Pakistan's Water Crisis and Mismanagement

[ajtr]

Pak army is ‘water thief’

Pakistani authorities have accused the army and paramilitary troops of ‘blatant water theft’ in Punjab province at a time when the country is facing a major shortage of water and electricity generated by hydropower projects.
The irrigation department of Punjab has urged Chief

Minister Shahbaz Sharif to "immediately take up the matter at (the) appropriate level".

In a summary or official note to Sharif, the department said water theft by "state agencies greatly undermines its moral authority" to take action against farmers and other influential people involved in the same crime.

The document said the issue is not limited to water theft but goes much beyond it and sets dangerous precedents.

Army and Pakistan Rangers formations are using stolen water to irrigate encroached lands, it alleged.

More land is encroached every year and more water is required, resulting in still higher incidence of water theft. In recent months, differences over sharing of river waters have emerged as a major irritant in relations between India and Pakistan.

Pakistan has often accused India of diverting its share of waters from rivers in Jammu and Kashmir though New Delhi has denied the charges.

The land-grabbing and water theft are promoting a culture of rent-seeking among the units concerned, the document said.

Citing specific cases, the document stated that the army's Corps IV, which has a firing range near the Abbasia Link Canal in Bahawalpur region, has leased out land to private individuals called army contractors who have laid illegal pipes and lift water through pumps.

The paramilitary Pakistan Rangers has established two unauthorised outlets and the army three more on the same canal, the Dawn newspaper quoted the document as saying.

The army has also installed 15 pipes on Hakra Right Channel and the army and Pakistan Rangers are thus jointly "stealing" 356 cusecs of water in Bahawalpur zone alone.

The army and its tenants are tampering with 16 outlets on a water distribution scheme in Okara district.

This is in addition to ‘five unauthorised outlets’ on the same system.

These 21 outlets have made it impossible for the irrigation department to ensure equitable distribution of water in the local system.

In Sheikhupura division, army formations laid 44 pipes on nine channels of the Upper Chenab Canal of Lahore zone during the Kharif season of 2009 and Rabi season of 2009-10, the document said.

"Water theft has become a serious issue over the past two decades and is seriously affecting canal operations and equitable distribution of water.

"Theft by influential people at the head-reaches results in water shortage and deprives the poor farmers at the tail of these channels. Against this backdrop, water theft by state agencies robs the department of any moral authority to go after small farmers," the document said.

The irrigation department's efforts to correct the wrongs have met with force.

In Bahawalpur zone, a team comprising the SDO, canal magistrate, naib tehsildar, SHO of Derwar and police force went to remove illegal pipes on July 17, 2008.

When the team started removing pipes, about 500 armed army contractors gathered to resist their efforts, the report said.

The police overpowered them, impounded their weapons and arrested some of them.

One illegal outlet was plugged. Later, army officials reached the site, ordered the team of officials to stop removing pipes and release the contractors.

They abused the SDO and took him away. The SDO was released after the intervention of the local superintending engineer, the document alleged.

The water theft by state institutions is creating a "dangerous precedent" for other users and greatly undermining the irrigation department's legal and moral authority.

The matter needs to be taken up at the appropriate level with the army and Pakistan Rangers to stop water theft from the irrigation system, the document said.

 

[cricketrulez]

No wonder Pak has water problems. Instead of increasing the money of water infrastructure , they are cutting a big chunk of the budget.



Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan

Allocation for water sector down by 39.85%

Due to crucial financial constraints, 39.85 percent less allocation has been made in development budget for financial year (FY) 2010-11 for water sector and Rs 22.883 billion has been allocated for 64 ongoing projects regarding water sector - showing a 44.38 percent decrease. 22 new schemes would be launched in upcoming fiscal year 2010-11 under PSDP programme and total allocation for these new projects is Rs 5.540 billion, showing 9.25 percent decrease in allocation in development budget 2010-11.

Don't blame India for mismanaging your water and money!

 

[Hutchroy]

Thirsty Pakistan gasps for water solutions

KARACHI : Pakistan is facing a “raging” water crisis that if managed poorly could mean Pakistan would run out of water in several decades, experts say, leading to mass starvation and possibly war.

The reliance on a single river basin, one of the most inefficient agricultural systems in world, climate change and a lack of a coherent water policy means that as Pakistan's population expands, its ability to feed it is shrinking.

“Pakistan faces a raging water crisis,” said Michael Kugelman, program associate for South and Southeast Asia Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington.

“It has some of the lowest per capita water availability in Asia, and in the world as a whole.”

The vast majority - between 90 and 95 per cent - of Pakistan's water is used for agriculture, the US undersecretary for democracy and global affairs, Maria Otero, told Reuters. The average use in developing countries is between 70 and 75 per cent.

The remaining trickle is used for drinking water and sanitation for Pakistan's 180 million people.

According to Kugelman, more than 55 million Pakistanis lack access to clean water and 30,000 die each year just in in Karachi, Pakistan's largest city, from unsafe water.

“Of the available water today, 40 per cent of it gets used,” Otero said. “The rest is wasted through seepage and other means.”

Otero was in Islamabad as part of the first meeting of the US-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue Water Working Group.

Pakistan's Indus river basin is supplied by melting snow and glaciers from the Himalayas. A recent report in the journal Science by Walter W. Immerzeel of Utrecht University in the Netherlands said the Indus could lose large amounts of its flow because of climate change.

