A nation on the cusp of water emergency
Ministry to brief PM on critical situation next week
The nation is on the cusp of water emergency. PHOTO: EXPRESS
ISLAMABAD :
The Ministry of Water Resources will brief Prime Minister Imran Khan next week on water scarcity in the country, including the lack of coordination among provinces over wastage of millions of cusecs of water into the sea.
“About 50 per cent of the 90 to 95% water for irrigation purposes gets wasted due to poor management and canal losses while this is 70% on average across the globe,” said Ministry of Water and Power Secretary Shamail Ahmad Khawaja while briefing Senate’s special committee on Thursday.
The committee members were spellbound as the official related the exact situation on the ground and narrated how apathy of the previous governments has put the country on the brink of water emergency.
ADB approves $100m loan to address water shortages
“Still all is not lost and it is not that late either,” he said, adding that though Pakistan has the lowest water storage in the world – 30 days – consistent policies, followed by coordination among provinces and the federal government could turn things around.
He said last year there were 81 on-going projects in the development budget and in total Rs36 billion was allocated out of which Rs35 billion was for 51 on-going projects and about Rs1 billion for the new projects. “With the given pace of work and money it would take over 30 years to get these projects completed,” he said.
He also lamented that the benefit of even such billion-rupee projects could not trickle down to the common people. He shared examples of Gomal Zam Dam and another dam in Jamshoro Sindh where those surrounding the area have yet to get the benefit due to lack of coordination.
Khawaja said that another issue that had impeded the expeditious execution of several projects was the lack of coordination at the provincial and federal level.
Chairperson of the committee Maula Bux Chandio chipped in, asking then what the ministry had done to do away with such glitches in the future.
The secretary replied that it had been decided that henceforth the PC-1 of such projects would be dually signed by the federal and provincial representatives and responsibilities agreed upon. “So that nobody later backs off from responsibility,” he remarked.
He also said millions of cusecs of water was being wasted in the sea just because of poor planning and management and having not enough reservoirs. Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) Sassui Palijo said that it was such a strange claim as Sindh was already starving for water and the federal government claimed to have that much amount of water wasted.
Paying the (p)rice for water shortage
“The water hardly comes from lower Kotri stream and you are saying water gets wasted,” she said. She added that about 20 to 30 lakh acre of land had been destroyed due to lack of water leaving it useless.
JUI-F’s Abdul Ghafoor Haideri said the solution to Sindh’s problem was to distribute water judiciously. Maula Bux Chandio added that he would share the actual problem in Sindh in the next meeting.
The secretary also added that they were going to meet PM on September 10 and they would put all the problems before him for the solution to the impending crisis. “I reckon these are real issues and I will like them to be resolved amicably because water is a matter of life and death for countries like us,” he added.
The Ministry of Water Resources will brief Prime Minister Imran Khan next week on water scarcity in the country, including the lack of coordination among provinces over wastage of millions of cusecs of water into the sea.
“About 50 per cent of the 90 to 95% water for irrigation purposes gets wasted due to poor management and canal losses while this is 70% on average across the globe,” said Ministry of Water and Power Secretary Shamail Ahmad Khawaja while briefing Senate’s special committee on Thursday.
The committee members were spellbound as the official related the exact situation on the ground and narrated how apathy of the previous governments has put the country on the brink of water emergency.
ADB approves $100m loan to address water shortages
“Still all is not lost and it is not that late either,” he said, adding that though Pakistan has the lowest water storage in the world – 30 days – consistent policies, followed by coordination among provinces and the federal government could turn things around.
He said last year there were 81 on-going projects in the development budget and in total Rs36 billion was allocated out of which Rs35 billion was for 51 on-going projects and about Rs1 billion for the new projects. “With the given pace of work and money it would take over 30 years to get these projects completed,” he said.
He also lamented that the benefit of even such billion-rupee projects could not trickle down to the common people. He shared examples of Gomal Zam Dam and another dam in Jamshoro Sindh where those surrounding the area have yet to get the benefit due to lack of coordination.
Khawaja said that another issue that had impeded the expeditious execution of several projects was the lack of coordination at the provincial and federal level.
Chairperson of the committee Maula Bux Chandio chipped in, asking then what the ministry had done to do away with such glitches in the future.
The secretary replied that it had been decided that henceforth the PC-1 of such projects would be dually signed by the federal and provincial representatives and responsibilities agreed upon. “So that nobody later backs off from responsibility,” he remarked.
He also said millions of cusecs of water was being wasted in the sea just because of poor planning and management and having not enough reservoirs. Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) Sassui Palijo said that it was such a strange claim as Sindh was already starving for water and the federal government claimed to have that much amount of water wasted.
Paying the (p)rice for water shortage
“The water hardly comes from lower Kotri stream and you are saying water gets wasted,” she said. She added that about 20 to 30 lakh acre of land had been destroyed due to lack of water leaving it useless.
JUI-F’s Abdul Ghafoor Haideri said the solution to Sindh’s problem was to distribute water judiciously. Maula Bux Chandio added that he would share the actual problem in Sindh in the next meeting.
The secretary also added that they were going to meet PM on September 10 and they would put all the problems before him for the solution to the impending crisis. “I reckon these are real issues and I will like them to be resolved amicably because water is a matter of life and death for countries like us,” he added.