Tarbela Dam Works Delay Kharif Water Flows Fuelling Sindh-Balochistan Dispute

Ongoing construction works inside Tarbela Dam's tunnels have disrupted water releases into the Indus River system during the critical kharif irrigation season, leaving Sindh's paddy farmers unable to transplant seedlings on time and sparking a public dispute between Sindh and Balochistan over water distribution from Guddu and Sukkur barrages.

Tarbela Works Running Behind Schedule

WAPDA (the Water and Power Development Authority) is executing a hydropower expansion project at Tarbela Dam, the primary upstream reservoir on the Indus River and Sindh's main water source during early kharif, the summer cropping season running from April through October. The tunnel works have encountered exceptional delays, constraining IRSA (the Indus River System Authority), the federal body responsible for apportioning Indus flows among Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa under the 1991 Water Apportionment Accord.

In a typical year, early kharif shortages stem from reduced river flows and the operation of link canals. This year, the infrastructure delay compounded an already tight supply situation, limiting IRSA's ability to meet provincial demands at the moment they are most acute.

Paddy Growers Facing Consecutive Season Losses

The most direct impact has fallen on paddy farmers in the right bank command area of Sukkur Barrage, served by the North Western Canal (NWC) — a channel that also carries water allocated to Balochistan. Farmers in this zone were unable to prepare nurseries, the concentrated seedbeds where paddy germinates for 35–40 days before seedlings are transplanted into flooded fields.

Timing is everything for paddy. Once a seedling exceeds the recommended nursery period, it becomes more vulnerable to pest attack, and late transplantation directly reduces end-of-season yield. Ishaq Mughairi, a paddy grower from Shahdadkot district on Sukkur Barrage's right bank, said the crisis has stretched across two consecutive seasons. "Last year, I harvested only 40 maunds of paddy from my 50–60 acres because of water shortages," he said, adding that the situation this year is no different. He noted that his area currently lacks water even for drinking — a stark measure of how severe the supply deficit has become.

Sindh and Balochistan Trade Blame

The water shortfall has produced a predictable pattern of interprovincial blame. Balochistan has publicly held Sindh responsible for failing to release its due share from Guddu Barrage and Sukkur Barrage, both of which serve as key distribution points for water flowing into Balochistan's agricultural zones via the NWC.

Sindh, however, cannot release volumes it has not received. With Tarbela's output curtailed by tunnel construction, less water reaches Sindh's intake points in the first place, compressing the total supply available to all downstream users. IRSA, caught between physically reduced river flows and provincial allocation obligations, has had limited room to bridge the gap.