Both India and Pakistan make use of the Indus, with the river managed under a 1960 water treaty. Pakistan has lately begun accusing India of taking more than its fair share from the headwaters by building a number of dams and waging water war against its downstream neighbour. India denies this.

If the current rate of climate change continues and Pakistan continues to rely on the inefficient flood system of irrigation, by 2050, it will be able to feed between 23-29 million fewer people than it can today with approximately double its current population.

The United States hopes to encourage Pakistan to modernise its agricultural system and plant less water-thirsty crops.

Otero said Pakistan and the United States are also exploring ways to improve the storage of water and Pakistan must look at ways to charge more for water as a way of encouraging conservation.

Such measures would likely be unpopular in the desperately poor nation. Measures to reduce subsidies on electricity, as mandated by the International Monetary Fund, amid chronic power shortages have battered the already unsteady civilian government.

Pakistan needs to either pass land reform or a series of laws to govern proper water allocation, Kugelman said.

“If nothing is done, the water crisis will continue, no matter how many canals are repaired or dams constructed,” he said. – Reuters

 

[ajtr]

Collapsing State institutions​

Another blunder certifying the mounting negligence of the government and institutions was the story of the disaster of the Tarbela Dam, the largest earth-filled dam, under Bhutto in the seventies. The tender for the construction against the usual procedure was given to a consortium of three countries which made it impossible to include the country of origins warranty for the proper execution of the project into the contract, this would not be the case when 3 countries are involved in a contract. The consortium called TJV worked under supervision of American consultants “TAMS” then started messing it all up. Instead of putting the foundation on a base of solid rock as required in the project design, they just left it floating. When several of the gates that had been ordered and delivered from Switzerland got choked and did not open on the day of inauguration the power of the water uprooted the whole set-up and the concrete of the foundation burst and reservoir developed cracks. It had to be filled up with loads and loads of cement which as a consequence reduced the capacity of the reservoir by almost half. {That is an exaggeration that the capacity reduced by half. But, we know silt management is extremely poor at Tarbela leading to an artificial island extending a couple of dozen kilometres upstream} There was nothing that could be done later and may be this was the reason why all future governments refused to go into hydel power generation projects but preferred thermal power creation. {The power generation at Tarbela has been well below its installed capacity and this flows directly from the poor silt management. The silt has been damaging the turbines and turbine blades leading to frequent failures and costly replacements}

 

[ajtr]

Water in Rawal Dam drops to dangerous level​

ISLAMABAD: Thefearing water level in Rawal Dam has decreased to the danger level, with officials the reservoir will dry up by mid-July if there are no sufficient rains and the pace of water consumption from the lake continued.

According to officials of Small Dams Organisation (SDO), the water level in the Rawal Dam has now touched the mark of 20 feet above the dead level which indicates the supply from the lake could last only for the next three weeks.

This is the second time in the history of the lake that the water has gone down to such an alarming level. A similar situation was developed in 2003 mainly due to drought conditions.

Meanwhile, the storage capacity of the dam has also reduced due to silting and the officials concerned said the reservoir capacity, which was 47,000 acre feet in 1962 when it was constructed, has now decreased to 37,000 acre feet.

As per SDO estimation, the dam has completed its life of 50 years and its capacity could further decrease within the next two years. However, the Punjab irrigation and power department, under which the SDO works, has not taken any meaningful step to clear the silt.

“We will be forced to stop supply of 23 million gallons per day (mgd) to the Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa), Rawalpindi, after July 15 if there are no rains,” an official of SDO on condition of anonymity told Dawn on Tuesday.
He said his department was negotiating with the officials of Wasa to decrease the supply of water but the latter were not ready to accept the move fearing an angry backlash from the citizens.

“If the supply is reduced to 16 million mgd, the water in the lake will reach the dead level by July 25,” he said. The official said hopes for smooth water supply to the Rawalpindi city from the reservoir depended on normal monsoon rains. He said one of the two water canals flowing from the dam for irrigation purposes had already been closed to meet the rising demand of drinking water.

“Around 40 per cent of Rawalpindis population is dependant on water from the Rawal Dam. We have closed Shahana canal used for irrigation purposes while Ojhri canal used for drinking purposes is still getting water,” he said.

An official of the Met department said: “We are expecting a normal monsoon pattern this year mainly due to the decaying stage of El-Nino phenomenon.”

“The metrological data suggests that monsoon rains during July-September in most parts of the country are likely to be normal which means that the overall availability of water in the country from monsoon rains would be sufficient,” he added.


once upon a time Rawal dam...

To now this....

 

[ajtr]

The two Punjabs​

By A.G. Noorani
Saturday, 26 Jun, 2010

A ‘WATER CRISIS’ has emerged of late from the shadows to claim the spotlight in relations between Pakistan and India. It has begun to jostle with other items on an already crowded agenda in their dialogue in an unseemly and desperate bid to elbow them down and lay a false claim to primacy for itself at the top of the agenda.

The so-called ‘water crisis’ does not deserve that place. The thoughtfully crafted Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 has stood the test of time and provides for a precise and effective mechanism for conflict-resolution. Not all the problems, however, arise from a conflict of interests, rights or perceptions. Some have been created by climate change; some by increase of population; not a few are due to sheer mismanagement and waste. Disagreements on the Kishanganga project on the Indian side of the LoC in Kashmir and the Neelam-Jhelum project on the Pakistan side in Kashmir and the Nimoo Bazgo project in Leh will follow the procedures set by the precedent of Baglihar.

