Sindh stops Punjab team from visiting Guddu Barrage

LAHORE: The longstanding water dispute between two major provinces, Sindh and Punjab, took another turn on Tuesday when the former refused to allow the Punjab irrigation team to visit the Guddu barrage to record inflows and outflows of water, ARY News reported, citing sources.

It was learnt by ARY News that the irrigation team of Punjab was not allowed to visit Guddu Barrage to record the inflow and outflow of water. Both the provinces had agreed to record discharge data of the barrages and in this context, a pact was also signed.

The irrigation department team of Sindh had recently paid a surprise visit to Panjnad and Taunsa Barrages to record the water data, said sources.

Punjab has informed Indus River System Authority (IRSA) about the latest development.

Earlier, the Indus River System Authority (IRSA) had further increased the water share of the Sindh and Punjab provinces after water inflow in the rivers has jumped to 289,500 cusecs due to shooting up mercury at Skardu.

The water regulator met to review the overall water situation and increased the water supply to Sindh and Punjab on the basis of improved river flows.

The spokesperson of Indus River System Authority (IRSA) in a statement had said 19,500 cusecs water inflow increase was recorded today as compared to yesterday. He said the water levels in both Tarbela and Mangla dams jumped to three and two feet respectively.