Balochistan ‘trying to tackle water scarcity’

Pir Koh is provided water in tankers now

QUETTA:

Balochistan Chief Secretary Abdul Aziz Uqaili on Thursday said the province was increasingly facing water scarcity which was indeed worrisome but still the provincial government was doing its best to tackle the situation despite its limited resources.

He was talking to the visiting Country-Representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Country-Representative of the FAC Florence Rolle called on the CS Balochistan to discuss matters of mutual interest.

Chief of the FAO green fund, Nadine Valat, Dan Gustafson, Secretary Forest Balochistan Dostain Khan Jamaldini were also present on the occasion.

“Within available resources, the government is taking steps to overcome the issue of water scarcity,” Abdul Aziz Uqaili said.

He informed the delegation that the outbreak of cholera had claimed precious human lives in Balochistan’s Dera Bugti district.

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“Now we are providing clean drinking water to the community through water tankers,” he mentioned.

The delegation informed the chief secretary that FAO was working in Balochistan for the last few years. The European Union (EU) has completed projects in agriculture, construction of dams, and clean drinking water worth 27 million euros.

The delegation assured the EU and FAO would extend all possible support to the provincial government in terms of protection of forests, and range land.

The CS however mentioned that the present government has taken a number of initiatives to address the issues of the masses at their doorstep. “Government is trying hard to address the issues faced by the general public,” Abdul Aziz Uqaili stated.

The statement has come after environmentalists warned of a serious water crisis in Quetta and other parts of Balochistan.

“Mass migration is feared from various parts of Balochistan because of the scarcity of water,” Amjad Rasheed, a well-known environmentalist told The Express Tribune.

He urged the government to construct maximum delay and check dams to check the wastage of rainwater in the province. Due to the scarcity of water, the federal government has funded the construction of a 100-dams project in various parts of Balochistan to address the issue.

The Supreme Court of Pakistan had given three years to the provincial and federal governments to make sure the construction of delay and check dams in the province in 2021.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, June 3^rd, 2022.