regular desilting and flushing of dams in Jammu & Kashmir, aimed at increasing its own storage capacity, is expected to exacerbate the reduction in water flow towards Pakistan.According to the latest daily water situation report from Pakistan's Indus River System Authority (IRSA), as reported by TOI, the country faced a critical imbalance on Wednesday, discharging a staggering 11,180 cusecs more water than the inflow. The collective outflow from monitoring stations, Tarbela on the Indus, Mangla on the Jhelum, Marala on the Chenab, and Nowshera on the Kabul river, totalled 2,52,791 cusecs, while the inflow stood at only 2,41,611 cusecs.This discrepancy in water management is particularly concerning for the key provinces of Punjab and Sindh, which rely heavily on the western rivers of the Indus system. On the same day, Punjab province, where kharif farming is set to commence, received only 1,14,600 cusecs of water, down 20% from the 1,43,600 cusecs it received on the same day last year.With Pakistan still nearly a month away from monsoon rains, the situation is becoming increasingly dire. The water levels in the nation's two primary dams, Mangla on the Jhelum and Tarbela on the Indus, are alarmingly close to their 'dead levels', meaning there are no outlets to drain water from the reservoirs by gravity below this threshold. An official as quoted by TOI said, '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.'Last month, the IRSA advisory committee raised alarms about the impending crisis, declaring a 21% overall shortage for the early kharif season (May 1-June 10) due to a 'sudden decrease' in inflows from the Chenab at Marala, which they attributed to 'short supply by India.' They further predicted a 7% shortage in the late kharif season (June 11-September 30).Although the situation is expected to improve with the onset of the monsoon next month, the absence of water flow data from India, following the suspension of the Indus Water Treaty in response to the Pahalgam terror attack in April, poses additional challenges for Pakistan's authorities in regulating water discharge.Currently, India is under no obligation to share this critical data, leaving Pakistan in a precarious position as it navigates this water crisis.(With inputs from TOI)
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