Water crisis staring in the face of ill-prepared govt

While the barrages of Sindh are teetering on edge of severe water scarcity, the government had virtually displayed no appetite to redress the water-starved province.

Meanwhile, snags have hit the construction of the much-needed Nai Gaj dam, which was first approved in 2009 at a cost of Rs16.9bn, but since the project could not be completed in the specified period, it had to be revised again in 2012 at a revised cost of Rs26.3bn.

The cost of the dam jumped to Rs47.723 billion from Rs26.236bn last year, indicating the 2nd revised PC-1 of the project.

According to the Ministry of Water Resources, the dam is expected to complete in 2024 as the insufficient funds had disrupted its construction in 2015 – the same year it was expected to be wrapped up.

However, the project faced another hitch when it was discovered that the contract of the dam had provided a fake bank guarantee to get the contract in 2012, leading to its termination in 2018.

Since the resumption of the construction, the ministry shared, only 40% of work at the dam could be completed.

'Dams running dry'

The water inflow in Tarbela Dam stands at 95,700 cusecs while outflow was recorded at 90,000 cusecs, according to Wapda spokesman.

Similarly, the inflow in Mangla Dam was 34,500 cusecs and outflow was 34,000 cusecs.

Besides, the water inflow in Chashma was 199,900 cusecs and its outflow was 122,000 cusecs. Likewise, the inflow in Chenab River at Head Marala was recorded to be at 36,600 cusecs while the outflow was 26,600 cusecs.

According to the ‘Global Land Outlook’ report released by the United Nations, Pakistan is among 23 countries that are facing drought emergencies over the past two years (2020-2022).

The report released by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) ahead of the UN Desertification and Drought Day (June 17) says over the past century, the highest total number of humans affected by drought was in Asia.