7,000 cusecs water released downstream Kotri barrage

Sindh Irrigation Authorities are releasing about 7,139 cusecs water downstream the Kotri Barrage into the Indus Delta Region after a lapse of six months to meet the region's fresh water requirements, Wapda officials told Business Recorder, here on Monday.
Quoting daily data of river water availability in the country, they said that 34,239 cusecs sweat water is flowing into the Kotri barrage on river Indus 60 miles upstream the Arabian Sea. After filling the irrigation canals emanating from the barrage in lower Sindh, the engineers are off loading 7,139 cusecs water into the coastal Indus delta region comprising Thatta and Badin districts.
It may be added that water is normally released below the Kotri barrage during the monsoon season in the months of July, August and September when there is surplus water in the Indus river. However, since enough water is flowing into the mighty Indus now the irrigation engineers have discharged fresh water into the thirty Indus delta to give life to mangrove forests that happen to be the nurseries of shrimp and fish species.
The Indus Delta has outstanding ecological and cultural importance occupying an area of 0,6 million hectares along the coast of Pakistan. The delta comprises 17 major and numerous minor creeks, extensive mud flats and encompasses 97 percent of the mangrove forests in Pakistan.
The land along the main course of river Indus is very fertile and supports a diversity of agriculture crops such as wheat, maize, cotton, sugarcane, rice and variety of fruit orchards such as bananas, mangoes, date palm, coconut palm etc. The water discharges below the Kotri barrage into the Indus delta has been a national issue since long. Experts say that the federal government recognises the need for certain minimum escapade to sea below the Kotri barrage to check the sea intrusion. The Sindh government holds the view that the optimum level was 10 MAF to check seawater intrusion and degradation of environment. However, the Punjab government is of the view that this was only possible when large water reservoirs were built on the Indus river.
According to the 6th June rivers flows and reservoirs level report of Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda), Indus River System Authority (Irsa) is releasing about 55,000 cusecs additional water from the water reservoirs into the irrigation network across the country than the inflows in rivers Indus and Jhelum.
The report further says that Irsa was discharging 1,55,000 cusecs water downstream the Tarbela dam against the inflow of 1,02,000 cusecs water in the Indus river. Similarly, it is releasing 55,000 cusecs water downstream the Mangla dam against the inflow of 50,000 cusecs water in the Jhelum river. The inflow in the Guddu barrage in upper Sindh is 1,19,000 cusecs, Sukkur 96,950 cusecs and Kotri barrage 34,239 cusecs.