Sindh flags Tarbela delays, warns of Kharif water crisis
HYDERABAD: The Sindh government has expressed grave concern over ‘persistent delays’ in Tarbela Dam infrastructure works by Wapda, which have been causing severe operational constraints for Sindh and posing an imminent threat to the kharif crop season.
Sindh Irrigation Minister Jam Khan Shoro wrote to federal Minister for Water Resources Mian Mohammad Mueen Wattoo that Wapda had failed to complete projects within the 33-month timeline approved by Irsa in 2022.
The deadline expired in June 2025, but work remains unfinished. Indus River System Authority (Irsa), whose advisory committee is scheduled to discuss water availability and shortages for the upcoming kharif season under the Water Apportionment Accord, 1991, on April 7.
The minister noted that outflows from Tarbela have already been restricted to 150,000 cusecs due to constraints in Tunnel-4 and Tunnel-5, curtailing Sindh’s irrigation supplies despite adequate reservoir levels. The situation may worsen as testing of Tunnel-4’s low-level outlet (LLO) has been delayed to May 2026, while repair work could further reduce outflows to around 45,000 cusecs. “This has severely curtailed Sindh’s irrigation supplies during peak sowing time despite adequate water availability in the reservoir,” the letter stated.
“Wapda has not provided any firm rescheduling or completion plan,” he complained,
Federal ministry convenes meeting today; Irsa advisory committee to meet tomorrow
When contacted, a Wapda spokesperson told Dawn that the federal ministry has convened a meeting on the issue for April 6 (today) in light of the correspondence with Sindh irrigation minister.
Sindh had earlier protested the issue through its letter dated June 24, 2025. The provincial minister further warned that the situation could worsen after Irsa informed stakeholders on March 11, 2026, that testing of the LLO at Tunnel-4 has been deferred to May 2026, instead of February 2026 as originally planned.
The letter added that the shutdown of one unit of the Tunnel-4 hydropower project for repair works would reduce Tarbela’s outflow capacity to around 45,000 cusecs. In view of this situation, Sindh cannot afford a repeat of last year’s shortages.
Officials noted that ongoing works at powerhouses T4 and T5 at Tarbela have contributed to major constraints in interprovincial water management, and may again disrupt water supplies to provinces.
Operationalisation of the LLO at T4 has been pending since 2022, while T5 activities were to be completed by June 2025.
If the LLO at T4 becomes operational, it can ensure 30,000 cusecs of irrigation water supply. T4 itself provides 45,000 cusecs which however, is not expected to be available this season, as indicated in the minister’s letter. Also, officials fear the 30,000 cusecs from the LLO may not be available, since the powerhouse must be shut down for its operation.
It meant that a cumulative 75,000 cusecs of flow will not be available during this period in the 2026 kharif season, potentially jeopardising agricultural supplies nationwide.
This shortage, particularly during early kharif, is especially harmful for Sindh’s farm sector, where the season has already begun following the wheat harvest.
There are also concerns that Wapda may urge Irsa not to raise Tarbela’s storage beyond 1,480 feet, while the regulator aims to increase it to 1,520 feet by June — a period when river flows typically decline and demand peaks due to summer crops, including water-intensive rice in non-perennial canals.
Published in Dawn, April 6th, 2026
