Sindh protests IRSA decisions over water shortages, supply cuts

KARACHI: The Sindh government has lodged a strong protest over what it describes as continued and unjustified water shortages in the province, accusing the Indus River System Authority (IRSA) of unfair distribution and warning that reduced flows are affecting both farming areas and Karachi’s water supply.

In a statement, Sindh Senior Minister for Information, Transport and Mass Transit Sharjeel Inam Memon said IRSA’s recent decisions were against the spirit and principles of the 1991 Water Apportionment Accord. He described the situation as a serious injustice to Sindh and said the province’s reduced water share was harming agriculture while also creating risks for Karachi, which depends heavily on the Indus River system for bulk water supply.

Sharjeel said Sindh had been facing a water shortage of around 22 per cent for several days. He added that shortages of 42 per cent and 29 per cent had been recorded at Guddu and Kotri barrages respectively. According to him, Karachi was already dealing with a large gap between water demand and supply, and IRSA was further cutting Sindh’s share under the justification of shortage equalisation, which he said was unacceptable.

The minister also said Sindh had repeatedly made it clear that extra inflows generated by extraordinary rainfall could not be subtracted from the province’s allocated share. Despite this, he said, IRSA had continued taking decisions that strengthened the perception that Sindh was being treated in a discriminatory manner.

Concerns over agriculture and urban supply

Sharjeel said Sindh’s rights under the 1991 Water Apportionment Accord must be safeguarded fully and that no province should receive preference over another’s allocated share. He said the province’s agricultural areas were already facing severe shortages, while significant volumes of water were still being diverted through the Chashma-Jhelum and Taunsa-Panjnad link canals.

He questioned why link canals were being prioritised when Sindh’s own barrages and canal network were facing acute shortages. He said the issue was no longer limited to agriculture and had also become a major urban concern.

According to the minister, drinking water supplies for Karachi and other Sindh cities are directly connected to the Indus River system. He said any fall in water levels at Kotri Barrage and its linked canals directly affects Karachi’s distribution network, and warned that the present situation could further disrupt supplies to residents while affecting drinking water availability, industrial activity and wider economic operations in the city.

Call for federal intervention

Sharjeel urged the federal government to take notice of IRSA’s decisions and adopt practical steps to ensure Sindh receives what he called its full and rightful share under the 1991 accord. He said the Pakistan Peoples Party and the Sindh government would not compromise on the water rights of the people of Sindh and would continue pursuing the issue through constitutional, legal and democratic forums.

He added that any reduction in Sindh’s share, or any distribution he considered unfair, was against the interests of the whole province, and called on IRSA to revisit its decisions to ensure water allocation was fair, equitable and transparent.