It is the larger problems that both countries must jointly face — climate change and consequential depletion of river flows, pressures of growing population and waste — in a non-partisan way; for, they affect both. It was in this spirit that the Indus Waters Treaty was concluded. The idea was mooted in a seminal article in the now defunct Collier’s in the United States in the issue of Aug 4, 1951. It was written by David E. Lilienthal who had won fame as the chairman of the Tennessee Valley Authority. He suggested “a joint use of this truly international river basin on an engineering basis”. Ideas can shape policies and policies can change the political climate from an adversarial one to a cooperative enterprise.

A recent article by Dr Manohar Singh Gill in The Hindu of May 29 is refreshingly free from polemics and makes a powerful plea for cooperation between the two countries. Entitled ‘Water crisis of east and west Punjab’ it argues that both sides will have to rise above politics and focus on the water crisis which requires difficult solutions.

Dr Gill, now minister of youth affairs and sports at the centre, was a civil servant and served as development commissioner, Punjab from 1985 to 1988 and rose to be chief election commissioner. He recalls the warning given by Calvert, ICS, in 1928 in his classic book The Wealth and Welfare of the Punjab, of the dangers of undue dependence on rivers, dams, rainfall and tube-wells. In a convocation address at the Punjab Agricultural University in Ludhiana on Nov 5, 1998 he had predicted a water crisis and tension “within and without” Punjab on the question of water. What will be the state of things a decade from now?

He now writes: “Sixty years have drastically reduced the comfort of 1950 on both sides. In Pakistan, the population growth from 50 million to 175 million has put an unacceptable burden. This has reduced the water availability per capita, per year, from 5,000 cubic feet in 1960 to 1,500 today. In our Punjab too, the population has increased over 60 years but at a lesser rate. In 1947, in east Punjab, 6,000 cubic metres of potable water was available per person, per year. Now it is only 1,600 cubic metres. It is estimated to fall further to 1,147 cubic metres in 2050.

“However, the nine lakh shallow tube-wells now dangle dry. The rich have started digging deep to 300 feet or more with submersible pumps to grab water. Small farmers who predominate cannot afford the cost and their wells are drying up. One deep tube-well will dry up 100 (tube-wells) around it. The water table has gone far down, and this situation will lead to social tension. …West Punjab too faces these grave questions.”

Dr Gill offers concrete suggestions to be followed within Indian Punjab and in cooperation with the Punjab in Pakistan. “What should the two Punjabs do?” One proposal is to license and regulate tube-well sinking, including the permissible depth. “All must share fairly, and not take the maximum by means of wealth and power.” Monitoring is easy in this computer age. A high commissioner for groundwater management for the Punjab, with a competent scientific staff, would report directly to the chief minister and present an annual report to the state assembly. “Our British canals are in a state of collapse and flood irrigation will not do.”

He has a word of advice “for my friends in West Punjab”. Only recently the foreign minister of Pakistan, Mr Shah Mehmood Qureshi, said in a TV interview that the total average canal supplies of Pakistan are 104 million acre feet while the water available at the four gates is about 70 million acre feet. “Where does the 34 million acre feet go? It is not being stolen by India. It has been wasted in Pakistan.”

Therein lies the wisdom of Dr Gill’s advice. “Both Punjabs should face up to the water crisis, with courage and steady application of science. Else, they will be in trouble which won’t go away” — a dire prediction, indeed. The solution lies in a joint harnessing of scientific knowledge. The Punjab Agricultural University in Ludhiana can invite an academic from Pakistan to serve on its faculty for a year or so and the Punjab University in Lahore can reciprocate. India-Pakistan seminars on the subject can help. So can joint studies by independent experts. The chief ministers of the two Punjabs have met before. They should do so again before long to set afoot a dialogue at various levels, academic and otherwise, which will help their respective national governments the better to understand the ‘water crisis’ and drive the demagogues to find other topics to keep their business going.

As for Pakistan and India, they would render high service to the people of Kashmir if, without prejudice to their rights under the Indus Waters Treaty, they set up a single joint project on the Kishanganga-Jhelum-Neelam sharing electricity for both sides of the LoC rather than two rival hydroelectric projects in the same area. The power-starved people of Kashmir will thank them for it.

The writer is a writer and a lawyer.

 

[ajtr]

Et tu, water... —Andleeb Abbas​

Pakistan has one of the lowest agriculture productivity per cubic metre of water in the world. Our cash crops like sugarcane, rice and cotton are all water guzzlers and therefore we really need to question whether it is worth using 97 percent of the water on them

“Only God knows” is the response we receive when we go in search of some extinct natural resource of this country. Energy has already become a lost cause and the negligence of water as a scarce resource is almost assuming criminal proportions. Any resource not taken care of diminishes. Nature has been astoundingly generous to us but the apathy of this nation to all that is good and rare has brought us to the brink of living in a land where creative destruction is the only art unmatched.

In a recent report, water experts from the US have declared Pakistan as a severely water-stressed country and have warned that it may soon be bracketed with Ethiopia and many other famine-driven areas in the world. We are known as the Indus Civilisation but the uncivilised behaviour of its inhabitants has dried up the Indus River into a ditch in many of its traverses. Ninety-two percent of Pakistan is arid or semi-arid and the Indus plain covers only 25 percent of the land, but supports up to 85 percent of our population.

