ISLAMABAD, Feb 3: Amid reopening of canals after a month-long closure, water shortage for the ongoing Rabi season has dropped from 17 to 13 per cent owing to better river flows and improved water management by provincial governments.

As a result, the Indus River System Authority (Irsa) has decided for the first time to carry over reasonable water storages in reservoirs to meet Sindh’s early sowing requirements for Kharif, especially for the main cash crop – cotton.

“Whatever additional water we receive in the system from now onwards will be set aside to meet Sindh’s requirement,” Irsa spokesman Khalid Idris Rana told Dawn on Sunday, adding it was part of the water regulator’s strategy to facilitate cotton sowing in Sindh during early Kharif.

He said the reduction in water shortage had encouraged Irsa to seek fresh distribution plans from the provinces for their improved shares. He said two major factors had contributed to improved water availability for Rabi — river flows increased by 6pc to 0.15 million acre feet (MAF) and provinces were able to improve water management and curb system losses, which dropped from the estimated 1MAF to about 0.5MAF.

Mr Rana said provinces had already started opening canals after keeping them closed for over 35 days (Dec 25 to Jan 31) and Irsa had increased discharges from two major reservoirs. The discharges from Mangla dam have been increased from 15,000 to 28,000 cusec in two stages since Jan 31 and those from Tarbela dam from 32,000 to 40,000 cusec a week earlier.

The reduced discharges had caused a decline in hydropower generation to less than 1,000MW from an installed capacity of over 6,700MW. The power generation will gradually improve over the next few weeks.

Mr Rana said the current weather system had brought rains to the plains and snowfall to the hills which would also have a positive impact on standing crops because it would further reduce water shortages, improve crop yields, curtail requirement for canal water and help bring down input cost of crops. He said provinces had sown crops on the basis of 17pc water shortage and were anticipating higher dependence on tubewells to meet the shortage during the Feb-March period, but timely rains and lower shortage would reduce dependence on tubewells.

He said water share for Sindh and Punjab had been increased to 40,000 and 44,000 cusec, respectively. Punjab is getting 28,000 cusec from Mangla dam, 6,000 cusec from Chenab, 5,000 cusec from Thal canal, 4,000 cusec from Taunsa barrage and 1,000 cusec from Chashma Right Bank Canal.

Balochistan is being provided 3,000 cusec as per its requirement and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has been allowed to utilise 3,000 cusec from Chashma Right Bank Canal.

The Irsa spokesman said that total water storage in major dams currently stood at about 3MAF. The water level in Tarbela was recorded at 1,440 feet on Saturday against its dead level of 1,378 feet. Likewise, water level in Mangla stood at about 1,135 feet against its dead level of 1,040 feet.