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HYDERABAD: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has urged Prime Minister Mian Mohammad Shehbaz Sharif to halt the filling of dams until the monsoon season to prevent a severe crisis in the province.
In a letter sent on Thursday, he warned that vital water supplies were being diverted away from Sindh, causing major shortages during the crucial early Kharif sowing season. He called on the PM to direct the Indus River System Authority (Irsa) to guarantee Sindh’s water shares under the 1991 Water Apportionment Accord.
CM Murad strongly criticised the continued release of water into the controversial Taunsa-Panjnad and Chashma-Jhelum link canals, which divert water from the main Indus River system to Punjab’s tributaries.
According to the chief minister, Sindh is facing a 41 per cent shortfall in its allocated water supply. On June 6, the province’s water utilisation stood at 57,867 cusecs against its accord allocation of 98,700 cusecs. By contrast, Punjab faced just a 10 per cent shortfall, drawing 97,970 cusecs against an allocation of 109,100 cusecs.
