Rabi crop

The Rabi season starts from October and ends in March. The Indus River System Authority (IRSA) in its meeting held in Islamabad on October 1 anticipated that there would be a water shortage of 38 percent in the Rabi season that would tamper with the sowing of major crops, including wheat, tobacco, barley, mustard, gram, lentil, potatoes, onions and tomatoes. The advisory committee estimated that water storage will stand at 5.89MAF. The IRSA body also projected system losses at 1.73MAF.

The Met department has already speculated that winter rains will be below the normal limit. Keeping in view the challenges that the country is facing, the IRSA advisory committee has asked all provinces to use better management techniques to utilise available water resources. These suggestions shouldn’t go unheeded and the authorities concerned should manage the available water resources diligently.

Khan Faraz

Peshawar