The diminishing quantity of water is a serious issue but the disastrous quality of water is of even graver concern. Out of a population of 170 million, 54 million are without access to safe drinking water, resulting in the deaths of 500,000 babies as a result of waterborne diseases. Two million tonnes of human excreta are produced in cities every year and half of it goes straight into our water bodies that we tap for drinking, cleaning and agriculture.

Ninety-seven percent of the water is used in agriculture and most of it goes waste. Pakistan has one of the lowest agriculture productivity per cubic metre of water in the world. Our cash crops like sugarcane, rice and cotton are all water guzzlers and therefore we really need to question whether it is worth using 97 percent of the water on them. These crops are watered by the traditional flood irrigation method that not only wastes a huge amount of water, but also damages the crops. Drip irrigation methods available in the country have demonstrated that the crops will only get the exact amount of water they deserve. The government has to decide its priorities with regard to water usage. Most of the water for agriculture goes through canals and tube-wells. One-third of the water going through canals gets wasted due to seepage or evaporation. Tube-wells are easy water-providing tools but have a disastrous effect on the water table because they pull up water much more quickly than it can be replaced. The water table drops as much as 1-10 feet annually, but we are digging more and more wells every year. With water bodies melting, rainfall decreasing and the water table dropping, where is the water going to come from?

We need to have a three-pronged strategy, i.e. to use the water we have wisely, fairly and economically at home and in factories. We need to stop polluting our water and, lastly, we need to conserve our water resources so that future generations do not live in a waterless Pakistan the way they are living in an energy-less country.

What we need to inculcate at all levels is to make people understand that no water is wastewater, and that every drop counts. All can be used for various purposes with a reasonable amount of recycling.

Besides agriculture, the major water users are industry and households. Water conservation and management at all levels must be declared mandatory by the government. There should be a national media campaign to create awareness about the issue. In countries like Australia, which have extreme water scarcity, the government has made rainwater harvesting obligatory at household level. Filtered rainwater is used for watering lawns, washing floors, etc. Small steps like refraining from keeping water running while cleaning teeth or taking a bath to wasting scores of litres on washing cars need to be inculcated through school education programmes and other innovative means to make people aware of the importance of the conservation of this precious resource.

Water from industrial usage is not being treated for reuse. Only one percent of industries treat wastewater before discharging it. The toxic water being discharged into our water bodies is causing skin diseases, decline in agricultural productivity, cancer and kidney failure.

Global warming has resulted in the melting of water bodies like glaciers at an abnormal rate, thus creating flooding and almost famine-like conditions in other parts of the country. Another mindset needing a change at all levels is the attitude that the environment is a luxury for the rich and educated. We have seen how mindless building of roads without accommodating tree plantation has actually led to higher temperatures and soil dehydration. With natural water resources being reduced drastically and technology and science not being capitalised for a more efficient use of water, we are limiting our efforts to special Friday prayers to God.

We, as a country, have become ‘addicted’ to crises. The leadership of the country has diversified skills in producing and living in a permanent state of crisis. A couple of years ago, the economy was on its deathbed and was given an economic cortisone by the IMF. Then the security crisis became unbearable and we ran to the US and ‘Friends of Pakistan’ to bail us out. The food and energy crisis has been running neck-to-neck alongside and we are looking for some ‘exorbitant Chinese’ rental solutions to give us an energy breather. And now water is making its presence felt due to its absence. Living in a crisis mode is not sustainable in the long run. It has destroyed the faith of every citizen in the future of this country. The common wisdom is that crisis after crisis can charge the most lethargic of individuals into action. We have seen the will to change gathering pace in the last few years and let us hope that this will becomes strong enough to help us create and walk on the path to change as well.

 

[ajtr]

Kishanganga arbitration: a clarification

Kamal Majidulla, the prime minister’s Special Assistant on Water Resources and Agriculture, in a statement issued here said if a mutually agreed list of experts to resolve the issue cannot be agreed upon, the two countries will rely upon a single negotiator to reconcile differences with respect to a common list.

That is strange. A 'single negotiator' (probably meant arbitrator) means Neutral Expert in terms of the IWT. Why go back to a NE when already a CoA is being contemplated and vigorously pursued ? After all, the IWT has provisions to constitute a CoA if there is no agreement on mutually agreed list of experts.

Leave that as it may, the Kishenganga issue was eminently suitable for a NE and a NE only IMHO. What are the issues here ? These could be the ones:

• Usual accusation of design specs violations like pondage, spillways, power intake etc. These now have a precedent in Baglihar. No need for a CoA here.
• Whether waters can be diverted from a tributary of Jhelum to another. The Annexure F, Para 12 and Para 15 (iii) of Part 3 of Annexure D is clear about this too. This matter also falls eminently under a NE.
• The issue of 'existing agricultural & hydroelectric use' on the Pakistani side. Per previous point, these also fall under a NE.
• The Indian proposal of drawdown flushing for sediment control. IMHO, this does not need any further discussion. The NE for Baglihar has given guidelines. He has advised both countries to follow modern techniques which were not in vogue in the 50s when IWT was discussed and arrived at. In fact, the NE's verdict is final and binding.

---------- Post added at 08:07 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:07 PM ----------

Irsa’s acting chief calls for opening link canal​

ISLAMABAD: In a unilateral decision, the acting chairman of Indus River System Authority, Shafqat Masud, has asked the Water and Power Development Authority to open Chashma-Jhelum link canal and start releasing 10,000 cusecs through the canal despite opposition from members representing the federal and Sindh governments.

Irsa sources said Sindh’s water share had also been increased by 10,000 cusecs to 200,000 cusecs as demanded by the provincial government.

