The water crisis and national disunity in Pakistan

The Water crisis and National disunity in Pakistan

The looming water crisis over the horizon of  Pakistan has begot multifaceted problems including national disunity.  According to IRSA,  Pakistan is facing acute water shortage, which poses the grave consequence for a nation that depends on agriculture. The authorities anticipate that it is likely to suffer the shortage of 31 million acre foot of water by 2025. The shortage will be devastating for a country with an agriculture-based economy. Nearly seventy per cent of people of Pakistan are directly or indirectly associated with agriculture. 

In order to address this issue, the federal government is preparing  to build new dams. But  the people across Sindh, Balochistan and KPK are up against building new infrastructure to store water. This has led to another issue of national disunity.

However, instead of building more dams, there are more sustainable solutions to the water crisis in Pakistan.  In order to solve a problem, it is essential first to root out the cause of the problem. The mismanagement of water is the core reason of water shortage in the country.  According to WAPDA reports, more than thirty per cent of water is lost due to water seepage. Moreover, the ancient irrigation system, prevalent in Pakistan,  also causes much loss of water. Hence, instead of building more dams, the government should concentrate on solution of these core reasons of water shortage. This would not only solve the core issue of water shortage, but also construct national unity and strengthen the federation.