6,000 cusecs water wasted owing to 'evaporation', NA told.

ISLAMABAD -- Minister for Water Resources Syed Khursheed Shah on Friday stated on the floor of the National Assembly that some 6,000 cusecs of water was being wasted while flowing a distance of 350 kilometres from Sukkur Barrage to Kotri Barrage because of 'evaporation', and at the same time expressed his surprise over missing 20,000 cusecs between Taunsa, the last barrage in Punjab, and Guddu Barrage in Sindh, despite being nearly equidistant from each other.

The statement came from the minister in response to an indirect allegation made by Dr Fehmida Mirza of the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) that some 6,000 cusecs of water went missing between Sukkur and Kotri barrages, the former one lying in the constituency of the minister.

'There is no doubt that presently there is 10,000 [cusecs] water at Kotri Barrage. The mentioned 6,000 [cusecs] is evaporated. This 6,000 [cusecs] is evaporated while covering a distance of 350km and from Taunsa to Guddu; it is 20,000 cusecs which is not understandable,' said Mr Shah.

The minister admitted that there was a shortage of water in the country, but hoped that the current rain spell would increase the water level in dams and rivers. He said they were holding meetings on a daily basis to ensure water supply to the tail-end of Sindh. He assured the house that he would also hold a meeting with the Sindh minister for irrigation to resolve the issue of water supply to farmers of the province.

Mr Shah expressed his pleasure over the recent rains in the country, stating that water inflows had reached 98,000 cusecs at Tarbela and the situation would further improve when it would touch the mark of 130,000 cusecs in the next few days.

Earlier, speaking on a point of order, Fehmida Mirza expressed concern over the acute shortage of water being faced by the areas at the tail-end of Sindh which, according to her, could affect the rice crop.

She expressed her surprise over missing 6,000 cusecs of water at Kotri Barrage, claiming that Sukkur Barrage was discharging 16,000 cusecs whereas Kotri was receiving only 10,000 cusecs. 'Where is the remaining 6,000 cusecs of water going?'

Dr Mirza also expressed concern over the increasing prices of petrol and diesel and said two rickshaw drivers had burnt their vehicles in Nawabshah in protest against 85 per cent increase in petroleum prices over the last three weeks.

She suggested that all ministers and chairpersons of parliamentary committees return their fuel cards to the...