Sources close to the federal and Sindh government members said Mr Masud discussed the issue of opening of the CJ canal with federal member Bashir Dahar who opposed the proposal.

The sources said the acting chairman, who is also Punjab member, had also taken up the matter with the Sindh member on telephone who had also opposed opening of the canal.

The two provinces have been involved in a bitter controversy over the opening of CJ link canal for about six months now.

In February, Sindh’s member requested the provincial government that since he had been aggrieved over a majority decision of Irsa in favour of Punjab on CJ opening, he should be called back from Irsa in protest.

The Sindh government did not agree to his request, but registered its protest with the federal government.

Only a day later, the Balochistan government withdrew its Irsa member for supporting Punjab’s cause instead of Sindh.

The Balochistan government felt that Sindh would not release Balochistan’s water share in case it suffered shortages itself. The decision to withdraw its member was, however, rescinded subsequently.

As the controversy over the CJ canal prolonged, the Punjab government started criticising the Irsa’s role as a judicious regulator and claimed that two members from Sindh (a Sindh member and a federal member with Sindh domicile) were instrumental in taking decisions against Punjab’s interest because of their majority.

As a result, the Punjab government demanded re-composition of Irsa and threatened to withdraw its membership. Its member started abstaining from Irsa meetings after the threat.

But even before the Punjab member’s return to Irsa, Chairman Aman Gul Khattak went on leave for two weeks, extended it for another two weeks and then submitted his resignation on health grounds.

The Punjab government had written to Irsa last week to open CJ link canal by releasing 15,000 cusecs water through it.

A meeting of Irsa, presided over by Punjab member Shafqat Masood considered Punjab’s request for opening of CJ last week but was opposed by Sindh and federal members.

It was, therefore, decided through a majority vote to review the water situation after four days and reconsider Punjab’s request for opening of CJ canal.

On Tuesday, however, Irsa’s acting chairman and member Punjab directed Wapda to release 10,000 cusecs through CJ link canal.

---------- Post added at 08:08 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:07 PM ----------

Kishanganga dispute: Pakistan team in Delhi​

ISLAMABAD: A high-level Pakistani team will travel to New Delhi on Tuesday to finalise a court of arbitration (CoA) for adjudication of the Kishanganga hydropower plant being built by India on the Neelum river, allegedly in violation of the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty (IWT).The neighbours have already nominated two arbitrators each and will now together suggest three independent ones to complete the seven-member court.

Under IWT, the independent arbitrators must be experts in water disputes, engineering and law, besides being members of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), World Bank or the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Sources in Islamabad said in case of a disagreement, the members will be selected through a secret draw.

Pakistan has already nominated Bruno Simma, a German jurist working with ICJ, and Jan Paulson, a Norwegian from an international law firm. On the other hand, India has nominated Peter Tomka, the Slovak vice-president of ICJ, and Lucius Caflisch, a professor at the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva.

CoA will take up the Pakistani complaint that India was constructing the 330-MW plant by diverting the Neelum river, which will reduce by 16% the power generation capacity of the 969-MW Neelum-Jhelum power project on the same river in ***************** Kashmir’s Muzaffarabad.

Pakistan maintains the project will cause it a loss of energy worth Rs6 billion a year.

 

[ajtr]

India is digging own grave in water.

There is 100% chance of Pakistan - India War on Water dispute.

Not only Pak Army but people of Pakistan will fight this war - as it is matter of life and death.

Last battle will be fought on the bank of Ganges.

Blood with run in Ganges for days.

Indians will have to pay in blood the amount of water they have stolen by that time.

So get ready - You Indians or stop stealing Pakistani Water.

You will be doomed.

miya ji banks of ganges to kab ke haath se nikal gaye abhi to khatra banks of indus ko hai use sambhal lo zara kahin pennisula arab desesrt na ban jaye woh.

Two Irsa members quit in row over CJ link canal opening​

ISLAMABAD: A row over the opening of Chashma-Jhelum (CJ) link canal took a new turn on Wednesday when Sindh’s member and the federal member of the Indus River System Authority (Irsa) decided to resign in protest against the move.

According to sources, Sindh’s member Mohammed Khan Memon and federal member Bashir Ahmed Dahr may submit their resignations on Thursday.

Protesting against the decision taken by Punjab’s member in his capacity as acting chairman of Irsa to open the canal, the Sindh government demanded an urgent meeting of the water regulator to reverse it.

An official in the Sindh irrigation department told Dawn that Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah would take up the issue with Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif.

Irsa’s Sindh member briefed provincial Irrigation Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah in Karachi on the situation. Mr Shah discussed the matter with the chief minister who decided to take up the matter with the federal and Punjab leadership.

Mr Memon was advised to issue a notice to all Irsa members and register the protest against what the Sindh government terms an ‘illegal decision’ of the Punjab member and call a meeting of the authority to discuss the issue in detail.

Meanwhile, Irsa’s acting chairman and member from Punjab Shafqat Masood held separate meetings with Water and Power Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf and Secretary Shahid Rafi and explained reasons behind his decision to open the canal.

Apparently convinced by Mr Masood’s point of view, the minister and the secretary advised him to issue a statement to clarify why he had decided to open the canal despite opposition from members representing the federal and Sindh governments.

In its statement Irsa said it had to take judicious actions on a need basis to regulate supplies of available water in accordance with provincial demands. On July 6, all the provinces, except Punjab, were getting indented supplies. Punjab’s indents for the opening of the CJ link canal and Greater Thal canal had been pending for over six weeks, the statement said.

