Conservation only way to ward off water crisis

Students call for building dams and stopping wastage of water in kitchens, washrooms

ISLAMABAD: Conservation sole way to ward off the impending water crisis, National University of Science and Technology (NUST) students said during an awareness drive.

At macro level Pakistan needs to build dams and at micro level people need to save water in kitchens and bathrooms, they said talking to people.

Water is a scarce resource in Pakistan and for that it y has been declared to become a water stress country by 2025.

Over 90 per cent of water is being used in agriculture, out of which 50 per cent gets wasted due to old irrigation practices.

Remaining 10 per cent is used for civic and industrial purposes, was the message of NUST students during their interaction with general public at Centaurus Mall on Wednesday.

NUST has embarked on a robust campaign to raise awareness on water conservation among the general masses.

The students of NUST Environment Club and NUST Institute of Environmental Sciences and Engineering informed citizens about future impacts and threats of water scarcity.

Students communicated to people that primary issue is the lack of dams to store water – of the 145 million acre feet of water the country receives during a year only around 13.7 million acre feet can be saved.

Storage is only one aspect of the water crisis and students urged people that they should donate for dams.

Recurring heatwaves that claim lives are becoming more common every year in the country while the winters are getting shorter and less cold due to the undeniable effects of global warming.

Coupled with worsening water shortage the combination will be lethal and claim many more lives in the coming years.

Students also provided some tips to general public like turning the tap off whilst brushing your teeth can save six litres of water, turn off the tap while washing your hands, shorten your shower by minute or two and you will save up to 600 liters  per month .DNA 

Published in The Express Tribune, November 15^th, 2018.