Pakistan: In search of water!

On earth, water is the basis of life. Water is an essential condition for every living being to survive. But in Pakistan, a major crisis has arisen before this essential source of life. The recently released Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) report states that far more deaths from terrorism and natural disasters in Pakistan are due to the non-availability of safe drinking water. This PMA report states that the disposal of industrial waste, poor sewerage system, agricultural residuals, and unplanned urbanization is causing a drastic decline in water quality in Pakistan, which deprives over 200 crore Pakistanis of potable water. This report clearly states that the most important challenges facing the country are basic health and the non-availability of clean, safe drinking water. Far more deadly viral diseases than coronavirus and Hepatitis B and C are prevail in present condition, which is caused by unsafe drinking water and results in around 300 to 325 deaths per day in Pakistan. In this report, it has been estimated that 30 percent of all diseases in Pakistan and 40 percent of all deaths are due to poor water quality. Waterborne disease diarrhea is the leading cause of death among infants and children in Pakistan, and every fifth citizen suffers from illness and disease caused by contaminated water, the report said. Due to poor quality of water, the outbreak of diseases like XDR-typhoid is increasing which has worsened the situation in Sindh Province. Pakistan has the world's fourth-highest consumption figures for water, while its population is the fifth largest globally. Due to poor policies and environmentally damaging systems such as untreated industrial and domestic waste flowing into water bodies and changing rainfall patterns, water scarcity in Pakistan is continuously increasing. Along with this, steadily increasing population and irregular urbanization have increased the pressure on the country's water resources, where it is now a condition that even in the largest metros of Pakistan, the conditions have become so worst that drinking water supply is interrupted for weeks.

 

Pakistan is the fifth largest populous country in the world with a population of over 22 crores. The population of Pakistan in 2010 was 17.94 crores. If the population continues to grow at this pace, Pakistan's water demand can reach 274 million acre-feet by 2025, while by this time the water supply is likely to remain at 191 million acre-feet. Agriculture is the largest source of livelihood in Pakistan, and crops are highly dependent on water. Pakistan mainly grows rice, wheat, cotton, and sugarcane. These crops are in great need of irrigation and are responsible for 95 percent of the country's water use. At the same time, poor water management in Pakistan is leading to increasing water wastage within the agricultural sector. Pakistan has an inefficient irrigation system which causes up to 60 percent water wastage. A large part of Pakistan is semi-arid and arid, and there is a severe lack of rain. Pakistan gets its water from the rivers receiving water from melting ice and glaciers of the Himalayas. Another area where Pakistan is facing increasing demand for food due to increasing population, while it is facing a severe threat to its food security due to lack of water supply.

 

 

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) places Pakistan third on the list of countries that are struggling with water scarcity, while other global agencies have warned that countries may fully collapse by 2025. Currently, Pakistan is classified as a water-scarce country as the water availability per year is less than 1,000 cubic meters per person. Pakistan crossed this level in 2005. If this situation continues to fall in this way and reaches 500 cubic meters, it will become a country that will become completely scarce by water by 2025. In 2016, the Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) reported in a report that Pakistan touched the "water stress line" in 1990 and in 2005 crossed the "water scarcity line". If this situation persists, Pakistan may face a situation of acute water scarcity or drought. The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) report have also warned that Pakistan will reach a complete water shortage by 2025. Pakistan is on its way to becoming a country with the largest water shortage by 2040. In Pakistan, 80 percent of the people living in 24 major cities do not have access to clean water. In the slums of Karachi, about 16 million people do not have access to safe drinking water.

Pakistan receives about 145 million acre-feet of water every year, but only 13.7 million acre-feet of water it saves. Pakistan requires 40 million acre-feet of water every year, but 29 million acre-feet of water are wasted because Pakistan does not have an adequate system of dams for this. Some measures have been taken to overcome the water crisis in Pakistan. In 2018, the Government of Pakistan pushed forward a $ 14 billion project for the construction of two dams, and called for help from native Pakistanis and as well as settled overseas. As mentioned earlier, Pakistan ranks fourth in the world in terms of water usage. Its water intensity rate - the amount in cubic meters of water used to manufacture one unit of the country's GDP - is the world's highest. This means that Pakistan's economy is the most water-intensive in the world. And if there is a shortage of water, which is natural, it can cause serious damage to the economy of Pakistan.

 

 

Due to lack of water, now situations like World War have been started. But in Pakistan itself, the law and order situation has come under threat due to water. Conflicts along with armed conflicts are also taking place in communities due to water scarcity. Experts say that the economic impact of the water crisis is more significant and people are fighting for these resources. Due to water scarcity, a new type of crime syndicate has developed in Pakistan called the Water Mafia, which is a group of people who take possession of water and sell it at high prices. And in this system, people of low and marginal income groups are facing serious difficulties.

 

At the time of Pakistan's birth in 1947, there was forest cover on 5 percent of the country’s total land, but now they are left on only 2 percent of the area. Due to which the lack of rainfall is likely to be more intense. Now Pakistan's most important water source is the use of water in the Himalayan rivers. But this is also not beyond controversy. In September 1960, with the inspiration of David Lilienthal and the efforts of Eugene Black, the World Bank succeeded in getting the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) signed. This gives Pakistan the exclusive right to use the western rivers of the region - the Indus, the Jhelum, and the Chenab - while India has authority over three eastern rivers. But Pakistan always cries that the Indian government is not fulfilling its responsibilities under the IWT as it expresses concern over the construction of new dams in India. Whereas the reality is that two-thirds of the total water resources are left for the use of Pakistan. This is the utter inefficiency of the Government of Pakistan that they are not able to use such huge water resources due to their foolish policies. Instead of taking measures to deal with this problem, the entire focus of Pakistan's leaders is on blaming India and its own previous governments. The people of Pakistan have to suffer, which has been happening continuously since the inception of Pakistan.