It explained that the availability of water at Trimmu on the Chenab, which fed south Punjab canals, was showing a declining trend. Meanwhile, the availability in the Indus had shown a considerable increase and surplus flows were taking place below Chashma Barrage.

The authority said the filling in Mangla was still deficient and might remain below full conservation level which could severely affect the next Rabi wheat targets.

Accordingly, it was considered more feasible to augment the supplies at Trimmu through the CJ link canal as Tarbela reservoir was having 42 per cent more storage than last year, it said.

It said the link canals were operated as part of the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 to manage the Indus Basin as an integrated entity as envisaged in the Water Apportionment Accord of 1991. Also, Clause 14(d) of the accord provided freedom to the provinces to modify system-wise, as well as period-wise, uses within their allocations, it said.

Irsa said that presently all the stakeholders were getting their indented supplies which were more than provincial shares defined in the 1991 accord. Due to sufficient availability of water, the share of Sindh was increased to 200,000 cusecs from 190,000 at the time of opening of the CJ link canal. Now Punjab will receive 152,000 cusecs for its entire system. “This confirms that none of the stakeholders has been subjected to any shortfall due to opening of the CJ link canal,” the statement concluded.

 

[hillman32]

Indians RAW is feeding lot of Dollar to so called Sindhis Nationalist so that they oppose Kalabagh Dame and keep spreading hatred against Punjab.

 

[ajtr]

Shahbaz toes firm line on water issue​

Updated at: 1505 PST, Thursday, July 08, 2010 ShareThis story

LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said Punjab would not take even drop of water from the share of other provinces; nor will it unjustifiably dole out its share to anyone else, Geo News reported Thursday.

Speaking at Punjab Assembly, he said it was a dictator who sold the water of Pakistan’s rivers, adding he is now dead; but, Pakistan and Punjab had to suffer the loss on this count.

‘The credit of 1991 Water Accord goes to Nawaz Sharif, who signed the Accord with reconciliation with no word of objection from any province even now,’ he remarked.

Sharif stressed, ‘Punjab never wants anyone else’s water share; nor can we give our share.’

Shahbaz Sharif said Punjab slashed its share in the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award to give to other provinces, adding, ‘We will continue to give sacrifices in future as well but with no compromise on water.’

It is unfortunate that other provinces did not play their role for the resolution of water issue, he remarked adding a dictator spawned troubles by thrashing out the Indus River System Authority (IRSA).

Sharif continued however, the then puppet government did not intervene on the Irsa’s grappling by the dictator.

The Punjab CM said he would take the House’s Committee on water to the PM Gilani and will ensure the safety of Punjab’s millions of people.

Speaking on remarks by some MPAs on media yesterday, the CM Shairf said the contribution of media, which did not flinch back from unraveling the truth in dictator’s era, cannot be forgot and it was media that showed the world lawyers’ movement and struggle of political workers.

It is requested to Lahore House that a code of conduct could be hammered out in consultation with the media, he added.

Many Pakistanis wrongly feel that Pakistan surrendered to India the waters of the three Eastern rivers in 1960. Their argument is along the following lines. On the basis of over fifty years' record the mean flow in Indus River System (IRS) totalled 175 MAF on the eve of Partition of Punjab in 1947. This comprised of 93 MAF including 27 of Kabul for Indus, 23 for Jhelum, 26 for Chenab, 6 for Ravi, 13 for Beas and 14 for Sutlej annually. Out of this 175 MAF, 167 flowed into Pakistan at the time the boundaries of partitioned Punjab were fixed according to the Radcliffe Award . This means that the Indian East Punjab drew only 8 MAF of a total of 33 MAF of water that annually flowed in three eastern rivers Ravi, Beas and Sutlej. It is this 25 MAF that many Pakistanis feel should have been shared between the two countries.

The Pakistanis feel that those who negotiated the IWT on their behalf did not sufficiently press for the sharing of this quantum of water. There are several fallacies, as usual, in this argument. Firstly, leaving aside the claim on the quantum of waters, the arrangement entered into at Partition time was interim in nature until a final agreement could be reached and the provisions of such an interim arrangement were in no way binding on the parties concerned. Secondly, the Indus Agreement was eventually reached in 1960 and in the meanwhile, utilization of the waters of these rivers had grown enormously in the states of East Punjab, Rajasthan and Jammu & Kashmir. To claim the waters on the basis of the flow thirteen years before, when agriculture and economy had been dictated by different circumstances of a united India is patently unfair. In fact, the IWT itself treats water flows and usage based on the situation existing as on Apr. 1, 1960, the effective date of the Treaty. Thirdly, as a lower riparian state, all the unused river waters would naturally flow to Pakistan. This, by itself, cannot bestow any rights on that country and again, a quantum of 80 MAF of water was reaching the Arabian Sea unutilized out of the total flow of the Indus River systems in Pakistan. By the same logic of Pakistan, that quantum of water should also be shared with India then. Last, but not the least, the parts that eventually comprised Pakistan were part of India for millennia. The agricultural and irrigation patterns had been developed keeping in mind the whole. When those parts decided to secede all of a sudden, an argument could not be held against the rest of India that because of its usage of water it needed everything (even if almost half of it was going waste). India needed to develop afresh its command area due to loss of territory and fertile areas.

