Effective use of irrigation water, not dams, can mitigate water scarcity, says expert

Country can produce same crop yield using 20 maf water instead of 104, says Dr Abbas

KARACHI: Dr Hassan Abbas, an expert in hydrology and water resources, underlined the need to restore the ecological integrity of the Indus River, while speaking at a meeting of Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (PILER) on Friday.

He said that the Indus Basin Treaty with India was against the interests of Pakistan, adding that military dictators had sold the three eastern rivers to India for their petty interests and to earn commissions from construction of Tarbela Dam.

"Had we gone to the International Court of Justice against the construction of dams by India before signing the Indus Basin Treaty, Pakistan would have stopped construction of all Indian dams". He added that it was unprecedented in the history of the world that three rivers were sold out to a country.

According to Dr Abbas, the construction of dams on rivers had proven to be destructive for the ecology and environment and thus has become an obsolete practice around the world.



He added that Western countries had started dismantling their dams. Dr Abbas said that with the technological advancements, dams had become useless and a wastage of money.

"We are working on technologies for effective use of irrigation water," he said adding that there is a need to create awareness among people for changing pattern of use of water in agriculture sector. "We are using 6,000-year-old irrigation system, which was initiated by the Pharaohs of Egypt," he said. Currently, 104 million acre-feet (maf) water is taken from river system for agricultural purposes. "We can grow the same agriculture products using only 15 to 20 maf water," he added.

He said that Pakistan was seeking hundreds of billions of dollars for the construction of dams, but by spending some money on new technologies the water problem could be solved.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 23^rd, 2019.