By: Muhammad Mobeen
Pakistan is facing an extreme water deficiency. The average decrease of water in the significant water stores of Pakistan has been recorded at around 40 percent. The water decrease in Mangla Dam alone has reached 92 percent.
The Tarbela and Mangla dams are the two greatest supplies functional in Pakistan. They have a combined capacity to just store water for 30 days. In comparison, the US and India can store their waters for 900 and 190 days, separately. Because of lack of dams, Pakistan can only store just 0.09 percent of the absolute water it gets every year. The ongoing natural circumstances are harsh. Owing to the lackadaisical approach and inconsistency of the successive governments, the country is on the brink of acute shortage of water; it poses a great threat to water security which go unnoticed on the part of governments. Although, the erstwhile government had undertaken pragmatic measures to grapple the menace of water security; the work on 3 dams started which could fulfill the scarcity of water in the future. Currently, the country is laden with floods.
Besides, storing water and adequate dams could also have saved thousands of affectees hailing from flooded areas. Specifically, this paucity is negatively affecting the vulnerable masses living in the southern regions.
As per a report published by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Pakistan rank third on the planet among nations confronting intense water deficiency. By 2025, the nation is expected to reach at record water deficiency. To cite the Pakistan Council on Research in Water Resources (PCRWR), Pakistan could “dry up” in within span of three years. The degree of the issue is to such an extent that, irrespective of living in any province, every Pakistani shall find himself short of water.
The burgeoning population has likewise exacerbated the water indicators for the future . Pakistan is the fourth biggest user of water on the planet. The UN appraises that by 2050 the number of inhabitants in Pakistan will reach nearly more than 380 million. This will dramatically affect water supply, as most would consider to be normal to stay less than impressive for the 220 million we are today. From one perspective, water is getting short, and on the other, the quantity of buyers is developing quickly. The populace bomb Pakistan is perched on is seemingly the least featured issue. With the significant diverting of the water issue, populace blast ought to likewise track down an ear of the specialists. Pakistan is additionally among the nations prone to be most hit by the approaching shadow of environmental change. Very high temperatures have fanned the fire. Adequate accessibility of water is likewise a need to manage the intensity. In the event that not adapted to in time, it will influence large lumps of our economy. Cotton, for instance, is a fundamental raw material which is utilized in textile industry
Water scarity can prompt underproduction which will diminish trades. More rupee depreciation implies more inflation. Likewise, sugar and related crops are exceptionally water-concentrated. The nation scarcely addresses the difficulty of sugar and wheat deficiencies. One can guage the size of harvest inadequacy and the resultant cost climb in the event that the farmlands are not supplied with sufficient measures of water.
If a befitting mentality is applied towards the quick necessities of the country, the subject of water as a determinant of public safety can and ought to track down its direction up to the higher echelons. Just when this waste of time has found its direction in the standard issues might the subsequent stages at any point be followed. Ergo, the onus is on to government pay heed to this national issue or else nobody can imagine the magnitude of repercussions if dams are not built.
The writer is an engineer by profession and a freelance columnist.