LAHORE, Oct 21: The Punjab on Monday closed all 24 canals — perennial and non-perennial — for 10 days to save water for the Rabi season due to start after Nov 10.

According to the canal phase-out plan, prepared by the irrigation and agriculture departments, to meet around 34 per cent Rabi shortage, the province was due to suspend water supply to canals in the cotton zone by Oct 11. But the governor put the plan on hold because of elections.

In order to recover the loss of extra supplies, the irrigation authorities on Monday closed all canals simultaneously for the next 10 days — from Oct 21 to 31.

Of the 24 canals — 13 from Mangla command and 11 from Tarbela — only Lower Chenab, Central Bari Doab, Upper Pakpattan, Eastern Sadiqia, Thal and D.G. Khan canals were running on Monday and were due for closure by the evening. Only Thal canal will remain operational as it is used for the supply of drinking water.

According to the departmental report depicting the rationale behind the canal closure, water consumption is at its lowest in the last weeks of October because both rice and cotton crops get matured by the time and wheat sowing is yet to start. In order to capitalize on the lean water demand, the department closes canals and saves water.

This was a routine matter and there was nothing unusual about it, said an irrigation official. The reason behind this year water shortage, according to him, was 10 to 15 per cent below-normal-river flows. In addition to this, the reservoirs have also lost a storage capacity of around 20 per cent during the last three decades. The total storage was around 15 million acres feet in the mid-seventies which has now shrunk to 12.5maf.

About the ‘overfilled’ dams this year, he said it was more of a psychological rather than any practical advantage. Though both dams were filled beyond their capacities — Tarbela went up to 1,552 feet against 1,550 feet and Mangla touched 1,206 feet, four feet above prescribed limit — but they added only 0.2maf water which did not last even for a week when dams were opened on Sept 8.

According a Wapda’s water wing official, experts were expecting Tarbela dam to deplete at the rate of 1.8 feet and Mangla 0.3 feet daily and standing at 1,518 feet and 1,197 feet respectively by the time Rabi sowing started. But, both the reservoirs registered water drop faster than their expectations — Tarbela 1,493.50 feet and Mangla 1,184.10 feet on Monday.

“One must not forget that around 2.2maf water has been wasted to sea due to silting up of dams and our failure to build new dams,” says a hydrologist working with the World Bank. Had the country built new dams, at least 2.2maf — almost equal to the capacity lost to silting up — could have been saved and the shortage brought down to more manageable 15 per cent level.

The planners and rulers must take note of the situation and immediately start building a new dame before it was too late, he warned.

RIVER FLOW: The combined river flow continued its downwards trend with total supplies sliding down to abysmal 60,600 cusecs. Fall in the level of Tarbela and Mangla dams was stemmed on Monday with releases reduced to less than supplies as the Punjab closed its canals.

Tarbela dam on Monday stood at 1,493.50 feet level against optimum level of 1,550 feet. It houses 4.18 million acre feet water against maximum 7.2maf capacity.

Mangla dam had a level of 1,184.10 feet and 3.59maf of water. Its maximum level is 1,202 with 4.64maf water.

River Chenab dropped down to 15,300 cusecs and river Kabul went down to 6,100 cusecs.

According to the barrage report, Jinnah had an inflow of 51,600 cusecs and outflow of 48,600 cusecs, Chashma 46,600 and 43,000, Taunsa 46,200 and 44,200, Guddu 52,400 and 48,400, Sukkur 49,300 and 24,900 and Kotri 10,000 with no outflow.