Pakistan Minister Moonis Elahi blames mismanagement for water shortage

Pakistan's Federal Minister for Water Resources Moonis Elahi blamed mismanagement of water for the shortage crisis in the country.

Writing in a message on social networking site Twitter he said that Pakistan's rapidly declining water resources is due to climate change, increasing population and water mismanagement, reported Pakistan Urdu daily Nawaiwaqt.

He said that it could lead to severe water shortages in the future.

Asking the opponents of Kalabagh Dam that are they aware of this danger? He added that water security is a guarantee of life.

The Kalabagh Dam is a proposed hydroelectric dam on the Indus River at Kalabagh in the Mianwali District, Punjab, Pakistan, which has been intensely debated along ethnic and regional lines for over 40 years.

Once upon a time, Indus use to bring in crores of acre-feet of water apart from bringing in tons of slit. However, Indus has lost its "ferociousness" and strong waves reported Pahenji Akhbar.

As per the Urdu daily, Pahenji Akhbar, after the 1960 Indus Treaty, the distribution of water to provinces have made Indus weaker.

The Indus Waters Treaty is a water-sharing agreement between India and Pakistan signed in 1960. It was brokered by the World Bank.

Under the treaty signed between India and Pakistan in 1960, all the waters of three rivers, namely Ravi, Sutlej and Beas ( Eastern Rivers) were allocated to India for exclusive use.

While, the waters of Western rivers - Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab were allocated to Pakistan except for specified domestic, non-consumptive and agricultural use permitted to India as provided in the Treaty.

Today, Indus is amongst "dying" rivers in the world. One major reason that Indus does not reach tail end parts is the building of dams on Indus and diverting Indus water to eastern seas or rivers. When world's water experts see the Indus as a "dying river", there is a campaign in the country to build more dams on the Indus. There is not only a campaign in progress for more dams, but it is being quietly implemented too, reported Pahenji Akhbar.

Idrees Rajput said that Diamer-Bhasha Dam works are in progress. If these works are going on with the Sindh Government's consent, then the Sindh government only will have to be held accountable for Sindhis' economic downfall.

Diamer-Bhasha Dam is a concreted-filled gravity dam, in the preliminary stages of construction, on the River Indus between Kohistan district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Diamer district in Gilgit Baltistan (Pakistan-occupied Kashmir).

"The facts and figures available with us very clearly tell us we do not have additional waters to build new dams on the Indus. Water expert, ANG Abbasi has already said this in his report in 2004. If we want to save Sindh from sea erosion, then there should be no newer dam or new barrage on Indus and let there be water down Kotri and do afforestation and more plantation and have more greenery to check the rise of temperatures," said Rajput.

The water crisis has set off a series of protests and may hurt Pakistan's ailing economy as well as going to increase feuds among provinces and turn into a flashpoint for a major internal disturbance, according to Toronto based think tank International Forum for Right and Security (IFFRAS).

Farmers in Sindh and Balochistan provinces have started blocking major highways to demand the release of their share of water from the Indus River.

The richest and politically-dominated Punjab province is often accused of allocating the highest and most unfair amount of river water to it while leaving other provinces dry, the think tank said.

( With inputs from ANI )