Out of all the provinces of the country, Balochistan faces a major water crisis
KOLAHOO, MAKRAN: The province of Balochistan is currently facing a growing scarcity of water, which has become the cause of many problems. The rainwater in the province is also wasted owing to the shortage of dams.
In recent months, a group of senators argued that the money collected under building big dams like Diamer Bhasha, etc, should instead be used to build small dams in Balochistan. These dams, if built, would directly create access to drinking and irrigation water necessary for the people in the province.
Out of all the provinces of the country, Balochistan faces a major water crisis. Because of the shortage of drinking water, the people of the province are forced to extract groundwater from tube wells. However, the falling groundwater table has emerged to be bleakest prospects due to the drought experienced in the province. For example, Quetta is turning into a desert owing to the fall in groundwater levels which have dropped to 30m since 1989.
Apart from Quetta, Gwadar, which is the hub of CPEC, is also facing water shortage.
Catering to the province’s water needs should be the top priority of the government. The prime minister and the chief justice of Pakistan should look into the issue and devise strategies to overcome the problem on a priority basis.
Zeeshan Nasir
Published in The Express Tribune, January 24th, 2019.
Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.
