Pakistan may soon face a drought-like situation in its major cities after rapid depletion of ground water, according to chief of the Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) Muhammad Ashraf.
A meeting was held to discuss the concerns and it was organized by CRWR in collaboration with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and ECO Science Foundation (ECOSF).
Talking about this issue at the meeting, Muhammad Ashraf said:
Such measures need to be taken on a war footing … otherwise, a large section of Pakistan’s population, especially those living in Karachi, Quetta, Lahore and Islamabad, will face severe water shortages.
The members of the meeting mainly focused on the UNESCO Tehran Cluster, mainly covering Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan and Turkmenistan.
Mr. Ashraf added:
In Pakistan, the water quality as well as its quantity are major issues, especially in major cities such as Karachi, Quetta, Lahore and even in Islamabad.
The experts believe that if a single town is affected by this problem, it can lead to a major threat across the city hence it is necessary to get to the root of the problem before it becomes an issue.
Dr Shahbaz Khan, the Regional Director of UNESCO’s Jakarta office, stressed the need for a plan for development, devising new policies and regulations to solve this issue.
Vibeke Jensen, the Director of UNESCO Islamabad, said that an effective groundwater management in the regional context was crucial for Agenda 2030.
He added:
Water management is a trans-disciplinary issue and can be solved by involving all stakeholders and also by educating the end users.
Have you noticed water tables dropping in your area? Did you need to get boring again? Let us know in the comments below!
You know water is not gonna be a problem if we don’t let it be. Why aren’t we building any DESALINATION PLANTS when we have the advantage of sea. Desalination Plant will convert the sea water into drinkable water. Many countries are using this and Pakistan has low number of desalination plants ( One I can think of is near gwadar ). We need to do this.
And that one in gawadar is also not working and i think it will not work at all as 7 to 8 years have passed and it never started after its installation.
And every day, news channels are screaming about water instead of pointing out the need for establishment of Desalination Plants. DUMB, WE TRULY ARE !!
Water level in all my sector has dropped, We had a boring of around 200 Ft, but It dried up, so we had to do a new bore of 300 FT, but still we are facing problems.
yes in Islamabad every houswhold is redoing boring and increasing depth to 270 to 300 feets to get water.
Oh yeah in Peshawar we experience it every summer. This is all because of cementing the entire locality. Now how on earth the water on the surface of the ground could reach into the underground water storage. This is extreme stupidity to not allow water in the earth. I am sure people will realize this fact quite sooner.
Stop reproducing too much, that’s the only solution :)
just let earth revive it self by giving it rest and not using boring water. Govt needs to supply water in each and every part of city and if they succeed, no one will find need to extract water from boring …