Indus River faces acute water shortage

MUZAFFARGARH:

The Indus River is facing an acute water shortage, leading to inhibited water supply into local canals.

The record water shortage in the river was measured at head Taunsa barrage located in Kot Addu. According to an irrigation department official, around 11,000 feet of water was recorded at Taunsa barrage, while the release measured around 14,000 cusecs from the river.

Following the water decrease, the Muzaffargarh canal, DG Khan canal and TP-link canals were closed due to a shortage of water.

The closure spread panic among farmers, who are dependent on canal water to irrigate their crops.

Farmers including Chaudhary Muhammad Hussain, Noor Khan, Malik Rahim Bakhsh, Malik Allah Dad and many others said that due to the scarcity of canal water, they have to irrigate their crops through piter. They appealed to the provincial governments to find viable solutions to deal with the situation.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 7^th, 2023.