REPORTS appearing in the media speak of legitimate concerns about viability of the strategic wheat crop because of the inability of the country to take measures in time for filling of the largest reservoir of the country – Mangla Dam on river Jhelum. Data shows the water level stood at 1,216.35 feet on August 25, 2024, which is about 26 feet short of its maximum conservation level of 1,242 feet. The live or usable storage has been reported at just 5.347 MAF, which is more than two million acre short of filling capacity. Such a gap is highly unlikely to be filled in the current scenario.
This is, indeed, a worrying development as the reservoir could not be filled despite availability of surplus river inflows during Kharif season. As against this, more than 10 million acres feet of water has been released below Kotri into sea, which substantiates complaints that release of water into sea is more important than its conservation in reservoirs to irrigate crops that form core of the agricultural economy. This raises serious questions about the working of the IRSA, pressure tactics being applied to interfere with its professional working and the need for timely and proper input to the Authority to help it make merit-based decisions. Going by the fact that canals originating from Mangla command in Indus Basin play pivotal role in providing dependable irrigation supplies to vast plains in upper, middle and lower plains in Punjab, which produces about 75 percent of total wheat production, the issue needs special attention of the authorities concerned and demands a thorough and neutral investigation. The country cannot afford politicization of the water issues as such a trend could play havoc with prospects of production of different crops and their implications for the entire economy.
