Daily Times

The troubles of Pakistan do not seem to end anytime soon, especially for those living in Balochistan. The province suffers an acute shortage of drinking water. Surveys estimate that Pakistan is going to confront drought conditions by 2025. The scarcity of water crisis in the capital of Balochistan, Quetta, and other parts is the most serious problem being faced by the dwellers. However, Dr Faiz Kakar, the former head of the International Union for Conservation of Nature( INCN) noted that the water level continues to deplete fast in Quetta, Pishin, Khuzdar, Killa Abdullah, Kalat, Mastung, Lolarai, Turbat, and other districts of the province.

Gwadar, known to have a great impact on our country’s economy, is facing an acute shortage of drinking water. Earlier, it was announced that the work on the two dams had resumed under the scheme of the CPEC. These dams were said to be completed within a few years. However, no progress is in sight. People are still waiting for relief from their thirst. Similarly, if the conditions of water shortage in Balochistan remain the same, soon, Balochistan would have to confront severe challenges arising in its population.

As a result of their conditions, people continue to pump water from the ground, sometimes more than 1,000 feet deep. In the past, these used to go down between 200 and 300 feet. In Balochistan, a worrisome fact points to how drinking unclean water has become a routine, and due to this, people are in agony from fatal diseases across the province. Interim, the serious diseases caused by drinking dirty water include deemed to be Cholera, Diarrhea, Dysentery, hepatitis A, typhoid, and polio, which are more threatening for the population of Balochistan.

A significant cause of water scarcity in Balochistan is the mismanagement of water for irrigation purposes.

A significant cause of water scarcity in Balochistan is the mismanagement of water for production and irrigation. Further damaging are the impacts of excessive installation of solar tube wells. That the provincial government continues to ignore the conditions and is in no mood to take any concrete steps regarding the allocation of water resources, is in itself, a grave danger for the locals.

It has been said time and again that an overwhelming 62 per cent of Balochistan stands deprived of safe drinking water. More than 58 per cent of its land is fast turning into deserts owing to water shortages. In other words, the scarcity of water has forced many a farmer to abandon their fruit orchards. The number of orchards has considerably decreased in Northern and Central Balochistan, famous for the production of apples, grapes, and other necessities of fruits.

Wholeheartedly, water shortages across Balochistan have left hundreds of thousands jobless. Growers have cut their fruit trees to use them as firewood due to the lack of water supply.

Additionally, the high rate of poverty in Balochistan can also be attributed to the shortage of water because most people here are dependent on agriculture and livestock sectors. Unluckily, owing to the scarcity of water, they are unable to earn their living.

It is the primary responsibility of the government to take some meaningful steps to overcome the disastrous consequences of water shortages in Balochistan by constructing more dams; ensuring better water supply to the residents of the province as well as installing a larger number of stronger tube wells across the province.

The writer is a student in Turbat. He can be reached at mubarakfaryadkhuzdari28@gmail.com