---------- Post added at 10:21 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:20 PM ----------

UN, World Bank may decide on Kishenganga umpires​

New Delhi: With just a week left for expiry of deadline and both India and Pakistan unable to decide on the names of umpires for Kishenganga arbitration, the process seems to be heading for international intervention even as New Delhi has proposed to Pakistan July 12 as a date to settle the umpire issue bilaterally.While both sides named two arbitrators each within the 30 days of initiation of the arbitration process on May 18, they have failed to decide so far on the three umpires, including a Chairman, for the court of arbitration to settle the Kishenganga water dispute. The final date for selecting these umpires is July 16.

Pakistan had "instituted" arbitration proceedings on May 18 on the Kishenganga Hydro-electric Project by appointing Bruno Simma and Jan Paulsson as its arbitrators for the seven-member Court of Arbitration, which is being set up in accordance with the Indus Waters Treaty 1960, the Indian side said while appointing their arbitrators on June 16.

India nominated a judge of the Geneva-based International Court of Justice Peter Tomka and a Swiss international law expert Lucius Caflisch to represent it in the Kishenganga project dispute.

India also invited Pakistan government for consultations on July 5-6 regarding the appointment of three umpires, including a Chairman of the Court of Arbitration, by mutual agreement.

Though Pakistan did not come for the consultations, it proposed exchanging names of umpires, selected by both countries respectively, officials sources said.

However, after legal consultation, India insisted on holding discussion on the selection of the umpires instead of exchanging names, which had a possibility of being vetoed by either country, they said.

With the process appearing to head towards international intervention under which UN and World Bank will select the
names using draw of lots, India yesterday again invited
Pakistan to hold bilateral consultations, with either an Indian team visiting Islamabad or their team coming here, on July 12 to resolve the issue, the sources said.

As per the provisions of the Treaty, if the two countries fail to appoint umpires within 30 days of appointment of arbitrators from both sides, then the two parties prepare a draw of lots and request a "person" mentioned in the Treaty to select the umpire.

While the chairman can be selected by either the secretary general of the United Nations or president of the World Bank, the engineer member umpire can be selected from a lot by president of Massachusetts Institute of Technology or Rector, Imperial College of Science and Technology, London.

The Legal member umpire can be selected from a draw of
lots by either the Chief Justice of the United States or Lord
chief justice of England, as per the provisions of the Treaty.

Pakistan is objecting to construction of 330-MW hydro power plant on Kishenganga, a tributary of the Jhelum in Jammu and Kashmir, and has sought arbitration by the international court under the 1960 Indus Water Treaty.

The court of arbitration route is taken when the issue does not pertain to a technicality and concerns the legal disputes over the interpretation of the Treaty itself.

Pakistan is learnt to have sought legal interpretation on two major parameters concerning the diversion of Kishenganga water for the power project in Jammu and Kashmir.

First, it has sought the legal interpretation of India's obligations under the provisions of the Treaty that mandates India to let the water of the Western-flowing Indus Basin Rivers (Chenab, Jhelum and Indus) go to Pakistan and whether or not the Kishenganga project meets those obligations.

New Delhi maintains that it is within its rights, under the Treaty, to divert Kishenganga waters to the Bonar Madmati Nullah, another tributary of the Jhelum, which falls into the Wullar Lake before joining the Jhelum again.

Pakistan has objected to this, saying India's plan to divert water causes obstruction to the flow of Kishenganga.

 

[Hutchroy]

Chashma-Jhelum row : Dawn Editorial

Thursday, 08 Jul, 2010

The water issue once again threatens to create acrimony among the provinces. The acting chairman of the Indus River System Authority has unilaterally asked Wapda to open the Chashma-Jhelum link canal and release 10,000 cusecs of water.

The Punjab government had recently written to Irsa and asked for the release of 15,000 cusecs. But according to a report in this newspaper both the federal government’s and Sindh’s representative opposed the move. The stalemate over the Chashma-Jhelum canal has persisted for the past several months. It has resulted in boycotts of meetings, protests and resignations by Irsa members when things have not gone their way. Sindh and Balochistan are of the view that Chashma-Jhelum is a flood canal and not for perennial use. The feeling in Punjab is that lessened flows in the canal will adversely affect agriculture in the south of the province. Observers point out that by opening the canal when a flood situation does not exist Punjab wants to set a precedent so that the canal can be used permanently. The lower riparians are wary of this as they fear cuts in their share of water.

Perhaps the key issue here is that the regulatory body must act in a neutral manner. While considering the demands of all the federating units, it must not be seen as tilting towards a particular one. The acting chairman, who is also Punjab’s representative in Irsa, should not have taken a unilateral decision. Decisions should be made on technical grounds and should be acceptable to all. A national perspective is required, especially when dealing with an issue as sensitive as water.

Sacrifice, as well as magnanimity, is required of the federating units. It is hoped that the issue is resolved amicably and to the satisfaction of all stakeholders. For this to happen there must be dialogue and compromise, as boycotts and further acrimony will lead nowhere. Ultimately, for national cohesion it is essential that water management is undertaken in a judicious manner and that a spirit of accommodation prevails so that contentious issues can be resolved.

 

[Hutchroy]

Telemetry system

Dawn Editorial - Saturday, 10 Jul, 2010

Reviving the telemetry system may reduce inter-provincial discord over water. As reported in this newspaper, the non-functioning of the Rs350m system has led to rising tensions between Sindh and Punjab over the recent opening of the Chashma-Jhelum link canal. So much so that government officials have pointed out that internal bickering over water will give credence to India’s claim that Pakistan’s water problems are the result of domestic mismanagement.

