Irrigation water shortage in Sindh reaches alarming level

LARKANA: The Right Bank Canal System of Sukkur Barrage is currently experiencing a critical irrigation water shortage, severely impacting the command areas of Larkana an Qambar-Shahdadkot districts, as well as the lands in Balochistan, fed through the North West Canal (NWC) during the peak Kharif crop season.

The impact is also affecting Dadu Canal, Rice Canal and those irrigating the Sukkur district.

Sources privy to the situation told Dawn on Saturday that the prevailing shortfall across the canal network has reached an alarming level — North West Canal (-) 64.1%, Rice Canal (-) 38.0% and Dadu Canal (-) 82.0%.

Credible data obtained from sources in Sindh’s irrigation department indicates that Punjab is currently drawing 53,394 cusecs against its allocated share of 44,000 cusecs — an excess withdrawal of around 21.35%. Similarly, Taunsa Barrage is lifting 25,694 cusecs against its entitled share of 24,000 cusecs, reflecting an over-withdrawal of approximately 9.3%.

Meanwhile, the pond level at Chashma Barrage has recorded a continuous rise, climbing from 644.9 feet on Friday to 646.4 feet on Saturday, indicating accumulation of water in the upper reaches even as downstream scarcity deepens to a more critical situation.

Official data shows crisis deepening due to over-withdrawal by Punjab

A reliable source told Dawn on Saturday that the chief engineer Barrage Management Unit was kept abreast about the current water situation. He was requested due consideration and necessary action. The matter was also conveyed to the irrigation secretary and the department’s technical secretary, besides other officials concerned.

Despite Sindh having submitted an indent of 130,000 cusecs, only 100,000 cusecs is being released, leaving the province to contend with a massive shortfall. The irrigation people said that the particular concern is the controversial Chashma-Jhelum (CJ) Link Canal, which remains operational and is drawing approximately 16,500 cusecs — a volume that exceeds the combined flow of several canals at the tail-end barrages that irrigate the country’s major agricultural zones.

The ongoing water crisis in Sindh’s Right Bank Canal System is affecting millions of acres of agricultural land and stands in direct contradiction to the principles of equitable water distribution enshrined in the Water Apportionment Accord of 1991.

In the light of the grave situation, the federal authorities are being urged to take immediate steps to ensure Sindh receives its rightful water share without delay; review and regulate excess water withdrawals in the upper reaches; streamline operations of link canals in accordance with the designated allocations; and established regulations to ensure adequate water supply to Sukkur Barrage’s Right Bank canals to meet the agricultural needs of Larkana, Shahdadkot, the Balochistan segment, Dadu and Sukkur districts.

The situation demands urgent high-level intervention before the ongoing shortfall causes irreversible damage to the region’s agriculture and rural livelihoods.

This report is based on field data and official irrigation records from the Sukkur Barrage Right Bank Canal System.

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Sindh President Nisar Ahmed Khuhro has constantly been reminding the authorities concerned that Sindh, as a major contributor to the national economy, produces 5.5 million tonnes of rice annually and generates $1.4 billion in rice exports. Cutting the province’s water share during Kharif amounts to ‘economic massacre’ of this lower riparian province.

“Sindh produces 67% of the country’s agricultural output, yet it is being deprived of its rightful water share,” he stresses.

The current shortages of water in Right Bank canals of Sukkur Barrage pertaining to Larkana, Shahdadkot, Dadu, Shikarpur, NW Canals and Balochistan are as under: NWC (-) 64.1%, Rice Canal (-) 38% and Dadu Canal (-) 82%, respectively, says Ishaq Mugheri, a former president of the Sindh Abadgar Board’s Qambar-Shahdadkot district chapter.

Most farmers and landowners in Shahdadkot, Qubo Saeed Khan and other vast areas irrigate their lands with supplies from the Saifullah Magsi branch and due to incomplete remodeling of the major irrigation channels, the paddy transplantation had not been started.

He says: “We are still waiting water to reach the tail-end to start preparing paddy nurseries.”

Mr Mughiri says that Dadu Canal allocation is 4,995 cusecs but being provided only 860 cusecs; North Western Canal allocation is 6,260 cusecs and is provided 2,100 cusecs for Larkana and Qambar- Shahdadkots.

The Rice Canal’s allocation is 8,700 cusecs but it is provided only 5,300 cusecs. The withdrawal at Taunsa is 25,694 cusecs against the entitled allocation of 24,000, 9.3% in excesses.

Another issue that would crop up between Sindh and Balochistan is over their respective water share from Grang Regulator as presently NWC is receiving lesser water, which is the key channel for water distribution, Mr Mugheri said.

Published in Dawn, June 7th, 2026 ...