Taunsa farmers hit hard by closure of Chashma Canal

LAHORE/DERA GHAZI KHAN: The closure of Chashma Right Bank Canal (CRBC), especially in its stretch falling in Punjab, has been affecting farmers badly due to inadequate repair/maintenance and water theft as there seems to be none in the provincial and federal governments to listen to the affected.

The situation worsened after a portion of the CRBC — an inter-provincial canal irrigating huge chunks of land in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab – was breached, forcing the Water and Power Development Authority to stop releasing water into the canal from the Chashma Barrage over Indus.

“You cannot imagine the situation we have been in for a long time. In Kharif (April), we received 77pc water shortage, followed by May, June, July and August wherein we witnessed 78pc, 95pc, 98pc and 96pc shortage, respectively, in our command area,” reveals an officer of the Punjab Irrigation Department.

The situation, according to him, worsened further when the canal was breached in Paharpur tehsil of KP in September, leaving authorities with no option but to stop releasing water to CRBC.

“Since September, we have no water and the canal banks have not been repaired. It seems no one is taking this matter on a priority basis,” the official deplored.

The CRBC is an inter-provincial gravity irrigation system serving KP and Punjab. During Kharif 2026, Punjab suffered a severe canal water shortage despite substantial flows at the Chashma.

The CRBC command area consists of approximately 606,000 acres, of which 240,000 acres (about 97,125 hectares) are in Punjab. The main canal is about 274km long, including a 103km reach in Punjab, which receives its supply at RD-513.

The system/head design discharge is about 4,825 cusecs and the Punjab’s design capacity is 1,834 cusecs, with an operational daily indent of 1,800 cusecs, served by 30 distributaries and 32 minors totalling about 440km. Groundwater in much of the Punjab command is brackish and unsuitable for irrigation.

“The closure has disrupted planned irrigation regime in the Punjab command area. The cumulative deficit during the Kharif season, coupled with zero supplies during the latter part of September, has exposed crops to severe water stress and increased the risk of production losses,” he added.

Wapda had constructed CRBC during 1998-2002 as a perennial canal off-taking from the right bank of Chashma Barrage (design discharge 4,825 cusecs), including the canal system, outlets and chakbandi.

In May 2002, distributaries and minors D-24 to D-53 in Punjab were handed over to the Punjab Irrigation Department under a formal agreement, while the main canal and its structures, including 21 cross-drainage structures, remained with Wapda.

Following a Council of Common Interests (CCI) decision of Aug 8, 2020, and a bilateral agreement on March 14, 2022, the Punjab section of the main canal and its structures was handed over to the Punjab Irrigation Department/CRBC Division, Taunsa Sharif. The operational control of upper portion of the main canal still remains under the Wapda authorities.

The official correspondence reveals that the irrigation authorities repeatedly raised the issue of inadequate supplies with Wapda. “The situation further deteriorated when a major breach in the main canal at RD 185 Left, within the KP portion, took place on Sept 14, 2026. Head supplies remained suspended on Sept 15 and 16, and the discharge at the Punjab border (RD 513) remained zero from Sept 17 to 30,” the official said.

He said according to information, Wapda authorities awarded the emergency works for closure of the breach and concrete lining of critical reaches on Sept 30, 2026, at a total bid cost of approximately Rs385 million. The rehabilitation work is presently under execution at site, with an estimated completion period of about 45 days.

“Until completion of the works and restoration of canal operation, Punjab area remains deprived of its normal canal supplies,” he added.

According to him, the actual extent of crop damage and financial loss should be prepared through a properly documented field assessment, including crop-wise and area-wise verification, in accordance with the applicable provisions of the Cost Sharing Agreement.

He said the shortage of water supplies to Punjab during the Kharif season was due to illegal extraction and theft of water from the canal by the farmers in KP.

“We have been told by the KP irrigation authorities that as many as 1,000 cusecs of water is allegedly stolen by the people in KP,” he said.

Published in Dawn, November 5th, 2026