To remove misgivings and ensure the judicious use of water it is of utmost importance that the government rehabilitates the telemetry system. The opening of the Chashma-Jhelum canal aroused nationalist sentiment in Sindh, while the chief ministers of both Sindh and Punjab said they would take up the issue with the prime minister. Punjab’s irrigation minister has said the canal would stay open while Sindh wants its immediate closure. The rigid stances are underscored by the Punjab chief minister’s statement that his province will make “no compromise on water”. Better sense must prevail if this touchy issue is to be resolved.

Without a functioning, scientific water management system, such disputes are bound to crop up. Sindh says there are “heavy water losses” due to the absence of a reliable monitoring system, with losses between the Jhelum and Indus zones said to exceed 70 per cent. Officials have been quoted as saying that field engineers in all provinces are intentionally creating problems in the smooth functioning of the telemetry system, allegedly siphoning off water for the benefit of large landowners. This claim must be thoroughly investigated and those involved punished as the alleged water theft is having adverse effects on provincial harmony. The telemetry system suffers from frequent breakdowns and an internal inquiry has said the project is plagued by design flaws. However, as observers point out these flaws are not beyond repair and with some investment the government can rehabilitate the system. The objectives of the telemetry system are to “achieve equitable distribution of water, ascertain system losses and ensure efficient use of water”. If these objectives are met with honesty of purpose, inter-provincial disagreements over water may be addressed to a large extent.

There has been criticism of the Indus River System Authority over the acting chairman’s unilateral decision to open the Chashma-Jhelum canal. In this perspective, the Punjab irrigation minister’s proposal that a neutral member from Azad Jammu and Kashmir or Gilgit-Baltistan represent the federal government in Irsa should be considered. Also, it is essential that the elected representatives of Sindh and Punjab show sensitivity towards the demands of each other’s province if the water dispute is to be resolved amicably.

 

[ajtr]

Sindh furious over Irsa decision

KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah took exception to a ‘hurriedly called’ meeting of the Indus River System Authority on Wednesday and saw it as a move to ‘subvert’ the understanding he had reached with his Punjab counterpart a day earlier to defuse a controversy triggered by the reopening of the Chashma-Jhelum Link Canal.

Addressing a news conference, Mr Shah urged Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani to take note of what he termed an interference in the decision taken at Tuesday’s meeting, presided over by the premier.

He said it was agreed on Tuesday that water distribution among the four provinces would be done in accordance with the 1991 accord and Irsa would perform its functions free from any political influence. Mr Shah said that Sindh be given its share of water as guaranteed in the 1991 accord.

Describing Tuesday’s meeting with the prime minister and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif as positive, Mr Shah expressed astonishment over the convening of the Irsa meeting only a day after and regretted that some elements had moved quickly to subvert the understanding.

He said the water issue had been politicised again and criticized Irsa chairman’s announcement on Wednesday that the CJ link canal would be reopened after three days.

The chief minister said canal reopening would have a grave impact on Sindh’s agriculture, which was already suffering from 40 per cent shortage of water.

Mr Shah said that reopening of the canal under an illegal order had brought about a shortage of water in Sindh, adding that if Sindh did not receive 135,000 cusecs water then it would not be in a position to meet its requirements nor could it release water to Balochistan.

Perhaps India can offer to help Sindh and Baluchistan by diverting water of Chenab ----> Beas---> Sutlej ---> IGC and then a link canal to Sukkur Barrage.That will make Sindh independent of Punjab's water perfidy and colossal wastage ensuring that adequate water flows to Sindh Baluchistan and to Sea as well.

 

[Hutchroy]

Dripping away

The water problem in some form or another has been evident in the Indus river system for at least 150 years, and challenges of water management have dogged governments since 1857. Those with long memories will recall the problems associated with waterlogged land in the late 1940s, the rising of the water table and the increases in salinity coupled with a drop in agricultural production. Today the problems we face are even more complex. Global warming is eating away at the Himalayan glaciers that feed much of the Indus system and both Pakistan and India are set to become seriously water-poor nations. Water has become political. At an international level there is a rising level of tension between us and India as this diminishing resource is predicted by some as a likely trigger for a future conflict.

At a provincial level water is now a flashpoint, and its control closely linked to political patronage. Winter rains across the country mostly failed to materialise this year and our stocks of water are low. Dams went to dead level a fortnight before expected. Lower snowfall in the Himalayas and the Karakorums has meant there is less meltwater runoff and at the end of this long 150-year-old chain there are this year's crops – which need watering. Our provinces rarely see eye-to-eye on the water issue. There is a historical trust deficit that has contributed to the failure to build water infrastructures and in times of near-drought – which this is – jealousy, suspicion and rivalry trump any charitable thoughts. On Thursday the Indus River system Authority (IRSA) reopened the Chashma-Jhelum Link Canal (CJLC) on the request of Punjab – contrary to a decision taken a day before and allegedly after the intervention of 'the man at the top' because he knew that his party's vote-bank in southern Punjab would be threatened by a lack of water. Now, political equilibrium is restored, the farmers of southern Punjab get their crops watered and a scarce resource is once again managed by expediency rather than via a process of strategic planning. Political water is a finite resource and one that is perceptibly diminishing across the sub-continent. Effective management of the water problem has, arguably, never been achieved in over 150 years. Both time and water are now of the essence and we have little of either.