The demand for water due to unprecedented growth of population and irregular rainfall is worsening the situation day by day
By Mohammed Arifeen
The survival of Pakistan’s economy and harmonious relationship between the four provinces is largely dependent upon the solution of water scarcity issue. Millions cusec water is wasted on rivers and thrown out right into the sea without much use. Constant silting of water reservoirs, lakes, canals, rivers and waterways is one of the crucial reasons of declining water storage capacity. Water shortage also occurs due to seepage, leakages and infiltrations. Most of the rainwater mixes into drainage effluents and is wasted. The mismanagement of precious valuable water resources is also responsible for the scarcity of water shortage in the country.
The growth in demand for water due to unprecedented growth of population and irregular rainfall in the vast areas of Balochistan, Sindh and lower Punjab is worsening the situation day by day. From 1997 to date, Pakistan is confronted to the recurrence of drought and reduced storage capacity of two major reservoirs namely Tarbela and Mangla dam. Currently, Pakistan is facing the major problem of stoppage of its share by India. Many countries are effectively tackling the water scarcity problem, while Pakistan is falling behind.
According to a 2006 World Bank report, Pakistan is rapidly moving from being a “water stressed country to a water scarce country” mainly due to high population growth, and water is becoming the central development issue. The ground water is over exploited and polluted in many areas; most of the water infrastructure and even some of the major barrages are in poor repair as the entire system of water is not financially sustainable.
The Indus River and its tributaries provide Pakistan with large fertile lands in the Indo Pak subcontinent. It constitutes the mountain basin, Indus basin, Karachi plain and desert areas of Sindh. Its major rivers and tributaries are Indus Shyok, Gilgit, Astor, Siran, Kabul joined by Jhelum, Chenab and Sultej. It consists of an area of 516,000 square kilometre. Its source of water is snowing, glacier melting and rainfall. The Indus plain consists of over 85 million acres of cultivable land. The absorption to the ground is around 72MF, out of which about 48MF is in the command of Indus Basin Irrigation System (IBIS). In 1960 Indus Basin Treaty gave the right of the eastern rivers like Beas, Ravi and Sultej to India.
The Indus River is considered to be one of the global largest silt producers and Tarbela dam is now clogged with silt. This disaster, which was to be many years away, might be visiting very soon. The dam which was completed in 1976 after 50 years will be full of sediment in 2026. This largest earth and rock filled dam was built on river Indus with a gross capacity of 11.62 MAF and a storage of 5.41 MAF. The Mangla dam was completed in 1967 under the Indus Basin settlement plan. It has a gross storage capacity of 5.88 MAF and is used for irrigation and generation of electric power. The sediment has happened to this dam to the extent of 1.13 MAF. This means a total reduction of 19.2 per cent in the capacity of the dam. Chashma barrage is the third largest reservoir in Pakistan was built in 1972 with a gross storage of 0.870 MAF and live storage of 0.717 MAF. Its storage capacity has been reduced by 39.3 per cent and is left with a storage capacity of 0.435 MAF.
According to the latest handout from various sources, the major reservoir of Pakistan namely Tarbela, Mangla and Chashma have already lost approximately about 500,000 acre feet of their storage capacity due to sedimentation. It is estimated that in the coming years, this loss will be increased to 600,000 acre feet. In other official reports, the per capita availability of water in Pakistan has gradually dwindled from 5,260 cubic meters in 1951 to about 1,000 cubic meters in recent years and if this trend continued it could go as low as 500 cubic meters by 2025.
Apart from the water problem mentioned above, Pakistan is facing the problem of water with the neighbouring country India which has violated the Indus Water Treaty that was brokered by World Bank in 1960. India has started building Kishangang 330 MW dam on river Jhelum and 450 MW Baghliar dam on river Chenab for hydro power generation, along with Tulbul (Wollar) barrage on Jhelum for navigational purpose. Baghliar dam would reduce the flow of water to Pakistan, depriving its agriculture regions of irrigation.
It is now the best time to manage water resources efficiently to get rid of the water shortages once for all. Losses occurring due to seepage can be reduced or eliminated by lining the canals. Farmers’ organisations and other allied concerns should be directly involved in construction, maintenance and operation of the irrigation system. The illegal theft of water by feudalists must be stopped forthwith. The modern irrigation techniques should be applied to improve water distribution and its utilisation. There should be effective strategy to contain rain water that flows to the sea and remains unutilised. A strong campaign must be launched to bring awareness among the public of storing the water. In this regard, each and every drop of water should be conserved. Many countries are conserving water but Pakistan is lagging far behind them.
Pakistan at this critical hour of water shortage must make new water reservoirs to meet the additional demand of the population of Pakistan. For rapid agricultural development, Pakistan strongly needs the water reservoir. Basha dam construction will take a long time. It is dependent on donors’ support and World Bank. Work on the construction of Kala Bagh dam should be initiated only after the consensus approval of the four provinces. Water dispute between Pakistan and India should be settled amicably in the shortest possible time. If it is prolonged for a long time, there is a possibility Pakistan’s most fertile lands will be converted into deserts. Pakistan’s short and medium term solution to water crisis lies in large number of reservoirs which can be easily constructed within a short span of time.