Taunsa Farmers Hit by Chashma Canal Closure

The Chashma canal closure has left farmers in Taunsa and the surrounding Punjab command area without their normal water supply since September, after a breach in the canal forced the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) to stop releases from the Chashma Barrage on the Indus. Punjab irrigation officials say the closure followed a Kharif season in which water shortages in the area reached as high as 98 per cent.

The Chashma Right Bank Canal (CRBC) is an inter-provincial canal serving Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab. In Punjab, its stretch has been hit by poor repair and maintenance and by water theft, according to irrigation officials, with no level of government giving the affected farmers a hearing.

A season of shortages, then a breach

A Punjab Irrigation Department officer set out the scale of the shortage month by month. In April, the command area received a 77 per cent water shortage. May brought 78 per cent, June 95 per cent, July 98 per cent and August 96 per cent.

The situation worsened in September, when a portion of the canal was breached in Paharpur tehsil of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Wapda then stopped releasing water into the canal from the Chashma Barrage. Since September, the area has had no water, and the canal banks have not been repaired, the official said.

The official account, based on correspondence between irrigation authorities, gives precise dates. A major breach in the main canal at RD 185 Left, within the KP portion, took place on September 14, 2026. Head supplies stayed suspended on September 15 and 16, and discharge at the Punjab border, at RD 513, remained zero from September 17 to 30.

How big the canal system is

The CRBC command area covers about 606,000 acres, of which 240,000 acres, or about 97,125 hectares, lie in Punjab. The main canal is about 274 kilometres long, including a 103-kilometre reach in Punjab, which receives its supply at RD 513.

The system has a design discharge of about 4,825 cusecs. 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 440 kilometres. Groundwater in much of the Punjab command is brackish and unsuitable for irrigation, which makes canal water the only reliable source for many farmers.

Wapda built the CRBC during 1998-2002 as a perennial canal taking off from the right bank of Chashma Barrage. In May 2002, distributaries and minors D-24 to D-53 in Punjab were handed to the Punjab Irrigation Department, while the main canal and its 21 cross-drainage structures stayed with Wapda. After a Council of Common Interests decision in August 2020 and a bilateral agreement in March 2022, the Punjab section passed to the department’s CRBC Division at Taunsa Sharif. Control of the upper portion still rests with Wapda.

What the Chashma canal closure has cost farmers

The closure disrupted the planned irrigation regime in the Punjab command area. The cumulative deficit during the Kharif season, combined with zero supplies in the latter part of September, exposed crops to severe water stress and raised the risk of production losses, the irrigation officer said.

The actual extent of crop damage and financial loss still needs a properly documented field assessment, including crop-wise and area-wise verification, under the Cost Sharing Agreement. Until that assessment is done, farmers have no verified figure for their losses, only the shortage figures and the dry canal in front of them.

The officer also blamed illegal extraction and theft of water from the canal by farmers in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa for part of the Punjab shortage. He said KP irrigation authorities had told Punjab that as much as 1,000 cusecs of water is allegedly stolen by people in KP. That claim is attributed to the Punjab officer and to what KP authorities told him; it is not presented here as an established finding.

Repair work under way, with a 45-day timeline

Wapda awarded emergency works for closing the breach and concrete lining of critical reaches on September 30, 2026, at a total bid cost of about Rs385 million. The rehabilitation work is now under execution at the site, with an estimated completion period of about 45 days.

Until the works finish and canal operation is restored, the Punjab area remains deprived of its normal canal supplies, the officer said. On that timeline, restoration would fall in mid-November, well after the Kharif season’s peak water demand has passed.

Frequently asked questions

Why is the Chashma canal closed?

A breach in the canal in Paharpur tehsil, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, on September 14, 2026, forced Wapda to stop releasing water from the Chashma Barrage. Discharge at the Punjab border stayed at zero from September 17 to 30.

How severe was the water shortage before the breach?

Punjab’s CRBC command area faced shortages of 77 per cent in April, 78 per cent in May, 95 per cent in June, 98 per cent in July and 96 per cent in August 2026.

How large is the canal command area?

The CRBC serves about 606,000 acres in total, including 240,000 acres in Punjab. The main canal is about 274 kilometres long, with a design discharge of about 4,825 cusecs.

When will water return?

Emergency repair works awarded on September 30, 2026, at about Rs385 million, carry an estimated completion period of about 45 days. Until the works finish, Punjab’s command area remains without its normal canal supplies.