Water reservoirs

According to media reports the water storage capacity Pakistan’s reservoirs has dropped by almost 35 percent due to silting. It is important to mention that Pakistan ranks third in the world among countries facing acute water shortage. Reports by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) also warn that Pakistan will reach absolute water scarcity by 2025.

This is not the first time that development and research organizations have alerted Pakistani authorities about an impending water crisis, which some analysts say poses a bigger threat to the country than terrorism. Furthermore, Pakistan has lost billions of dollars to increased flooding, fuelled by our lack of dams. The government has commissioned a number of medium-sized dams throughout the country which will hopefully alleviate flooding and improve our water storage capacity. The government should set up a system to monitor the progress of these dams and to ensure that they are completed on time.

Afia Ambreen

Rawalpindi